Pack ice floes stretching to the horizon at 81 degrees north, seen from PONANT's Le Commandant Charcot on an Arctic expedition cruise

Ponant · Le Commandant Charcot · 12 nights

The Geographic North Pole

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen, through the pack ice to 90° North. Four sailings in 2027, six in 2028, with 2029 to follow. Return charter flights Paris to Longyearbyen included. From A$53,610 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Call 1300 187 630

Close-up of the reinforced bow of Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot pressed into broken pack ice in white-out conditions, Antarctica

12 nights, roundtrip from Longyearbyen

The top of the world, in twelve nights

Only one passenger ship can reach the Geographic North Pole, and this is her voyage. Le Commandant Charcot leaves Longyearbyen, follows the coast of Spitsbergen for a day, then turns north into the drifting pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. Three days of ice navigation bring the ship to 90° North, where the ice is thick enough to step onto and every direction is south. Two days are given to the Pole: a landing on the floe, a polar plunge for those who want it, a long dinner under a sun that never sets. The return runs south through the ice to the north-west fjords of Spitsbergen and Ny-Ålesund. Polar bears, seals and the occasional bowhead whale live along this edge of the ice, and the expedition team watches for them from the bridge around the clock.

The North Pole is the one voyage we never oversell: it is for guests who want to stand at 90° North, and suites go early. Tell us when you would like to go and we tell you honestly which sailing and which suite, then build the rest around it, flights from Australia, Paris and Longyearbyen either side, and the offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests. One Australian specialist, from the first conversation until you are home.

2 ports
90° North
12 nights

Signature moments

Five moments that make the Pole

There are no ports on this route after Longyearbyen, only ice. These are the moments the voyage is built around, each one set by the ice and the weather on the day.

Polar bear lying flat on a snow-covered ice floe beside open water, photographed from PONANT's Le Commandant Charcot on an Arctic cruise

The coast of Spitsbergen

A first day along the glacier fronts and bird cliffs of the western coast, the last land before the ice.

The coast of Spitsbergen

A first day along the glacier fronts and bird cliffs of the western coast, the last land before the ice.

Day by day

Twelve nights, in outline

The Arctic Ocean decides the route, and the days at sea are the voyage. The outline below is the plan Le Commandant Charcot works from; the captain and the expedition leader reshape it around the ice. The full programme comes with the proposal we write for you.

Charter flight from Paris to Longyearbyen, transfer to the pier and embarkation in the afternoon.

Aboard Le Commandant Charcot

Le Commandant Charcot is the only passenger ship with a Polar Class 2 hull, built to reach 90° North and the winter coasts of Greenland. She carries 245 guests in suites and staterooms that all open onto a balcony or terrace, with restaurants under Alain Ducasse, an indoor pool, a spa, a science laboratory and a hybrid electric and LNG propulsion that keeps her quiet in the ice.

Le Commandant Charcot

Alain Ducasse at the table

The spa and pool aboard Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot, which cruises to Antarctica.

The indoor pool, ice outside

The main lounge aboard Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot, which cruises to Antarctica.

The main lounge, bow forward

The scenic sauna aboard Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot, which cruises to Antarctica.

Spa and sauna at 80° North

Kayaks and Zodiacs at the ice edge

We want to make your journey as easy as possible

Twelve nights aboard Le Commandant Charcot, return charter flights between Paris and Longyearbyen with transfers, all meals in every restaurant and 24-hour room service, open bar and in-room minibar, Zodiac outings, ice landings, hiking and snowshoeing led by the expedition team, lectures and the science programme, Wi-Fi, gratuities, port taxes and the polar parka to keep

Flights from Australia to Paris and home, hotel nights in Paris, kayaking on selected outings, travel insurance, visa fees and personal expenses, spa treatments

Ponant includes the return charter flights between Paris and Longyearbyen. We arrange your flights from Australia to Paris and the nights in Paris either side, so the whole journey is one booking.

Further Exploration

Other Arctic itineraries

Le Commandant Charcot also sails between Svalbard and Greenland, and Svalbard can be sailed in seven or ten nights aboard Swan Hellenic. Each voyage shows its from price in Australian dollars where published; our specialists help you choose the one that suits the way you like to travel.

In the Ice of the Arctic: Svalbard and Greenland

Reykjavík to Longyearbyen in June, or Longyearbyen to Reykjavík. Sailings in 2027, with 2028 to follow. Paris charter flight included. From A$53,550 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

12 Nights

Ponant

From A$29,280

Encounter with the Last Guardians of the North Pole

Nuuk to Nuuk, 4 to 16 April 2027, with 2028 to follow. From A$29,280 per person, Paris charter flights included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

14 Nights

Quark Expeditions

From US$17,131

Spitsbergen Circumnavigation: A Rite of Passage

Helsinki to Helsinki, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen and hotel nights included. Sailings in June 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$17,131 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights

Swan Hellenic

From A$23,725

Ultimate Svalbard

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen, Copenhagen charter flights included. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$23,725 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights

Aurora Expeditions

From A$29,205

Svalbard Odyssey

Oslo to Oslo, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen and a hotel night in Oslo included. Three sailings in 2027, three in 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$29,205 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

12 Nights

Ponant

From A$34,910

Beyond the Inhabited World

Nuuk to Nuuk, 16 to 28 April 2027, with 2028 to follow. From A$34,910 per person, Paris charter flights included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Aerial view of Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot wedged in Antarctic pack ice beside a snow-covered coastline, on a Ponant Antarctica expedition cruise

Dates & prices

Departures, 2027 to 2029

Twelve nights aboard Le Commandant Charcot, Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen. Fares are per person, twin share, in Australian dollars, with Ponant’s Paris charter flights included. Ask us before you compare: our offers for Arctic Cruise guests come on top, and we tell you which sailing is the best value for the way you want to travel.

The first of the 2027 sailings, in the brightest weeks of the polar summer. Paris charter flights included.

Mid-August: the ice at its most open of the year, the route north often the quickest. Paris charter flights included.

Late August, with the first colour returning to the evening sky at the Pole. Paris charter flights included.

The last 2027 sailing, and the one with the darkest nights of the four. Paris charter flights included.

Departures on 12 July (from A$56,870), 24 July (from A$60,130), 5 August (from A$53,610), 17 August (from A$53,610), 29 August (from A$56,870) and 10 September 2028 (from A$53,610), all roundtrip from Longyearbyen aboard Le Commandant Charcot with the Paris charter flights included.

Reykjavík to Longyearbyen on 10 July 2027 (from A$84,430) and Longyearbyen to Reykjavík on 13 September 2027 (from A$71,770): the same quest for 90° North, with the fjords of East Greenland and the Blosseville Coast added. Ask us for the full programme.

Ponant has yet to publish its 2029 Arctic season. Tell us the month and the suite you have in mind and we hold your place on our list, then come back to you with dates and Australian fares the day they open.

Made to measure

Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest

Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for, the ice, the wildlife, the light, who you are travelling with, and we match it to the right sailing, the right stateroom and the right year, with flights from Australia and our own offers included. One Arctic Cruise specialist stays with you from the first call until you are home.