Luxury travel writer Brian Berkman sailed into Arctic Greenland in June this year aboard Ponant Explorations’ Le Commandant Charcot. Here’s what to expect from life on board.
Le Commandant Charcot spends most of its time exploring the north and south poles, and in March 2026, she will depart from Cape Town for Brest, France. However, passengers will experience the best of France in terms of hospitality, cuisine and luxe interiors from the moment they step abroad.
Environmentally friendly
This ocean journey, a 20-night sea exploration, is on a ship built for the most extreme climates and conditions on earth. Ponant Explorations’ Le Commandant Charcot converts seawater into drinking water onboard using Nordaq technology, has zero-waste discharge into the oceans, and harvests and reuses heat from her motors for heating the swimming pools. 100% of the Ponant Explorations’ fleet is labeled Cleanship by Bureau Veritas and, according to the German NGO Nabu, Ponant Explorations is one of the most environmentally-friendly cruise companies.
Dine in style
While the above attributes are important, what is remarkable are the experiences. With a maximum of 245 guests and a staff team of 215, service is highly personalised. Staff know your name and preferences early into the journey. No reservations for meals are required, and guests have the choice to enjoy all three meals in the fifth-floor gastronomic restaurant, Nuna, the only Alain Ducasse restaurant at sea. Alain Ducasse currently holds 21 Michelin stars.
Another option is the more casual Sila buffet-style restaurant on the ninth floor. As a fully inclusive offering, fine French cuisine with equally fine French wines and other beverages are inclusive. Henriot Champagne is free-flowing and, on occasions, Billecart-Salmon Champagne is offered. If your tastes are even more exacting, their cellars carry Château d’Yquem and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Burgundy at an additional supplement.
Ossetra caviar from Kaviari Paris is served onboard and is available to all guests in Nuna restaurant at breakfast, where it crowns perfectly boiled eggs with its briny orbs. Expect dedicated caviar events too.
Executive chef Antoine Boidart and his team offer culinary surprises most days in a variety of locations. One might be French onion soup served with foie gras on Deck 9 as a pre-dinner treat; another, grilled prawns next to the pool. There is a daily themed tea confectionery too.
Ponant Explorations has culinary partnerships with Bordier for their butter and cheeses, and with Pierre Hermé to serve their legendary macarons. Even Proust’s beloved memory-inducing Madeleines are offered. A vast selection of Palais des Thés tea, Valrhona chocolate and many others feature. The French-flagged ship also showcases France’s best regional ingredients such as Périgcord black truffle and foie gras, AOC lamb and Yellow Chicken, while they source locally too.
Wellness
To mitigate the ample cuisine and beverages, there is a fitness instructor onboard who also leads aqua-gym in the indoor pool and offers guided meditations too. The gym is extremely well equipped with a variety of cardio equipment, free weights and the latest Technogym Kinesis system. Suites are equipped with yoga mats, weights and barbells.
A sauna provides one of the best outlooks to sea followed by a thrilling dash into the Snow Cabin immediately after. The Nuan Spa uses the outstanding Biologique Recherche products, whilst bathroom amenities are by Diptyque’s fig-forward Philosykos range. The inside swimming pool has a swim-in-place system which allows you to swim laps without going anywhere.
The ninth-floor Wellness complex has a detox bar serving up raw food smoothies and a wide selection of health-focussed teas and juices. If healthy eating is your focus, the buffet offers a very large selection of single ingredients to combine into a salad dish, along with ingredients that are pickled or fermented. The hot buffet too has a number of different vegetable dishes each day while Nuna offers a daily vegetarian gastronomic set menu. Like everything else aboard, you can request exactly what you want to be served, in the way you want it.
Attention to detail
As no single-use plastics are permitted, each guest is gifted a high-quality water bottle which can either be refilled from the Nordaq water in your stateroom or from a vending machine on deck three, dispensing both still and carbonated options.
All staterooms come with a twice-daily restocked inclusive minibar, Nespresso maker and kettle. Even the provided slippers have cork soles for longevity and are custom-sized.
Wi-Fi is freely available via Starlink satellite, but connections to remote servers such as Apple’s iCloud are not permitted. If you rely on storing your photos on the cloud, rather than on the device, you may need to bring along a backup drive.
A team of expert naturalists are onboard to enrich your experience, along with honoured guests. Vivi Navarro, acclaimed painter and travel journalist, will help you create your own travel journal during this particular sailing from Cape Town.
Visit their website for more information.
