Ponant, from the Kimberley to 90° North
A French line with twelve ocean ships, one of them a true icebreaker. The fare carries the bar, the tips and the Wi-Fi — the flight to the edge of the map is where the math changes.
Ponant is the line for polar ambition with a French table. Le Commandant Charcot sells routes few passenger ships attempt — the Geographic North Pole, the Weddell Sea’s emperor penguins, a full loop of Antarctica in 2028.
The other expedition ships are smaller and softer-edged. They split their year between true expedition regions, like the Kimberley and the Antarctic Peninsula, and port-to-port voyages between those seasons. Check which kind you’re buying, not just the region.
Open bar (premium labels aside), gratuities and Wi-Fi in most regions are in the fare. Flights to the gateway mostly don’t. Price the gateway first.
Two different products under one flag
Le Commandant Charcot
245 guests, 123 suites and staterooms, 235 crew. A PC2 hull, LNG dual-fuel power with high-capacity batteries, and a restaurant curated by Alain Ducasse. It sells the Geographic North Pole, the Weddell Sea and, in 2028, the Ross Sea.
Six Explorers and four sisterships
The Explorers carry about 184 guests in 92 balcony staterooms; the older Boréal-class sisters carry up to 264. They run the Antarctic Peninsula, the Kimberley, Japan and the Arctic coasts — and classic port calls between expedition seasons.
Cruise Industry News calls Charcot the only passenger ship with a PC2 rating. That’s the second-highest polar class, and it’s why the ship can push through drifting pack ice toward 90° North when conditions allow. PC2 is a hull rating, not a promise of the Pole.
The LNG-electric hybrid is the other headline. Ponant built the ship with VARD, Aker Arctic and Stirling Design, and took delivery in 2021.
Charcot is the reason most Americans first hear of Ponant. It’s one of twelve ocean ships.
About “South Pole” voyages: Ponant doesn’t sell the geographic South Pole by ship. Charcot’s deepest Antarctic routes reach the Ross Sea, Charcot Island and Mount Erebus. Compare the ships in our Ponant fleet guide before you pick a sailing.
The Ponant year, pole to pole
Dark cells are the core season. Pale cells are thinner months or the edges of a window.
Where Ponant sails, by month
Built from Ponant’s 2026–29 program announcements. Tap a month for the departure that fills it.
The polar ships swing north for the summer and south for the austral one. Charcot also stays in the cold through the northern winter, in the Baltic, Norway and the St. Lawrence.
The Kimberley takes the dry season, May to August. Asia and French Polynesia fill the gaps in between.
Papua New Guinea has appeared in Ponant’s expedition range, most recently among its 2024 destinations. We couldn’t confirm a current departure, so ask us before you plan around it.
Start with the region and the month. Our Antarctica, Arctic, Greenland, Kimberley and polar bear guides show what each window trades away.
The fare, and the two lines outside it
Ponant’s published inclusions as reported by Cruise Industry News, Seatrade and Travel Agent Central. Bold means it’s in the fare. We’ll confirm current terms with Ponant for your voyage.
| Item | Where it stands | Since / source |
|---|---|---|
| Meals and 24-hour room service | Included | 2012 all-inclusive fare |
| Open bar and stocked minibar | Included; premium spirits extra on Charcot | 2012 fare; 2026 agency listing |
| Gratuities | Included | 2012; restated in Smithsonian’s 2024 terms |
| Port charges and taxes | Included | 2012 all-inclusive fare |
| Unlimited Wi-Fi | Included, in most regions | Fleetwide since January 2019 |
| Zodiac outings and polar landings | Included on expedition voyages | 2028–29 Antarctic program |
| Gateway flight (Ushuaia, Longyearbyen) | Included on some programs | North Pole: Paris flights in |
| International air, optional excursions | Extra | 2012 notice; current listings |
Ponant switched to all-inclusive pricing in the summer of 2012. Ponant’s published inclusions, as Cruise Industry News reported them, were meals, the open bar, the minibar, gratuities and port charges, with personal spending, most flights, transfers and optional excursions as the extras.
Wi-Fi joined the list in 2019. It’s satellite-based and unlimited, but Ponant’s announcement says “most regions”, not all — expect gaps near the poles.
The real variable is the flight, not the bar. The North Pole voyages include Paris to Longyearbyen. Ponant’s 2028–29 Antarctic program, which Cruise Industry News says starts at $15,450 a person, includes the Buenos Aires or Santiago flight to Ushuaia and a hotel night before.
For 2027–28 departures, we confirm the flight line on your booking before comparing it with another line’s fare.
Start with the fare, then add the gateway
Price a Ponant voyage
Choose a voyage. Tick the extras you’ll need and type your own figures where Ponant doesn’t publish one.
Fares are the lowest published “from” prices per person, in US dollars: 2027–28 Antarctica fares as reported by Luxury Travel Advisor, and the 2027 North Pole fare as reported by Travel + Leisure, re-read November 1, 2026. Lines at $0 have no published price; we’ll quote them for your dates.
Notice how short the add-on lists are. On Ponant, the extras are mostly transport and cover, not drinks and tips.
Ask us for the gateway flight price first. It’s the number most likely to move your total.
Charcot’s premium, in plain numbers
On the Peninsula, Ponant’s smaller ships start near $1,100 to $1,400 a night. Charcot’s Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen voyages run about $1,850 to $2,170. The North Pole is near $3,000.
The American angle, four cards
Tap a card for the detail behind it.
Seatrade reported in 2019 that North Americans made up about 40% of Ponant’s guests. You won’t be the only American aboard. You may not be the majority, either.
If a fully English-speaking ship matters more than the French table, read the fit section below before you book.
The terms we could verify, and the ones we couldn’t
Deposit
Smithsonian’s Ponant terms take 25% of the cruise price to hold space. Cancel within 15 days of booking, more than 180 days out, and there’s no fee.
A small fee
After those 15 days and until 181 days out, cancelling costs $250 per person, per cruise.
The deposit goes
In this window you forfeit the full deposit. Final payment falls due 90 days before departure.
All of it
Cancel inside 91 days and the fee is the full cruise price. Insurance is the only backstop.
These are Smithsonian Journeys’ terms, not Ponant’s. They govern co-branded Ponant sailings booked from November 18, 2024. We couldn’t confirm Ponant’s own general conditions for direct bookings on the date we checked.
Trade press (TTR Weekly, October 2026) reports a reduced Ponant deposit of 10%, down from the usual 25%, with a second 15% due 212 days out, on about 350 sailings booked by January 31, 2027. It was reported for markets outside the US, so ask us whether it applies to your booking.
We’ll confirm Ponant’s current deposit, payment and cancellation terms for your voyage before you commit. Get them in writing; the invoice governs.
Medical cover is expected, not optional. Smithsonian’s terms make you certify that you carry medical insurance; if it falls short, rescue and treatment costs are yours. The CDC puts a remote evacuation above $250,000.
Check your plan against that number in our expedition insurance guide before the deposit goes in.
The Ponant scorecard
Strongest on reach and inclusions. Weakest where the paperwork is hardest to see in advance.
Charcot is the only passenger ship with a PC2 rating, per Cruise Industry News, and the only Ponant ship selling the Geographic North Pole and a full Antarctic circumnavigation.
Open bar, gratuities and Wi-Fi are in. Flights to the gateway usually aren’t, and the regional charter is included on some programs and not others.
Both poles, the Kimberley, Japan, Indonesia, French Polynesia and the Canadian Maritimes, on one company’s ships.
Bilingual crew, menus and programs, per Seatrade. The culture stays French, which most guests count as the point.
We could verify Smithsonian Journeys’ Ponant terms, not Ponant’s own general conditions. We confirm them per booking.
Five 2027 Kimberley departures waive the solo supplement. We found no published fleetwide solo policy.
Fit scores, not quality scores: our judgement of how well Ponant serves an American expedition buyer, out of 10. Facts behind each row rechecked November 1, 2026.
Book Ponant, or book someone else
You want the North Pole, and only a ship will do
Charcot’s 12-night round trips from Longyearbyen are the shortest way there on Ponant’s list.
You’d rather not sign a bar tab
Open bar and minibar (premium labels aside), gratuities and Wi-Fi in most regions are in the fare.
The Kimberley is on your list
Fourteen ten-night departures in 2027 on two ships, with five solo-supplement-free sailings.
You want a naturalist-first, American-run voyage
Lindblad is built around its naturalist teams and an English-speaking ship.
You want the Ross Sea before 2028
Ponant’s Ross Sea voyages start with the 2028 circumnavigation. Heritage Expeditions is the first line we’d price.
What buyers ask about Ponant
What does a Ponant fare include?
Ponant's published inclusions, as reported by Cruise Industry News when it moved to all-inclusive fares in July 2012, are meals, an open bar and stocked minibar, 24-hour room service, gratuities and port charges. A 2026 agency listing for Le Commandant Charcot shows premium spirits as extra. Unlimited Wi-Fi has been free fleetwide since January 2019, in most regions the ships sail. Seatrade lists Zodiac excursions and guided landings among the inclusions of the 2028-29 Antarctic program. International flights, most transfers, optional excursions and personal spending are extra, though some voyages bundle a flight, such as Paris to Longyearbyen on the North Pole sailings. We confirm current inclusions with Ponant before you book.
Are gratuities included on Ponant?
Yes. Gratuities have been part of Ponant's all-inclusive fare since its 2012 pricing change, and the Smithsonian Journeys terms for co-branded Ponant sailings list all gratuities as included unless a voyage's price notes say otherwise. There's no daily service charge to budget for.
Can Le Commandant Charcot really reach the North Pole?
Yes, when the ice allows. Ponant sells 12-night round trips from Longyearbyen to 90 degrees North on July 27, August 8, August 20 and September 1, 2027, with flights between Paris and Longyearbyen included. Travel + Leisure reported a from fare of $36,190 per person. For 2028 Ponant lists eight North Pole departures from June to September, one of them an 18-night voyage with two stops in northern Greenland.
Is Ponant a good fit for American travelers?
For most, yes. Seatrade Cruise News reported in 2019 that Ponant requires its crew to speak French and English at minimum, and that menus, daily programs and TV run in both languages; North America then made up about 40% of guests. US fares are quoted in dollars. Expect a French flag, French cooking and a share of French-speaking guests, not an American ship with a French name.
When is final payment due on a Ponant voyage?
On Smithsonian Journeys' co-branded Ponant departures, the deposit is 25% and final payment is due 90 days before sailing, in US dollars. We couldn't confirm Ponant's own general conditions for direct bookings on the date we checked, so we confirm the deposit and payment dates on your invoice before you commit.
Does Ponant require travel insurance?
We couldn't verify Ponant's own conditions for direct bookings. On Smithsonian Journeys' co-branded Ponant sailings, a travel protection plan isn't required, but the terms do require you to certify that you hold medical insurance covering accidents and medical costs; without it, you pay for rescue and treatment yourself. The CDC puts a medical evacuation from a remote place above $250,000, so polar travelers should check their evacuation limit first.
Does Ponant partner with National Geographic or Smithsonian?
Smithsonian, not National Geographic. Smithsonian Journeys runs 36 co-branded Ponant sailings in 2026, its fifth year with the line, with two Smithsonian experts aboard each one and three on the Antarctica departure. National Geographic's expedition partner is Lindblad.
Weighing Charcot against the smaller ships? We’ll price both.
Tell us the region, the month and who’s traveling. We’ll confirm the gateway flight, the payment dates and the cabin, and set the full total beside another line that fits.
- Whether your voyage includes the gateway flight
- The deposit and final-payment dates on your invoice
- Solo offers live on your departure
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Ponant
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where each figure came from
Ponant’s own website couldn’t be read for this check, so every Ponant figure here comes from the line’s announcements as reported by the trade press above, on the date shown. Per-night costs, the scorecard and the fit verdicts are our arithmetic and judgement, not Ponant’s. Fares and departures change often; your invoice governs.
Where to go next
The voyage, the gateway night, and the cover that matters out there.
Expedition trips have more moving parts than a Caribbean week: a charter flight, a night in a gateway city, gear lists and an evacuation clause the line sets for you. We book them together and check that the dates and the fine print agree.