Le Commandant Charcot
North Pole · Weddell Sea · Ross SeaTwelve-night North Pole round trips, July to September 2027; the circumnavigation from January 11, 2028.
Expedition only.
Ponant’s fleet: one icebreaker and eleven ships that choose their season
Twelve ocean ships, from a 64-guest sailing yacht to the 245-guest Le Commandant Charcot. Several switch between expedition and port-to-port work through the year — so pick the voyage, then check the hull.
245Guests on Charcot, the largest
92Balcony cabins on each Explorer
6Explorers delivered 2018–2020
4Ships in each Antarctic season
By Joey Boleslawski, founder & travel advisorFacts checked November 1, 2026
The short answer
For the highest latitudes, there’s one choice: Le Commandant Charcot. It’s the PC2 icebreaker, and the only Ponant ship selling the Geographic North Pole, the Weddell Sea’s emperor penguins and the 2028 Ross Sea circumnavigation.
For the Antarctic Peninsula, Le Boréal and Le Lyrial are the steady pair. For the Kimberley, it’s Le Jacques Cartier or Le Soléal.
The six Explorers are the same ship six times. Choose by date and route, not by name — then confirm the voyage is an expedition, not a port run.
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Sort the twelve
Twelve ocean ships, side by side
Tap a sort button. “Not stated” means the figure isn’t in a source we could verify, not that the ship lacks it.
Guest and cabin counts come from Ponant announcements reported by Cruise Industry News, Seatrade and TravelPulse. Service years for the four sisters, Le Champlain and Le Ponant come from the fleet record, not a trade report, so treat them as approximate.
We found no published length, tonnage or Zodiac count we could check against Ponant, so those figures aren’t here. Crew is published only for Charcot. Sort by years in service to see the age spread, by cabins to see where the gaps are, then ask us for the rest.
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Filter by family and voyage type
Which ships sail expeditions, and which mix in port calls
Try “Explorers” with “Expedition and port-to-port”. One ship answers, and it’s the one with the busiest calendar.
Ship family
Voyage type
Le Boréal
AntarcticaEmblematic Antarctica and the Great Austral Loop, 2027–28 and 2028–29.
Expedition regions only, in our sources.
Le Lyrial
Antarctica · South GeorgiaEmblematic Antarctica, the Great Austral Loop and Falklands, South Georgia and Valdés.
Expedition regions only, in our sources.
L’Austral
Antarctica · Chilean fjordsAntarctica in 2027–28 after a Chilean fjords voyage in October 2027.
Expedition regions only, in our sources.
Le Soléal
Kimberley · Indonesia · JapanKimberley May to August 2027; Osaka to Tokyo and Busan in autumn 2027; Antarctica in 2028–29.
Expedition and port-to-port.
Le Jacques Cartier
Kimberley · Polynesia · JapanNine French Polynesia expeditions in winter 2026–27, then a Japan charter and the Kimberley in 2027.
Expedition and port-to-port.
Le Bougainville
Indian Ocean · southern AfricaSmithsonian Journeys’ Madagascar and Seychelles and Cape of Good Hope voyages in 2026.
Voyage type not stated.
Le Dumont-d’Urville
Western MediterraneanSmithsonian Journeys’ solar-eclipse voyage across the western Mediterranean in 2026.
Voyage type not stated.
Le Lapérouse
Ask usNo 2026–28 voyage in the trade reports we read.
Check its next season with us.
Le Champlain
Ask usNo 2026–28 voyage in the trade reports we read.
Check its next season with us.
Le Bellot
Ask usNo 2026–28 voyage in the trade reports we read.
Check its next season with us.
Le Ponant
GrenadinesA three-masted sailing yacht from 1991, listed by a US agency on a Grenadines voyage from Guadeloupe in March 2027.
No polar voyages in our sources.
No ship matches that pair. Widen one filter.
“Expedition” here means Zodiac landings in a remote region: Antarctica, the Arctic, the Kimberley, the outer Polynesian archipelagos. “Port-to-port” means the ship docks or tenders into towns. Ponant doesn’t publish this split, so it rests on the voyages we logged; where a source doesn’t say, we don’t guess.
The same hull can do both in one year. Read the voyage name and the day-by-day before you treat a Ponant sailing as an expedition. Our Antarctica landing sites guide shows what a full expedition day looks like.
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Four families
What separates the hulls
- Size
- 245 guests, 123 suites and staterooms, 235 crew
- Hull
- PC2 polar class; developed with Aker Arctic and Stirling Design International, built by VARD
- Power
- LNG dual-fuel with an electric hybrid system and high-capacity batteries
- Aboard
- A restaurant curated by Alain Ducasse; indoor and outdoor pool; every cabin with a balcony or terrace
- Range
- North Pole, Weddell Sea, Bellingshausen Sea; Ross Sea in 2028
✓The only Ponant ship for 90° North or the deep Weddell Sea.
- Ships
- Le Boréal (2010), L’Austral (2011), Le Soléal (2012), Le Lyrial (2015)
- Size
- Up to 264 guests and 132 cabins on Boréal, Austral and Soléal; Le Lyrial has 122 cabins
- Hull
- No polar class in our sources
- Range
- Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Kimberley, Asia, Europe
⚠The Antarctic Peninsula workhorses. Ask us for each ship’s ice class before a deep-south voyage.
- Ships
- Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-d’Urville, Le Bellot, Le Jacques Cartier
- Size
- About 184 guests, 92 staterooms and suites, all with a balcony or terrace
- Built
- Ålesund, Norway, with VARD; delivered June 2018 to 2020
- Aboard
- The Blue Eye underwater lounge with hydrophones; a marina platform that launches 10 Zodiacs; spa, infinity pool, 188-seat theater (TravelPulse, for Le Lapérouse)
✓Smaller than the sisters, and the most varied calendars in the fleet.
- Size
- 64 guests
- Hull
- Three-masted sailing yacht, in service since 1991
- Range
- A Grenadines voyage from Guadeloupe in March 2027, per a US agency listing
⚠A sailing voyage. No polar voyages for Le Ponant in our sources.
Ponant names its ships after French explorers, which makes the list look more varied than it is. In practice there are four designs.
Pick the family first. Then compare dates within it, because the Explorers are interchangeable on paper.
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The flagship, measured
Inside Le Commandant Charcot
| Charcot spec | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | 245 | Cruise Industry News, 2021 |
| Suites and staterooms | 123, all with a balcony or terrace | Cruise Industry News; TTG |
| Crew | 235, about 9.6 per 10 guests | Cruise Industry News; our arithmetic |
| Polar class | PC2 | Cruise Industry News, 2026 |
| Power | LNG dual-fuel, electric hybrid, batteries | Cruise Industry News, 2021 |
| Largest suite | Owner’s Suite, 115 m² with a 186 m² terrace | TTG |
| Length, tonnage, Zodiacs | Not stated | Not in a source we could verify |
Charcot carries almost one crew member per guest. That ratio, about 9.6 per 10, is our arithmetic on Cruise Industry News’ figures, not a Ponant claim.
Four split-level suites sit aft on decks six and seven, each about 94 m² with a terrace and a hot tub, per TTG. Every cabin has outdoor space.
The hull sells the voyage. The suites just make the Drake easier.
In every program we read, Charcot sails polar water only. For 2028 that means eight North Pole departures from June to September and the 62-day Antarctic circumnavigation from January 11. Read our Arctic guide before you choose between them.
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Fleet moves, dated
How the fleet is shifting
Each move with the date it takes effect.
2018–2020New
Six Explorers
Le Lapérouse arrives in June 2018. Le Jacques Cartier, the sixth, follows in 2020, all from the same Ålesund yard.
2021New
The icebreaker
VARD delivers Le Commandant Charcot, the PC2, LNG-hybrid flagship.
Mar 2025Rebrand
Ponant Explorations Group
The company renames itself, groups Ponant, Paul Gauguin and Aqua Expeditions, and keeps the three-sail logo.
Late 2026Moves
Polynesia, and a catamaran
Le Jacques Cartier joins Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia for winter 2026–27. Spirit of Ponant II, a 10-guest catamaran, joins Ponant Yachting.
Spring 2027Charter
Japan, on charter
Hankyu Travel charters Le Jacques Cartier for three 12-night Japan voyages from Kobe and Yokohama, sold to international guests.
Jan 2028First
Around Antarctica
Charcot leaves Ushuaia on January 11 for a 62-day circumnavigation through the Ross Sea, bookable in two halves via Hobart.
No new ocean expedition ship appears in the trade press we read as of November 1, 2026. The growth is in brands and deployments, not hulls.
If your trip depends on one ship’s schedule, ask us to confirm it before the deposit.
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Beyond the Ponant hulls
The wider group, briefly
Brand and ship counts from Cruise Critic’s 2025 rebrand report and Luxury Travel Advisor.
| Brand | Ships | What it sells | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponant Explorations | 12 | Expeditions and port-to-port voyages | Every ship on this page. Cruise Critic’s 2025 count of 13 included Spirit of Ponant, now under Ponant Yachting |
| Paul Gauguin Cruises | 1 | French Polynesia and the South Pacific | Shares French Polynesia with Le Jacques Cartier in winter 2026–27 |
| Aqua Expeditions | 5 | Rivers and small ocean yachts | Aqua Mekong, Aria Amazon, Aqua Nera; Aqua Blu, Aqua Mare |
| Ponant Yachting | 3 by late 2026 | Private catamaran charters | Spirit of Ponant, La Désirade and Spirit of Ponant II; 9 to 12 guests; Spirit of Ponant II from €64,000 for a full charter |
These brands share an owner, not an inclusions list. Paul Gauguin and Aqua run their own fares and rules.
Compare their terms separately before you treat one as a Ponant voyage.
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Our picks
Which Ponant ship, for which trip
Our judgement, built on the published voyages. Use it to narrow to one family, not one ship.
The Pole, or the deep Weddell
Le Commandant Charcot
The only PC2 ship on the list, and the only Ponant ship with a North Pole route.
A first Antarctic trip
Le Boréal or Le Lyrial
Emblematic Antarctica, 12 days from Ushuaia, from $14,070 for 2027–28.
The Kimberley
Le Jacques Cartier or Le Soléal
Fourteen ten-night departures, Broome to Darwin, May to August 2027.
Remote Polynesia
Le Jacques Cartier
Nine expeditions to the Marquesas, Gambier and Pitcairn in winter 2026–27.
Look elsewhere if
You want helicopters
No helicopter appears in the Ponant ship details we could verify. Compare Quark and Seabourn.
Look elsewhere if
You want the Galápagos
Ponant’s programs in our sources don’t include it. Start with our Galápagos guide and the visitor sites.
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Fleet questions
Straight answers on the ships
How many ships does Ponant have?
Twelve ocean ships sail under the Ponant name: the icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, six Explorers (Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-d'Urville, Le Bellot, Le Jacques Cartier), four sisterships (Le Boréal, L'Austral, Le Soléal, Le Lyrial) and the sailing yacht Le Ponant. Cruise Critic's report on the March 2025 rebrand counted 13 by including the catamaran Spirit of Ponant, which Luxury Travel Advisor now places in the separate Ponant Yachting brand. The wider Ponant Explorations Group adds Paul Gauguin Cruises, Aqua Expeditions and Ponant Yachting.
Which Ponant ships sail expeditions, and which sail port-to-port voyages?
Ponant doesn't publish a split, so this is our reading of its 2026 to 2028 programs. Charcot sails only polar and Arctic-winter voyages. Le Boréal, Le Lyrial and L'Austral appear in our sources only in Antarctica, South Georgia and the Chilean fjords. Le Soléal and Le Jacques Cartier mix expedition regions, like the Kimberley, with port-to-port voyages in Asia. For Le Bougainville, Le Dumont-d'Urville and the sailing yacht Le Ponant, our sources show voyages but don't say whether they run as expeditions; for Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain and Le Bellot we found no 2026 to 2028 voyage at all.
What makes Le Commandant Charcot different?
Its hull and its power. Charcot carries a PC2 polar class, which Cruise Industry News describes as unique among passenger ships, and runs on LNG with an electric hybrid system and high-capacity batteries. It takes 245 guests in 123 suites and staterooms with 235 crew, and it's the ship Ponant uses for the Geographic North Pole and its 62-day circumnavigation of Antarctica in 2028.
Which Ponant ships go to Antarctica?
Four in each coming season. For 2027 to 2028, Luxury Travel Advisor lists Le Boréal, Le Lyrial, L'Austral and Le Commandant Charcot. For 2028 to 2029, Seatrade Cruise News lists Le Boréal, Le Lyrial, Le Soléal and Charcot, with three departures from Timaru, New Zealand, to the Ross Sea.
What is the Blue Eye lounge?
An underwater lounge on the Ponant Explorers ships. TravelPulse described it at Le Lapérouse's delivery in 2018: two porthole windows shaped like a whale's eye facing the seabed, underwater lighting and hydrophones on the keel that pipe in the sounds of the sea.
Is Ponant adding or retiring ships?
Not on the ocean expedition side, as far as the trade press we read shows on November 1, 2026. The changes are moves and new brands: Le Jacques Cartier joins Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia for winter 2026 to 2027, and the 10-guest catamaran Spirit of Ponant II joins Ponant Yachting in late 2026.
Plan with Seabound Journeys
Two Ponant ships on your list? We’ll check the voyage, not the name.
Send us the region, the month and how many are traveling. We’ll confirm which ship runs your date, whether it’s an expedition or a port run, and which cabins are left.
- Which hull is on your departure
- Whether the voyage is an expedition
- The ice class and specs Ponant publishes for it
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Ponant’s ships
Answers come straight from this guide.
How many ships does Ponant have?Which Ponant ships sail expeditions, and which sail port-to-port voyages?What makes Le Commandant Charcot different?Which Ponant ships go to Antarctica?
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
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Sources and verification
Where every spec came from
Cruise Industry News: Charcot deliveryGuests, staterooms, crew, PC2 and LNG hybrid power; August 2, 2021.
Checked November 1, 2026TTG: Le Commandant CharcotSuites, the Owner’s Suite, Ducasse dining and the pool.
Checked November 1, 2026TravelPulse: Le Lapérouse deliveryThe first Explorer, 92 staterooms and the Blue Eye lounge; June 19, 2018.
Checked November 1, 2026Seatrade Cruise News: Explorer deliveriesLe Bougainville and Le Dumont-d’Urville delivered; Le Bellot and Le Jacques-Cartier scheduled; June 17, 2019.
Checked November 1, 2026Cruise Critic: Ponant Explorations GroupThe March 2025 rebrand and the 13-ship Ponant list.
Checked November 1, 2026Luxury Travel Advisor: 2027–28 Antarctica and Ponant YachtingShips per voyage; the Spirit of Ponant II catamaran.
Checked November 1, 2026Seatrade Cruise News: Kimberley 2027 and Antarctica 2028–29Le Jacques Cartier (184) and Le Soléal (264); the four 2028–29 Antarctic ships.
Checked November 1, 2026Cruise Industry News: Japan charter and circumnavigationHankyu’s 2027 charter (April 19, 2025); the 62-day voyage (February 14, 2026).
Checked November 1, 2026CruiseMapper: French Polynesia 2026–27Le Jacques Cartier’s nine departures beside Paul Gauguin; January 19, 2026.
Checked November 1, 2026Compagnie du Ponant fleet recordService years for the four sisters, Le Champlain and Le Ponant only.
Checked November 1, 2026Ponant’s own website couldn’t be read for this check, so ship figures come from Ponant announcements as reported in the trade press above. Where reports differ (180 or 184 guests on the Explorers), we say so. We’ll confirm current inclusions and terms with Ponant for your voyage. The voyage-type split, the crew ratio, the ship families and the picks are our reading and judgement, not Ponant’s.
Keep planning
Where to go next
The linePonant Expedition CruisesSeasons, the all-inclusive fare, true cost and the US angle.Start hereExpedition Cruises, DecodedShip sizes, regions and seasons across every line.DestinationAntarctica CruisesThe Peninsula, the Weddell Sea and the Drake.DestinationGreenland CruisesDisko Bay, Thule and the east coast.DestinationKimberley CruisesBroome to Darwin, and which ships fit the coast.DestinationAlaska Expedition CruisesThe small-ship alternative closer to home.Compare fleetsLindblad’s ShipsEleven ships with expedition voyages, sorted the same way.CoverExpedition Cruise InsuranceThe evacuation limit to check before you sail.
One advisor, the whole expedition
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.
01The voyageMatched to the region, the season and the ship size that fit you, at the line’s own fare.Get a free quote →
02The region and the seasonAntarctica, the Arctic, Galápagos, the Kimberley: when to go, and what each season trades away.Expedition cruises, decoded →
03The coverMany expedition lines set their own minimum for evacuation cover. We check your plan against it before you sail.Expedition insurance →