The French luxury cruise line, Ponant, specializes in taking its fortunate clients to some of the wildest and most scenically spectacular areas of the world. Part of the pleasure of such voyages derives from the sophistication and refined aesthetic of the ships’ interior designs.
Ponant is owned by Groupe Artémis, an investment company founded by French billionaire François Pinault, whose extensive and glamorous portfolio includes fashion giants Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, the fabled wine estate Château Latour and the auction house, Christie’s. Ponant fits right in with this exalted peer group.
The majority of its 11 French-flagged vessels spend much of their time in the coral archipelagos of the Seychelles, Indonesia, and the South Pacific. However, the latest addition to the fleet, Le Commandant Charcot, is a unique and extraordinary 31,000-ton icebreaker, which alternates between Arctic and Antarctic waters, taking its passengers to areas (including the North Pole) that are otherwise completely inaccessible.
In May this year, my husband and I embarked on a voyage that would take us to the remote eastern coast of Greenland, where the ice-bound fjords were slowly starting to thaw and the small coastal towns and settlements were emerging from six months of darkness and isolation.
A bedroom in the Owner’s Suite.
Alain Ducasse’s restaurant, Nuna
One of many contemporary artworks on board.
Le Commandant Charcot.
The Blue Lagoon heated outdoor pool.
A curious female polar bear.
We boarded the ship in Reykjavik, Iceland, and were welcomed by the captain and crew members in the dramatic 2,906-square-foot Reception, whose atrium is dominated by the glowing and shifting screens of “Oscillations,” a digital work by French artist Miguel Chevalier. It soon became apparent that Le Commandant Charcot is a kind of floating art gallery, with specially commissioned contemporary pieces arrayed alongside evocative black-and-white photographs from the heroic age of polar exploration at the beginning of the 20th century.
The ship provides 123 accommodations for 245 passengers. All are strikingly well designed, with every square inch of space being effectively utilized, and share a restful palette of white, grays and pale blues that reflect the natural colors of the polar world outside.
French designers Jean-Philippe Nuel and Jean-Michel Wilmotte have said that their ambition was to “bring the outside in,” with panoramic windows and clear sightlines highlighting the surrounding environment and its magical light.
Overall, Le Commandant Charcot is designed to have minimal impact on the pristine world through which it passes. Powered by a hybrid system that combines engines fueled by liquified natural gas with a gigantic array of batteries, the ship is able to smash through ice eight feet thick, and also to cruise under electric propulsion in eerie silence.
A highlight of any cruise on Le Commandant Charcot is the exceptional cuisine. The main restaurant, Nuna, offers menus by Alain Ducasse, served on Bernardaud china, in an elegant setting. Standards do not slip in the more casual restaurant, Sila, where many of the irresistible cheeses and wonderful butter come from the celebrated dairy of Jean-Yves Bordier in Saint-Malo.
Other amenities include a spa with sauna and ice rooms, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Activities included kayaking, Zodiac trips, snowshoeing, and even a polar plunge for the brave. For us, a highlight was a dogsledding trek, helmed by local Inuits, across the pristine and uninhabited wilderness.
The landscape of Eastern Greenland proved unexpectedly spectacular, with craggy snowcapped mountains and dramatic wind-sculpted icebergs. Wildlife sightings can include various species of whales and abundant birdlife. But it was the remarkable observations of polar bears that generated the most excitement on board during our trip.
Le Commandant Charcot provides an unforgettable experience of the wild from within a refined cocoon of understated luxury and comfort.
