Polar Poetry

A Weddell Sea expedition aboard Le Commandant Charcot showcases the beauty and harmony of Antarctica’s unique landscapes and wildlife.

Antarctica: Beauty and Harmony

Directly south of Brazil, along the east coast of Antarctica, the Weddell Sea is mostly covered by layers of thickly packed ice. The conditions make the wildlife-rich region—home to emperor penguins, humpback whales, orcas, and Weddell seals—prohibitively difficult to explore. In fact, there is only one way to experience the best parts of the Weddell Sea in a seamless, luxurious, and environmentally friendly way: on a PONANT EXPLORATIONS journey aboard Le Commandant Charcot.

Launched in 2021, Le Commandant Charcot is the first hybrid electric polar exploration ship powered by liquefied natural gas and the only with a Polar Class 2 rating. The innovative propulsion system, paired with its unparalleled icebreaking capabilities, enables the ship to safely access the remote and frozen Weddell Sea while greatly minimizing impact on this pristine environment and the wildlife it contains.

“The Larsen Ice Shelf [in the Weddell Sea] is one of the largest in the world, and a completely unique destination,” says PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ global photo ambassador Cindy Miller Hopkins, who has been leading photo safaris on Le Commandant Charcot since the ship’s launch. “Very few ships can reach the region. Most go to the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, but the eastern side and western side are like two different planets. You might see 100 ships on the western side, but only three or four on the eastern side. It can’t be accessed by just anyone, so it feels like a completely remote, private destination.”

Visitors can get within 15 feet of the emperor penguins. (Credit: PONANT / Ian Dawson)

Miller Hopkins explains that the ideal time to visit is November and December, when the chicks have hatched in the colony. PONANT EXPLORATIONS is the only outfitter that has access to the island where they hatch without using a helicopter. Rather, the ship “parks” in the middle of an ice field—using its dynamic positioning system to stay in place without the need for an anchor—which not only creates a more intimate encounter for passengers but is also nicer for the planet and less intrusive on the penguins.

Emperor penguin chicks are raised on the sea ice. (Photo Credit: ©PONANT-Hannes Becker).

A Colony of Emperors

“The main draw that the region is known for is its emperor penguins, and the closest way to get to an emperor colony is with PONANT. There are other trips that touch on it, but nothing comes close to this.” — Cindy Miller Hopkins, PONANT EXPLORATIONS, Global Photo Ambassador

“You cannot operate a mechanical or gas-operated vehicle within three kilometers of the penguins,” says Miller Hopkins. “You have to hike in, and during that time, you’re already passing hundreds to thousands of adult penguins who are journeying to the ice edge to get food to feed their chicks. When you get to the colony, you can be about 15 feet away from them. They’re so curious and will come up to check you out—they’re so cute, they look like little Beanie Babies.”

Le Commandant Charcot is a luxury icebreaker cruise ship designed for polar exploration. (Photo Credit: ©PONANT / Cindy Miller Hopkins)

Le Commandant Charcot: The Perfect Vessel for Exploration

Because of Le Commandant Charcot’s intimate size, the total number of passengers is never more than 245 people. Visits to the colony are staggered so that about 20 people go at a time, each for about an hour, which keeps the noise and impact on the penguins to a minimum. The ship aims to stay for two to three days, often allowing passengers to have the opportunity to visit more than once.

Because of Le Commandant Charcot’s intimate size, the total number of passengers is never more than 245 people. Visits to the colony are staggered so that about 20 people go at a time, each for about an hour, which keeps the noise and impact on the penguins to a minimum. The ship aims to stay for two to three days, often allowing passengers to have the opportunity to visit more than once.

Because Le Commandant Charcot can operate without a motor, the ship can be completely silent, which has benefits beyond just attracting wildlife.

Ice covers much of the Weddell Sea. (Photo Credit: ©PONANT / Cindy Miller Hopkins)

Witnessing the Weddell Sea

“I recently had an incredible opportunity to explore a part of the Antarctic Peninsula I hadn’t been to before aboard Le Commandant Charcot,” says Dr. Ulyana Horodyskyj Peña, a renowned glaciologist, member of The Explorers Club, and science grantee through PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ partnership with the multidisciplinary society dedicated to field exploration and conservation. “I was conducting research on light-absorbing particles, or LAPs—things like black carbon or soot that travel through the atmosphere and settle on polar ice. They’re tiny and invisible to the naked eye, but they can have a massive impact by darkening the surface and accelerating melting. One particularly powerful moment was when I had my air sensor out and everything looked stable. Then a military ship passed by, and there was this immediate spike in particulate levels. It’s a stark reminder of how human activity reaches even these remote regions. It also underscored how different things are with PONANT. Le Commandant Charcot runs on a hybrid engine system and has dramatically reduced emissions. That difference matters to the environment, but it also minimizes intrusive readings from our own ship.”

Miller Hopkins also approaches PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ polar journeys from an expert’s perspective—and with an eye for beauty and adventure. “I’m a polar specialist, and I just love ice. Just experiencing these multistory-high icebergs and getting close to them is a unique experience,” she says. “It’s so quiet, and what you hear on the sea is so much different than what you hear when you’re someplace else remote, like a safari. Hopping into a Zodiac and bumping around in the water, hearing the ice crack like Rice Krispies—there’s no place else like it.”

Ice shelves fringe the Weddell sea. (Photo Credit: ©PONANT / Cindy Miller Hopkins)

Basking in Polar Harmony

While some might expect the Weddell Sea region to be unbearably cold, PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ excursions to the Antarctic occur in the Southern Hemisphere’s warmer months, when temperatures can hover around 35 degrees. This allows for ample outdoor exploration—always with the knowledge that the ship’s luxurious spa, fine-dining restaurant, and plush lounge areas are waiting back onboard.

Still, even with all of Le Commandant Charcot’s amenities and attractions, the destination remains the star of the experience. “The polar regions are poetry,” says Horodyskyj Peña. “There’s this ethereal light that you just can’t describe until you see it. I like to go out on deck, put in my earbuds, and listen to classical music while watching the sea and ice stretch out in every direction. In those moments, I think about what the world looked like before we arrived—and what we still have the chance to preserve.”