Ponant, the French expedition cruise company, says it has published a polar collection of 2017-18 cruises that take in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
“Designed as an unusual brochure, the diary concept puts the emphasis on stunning images and personal testimonies to the emotions experienced in the polar regions: a whale emerging to starboard of a zodiac, a penguin colony plunging into glacial-blue Antarctic waters or a meeting with the Inuit people… to name a few,” the company said in a statement.
Aboard Le Soléal, three cruises will follow in the wake of the legendary Viking dragon ships, the Drakkars. From Iceland to St Lawrence, they offer an opportunity of a lifetime to visit archaeological remains, meet the local people and attend fascinating talks to understand more about the Viking civilisation and their adventures. These cruises, which can be taken back-to-back, will bear passengers away into pristine ice-bound territories and the New World.
The Saga of Erik the Red. From the icy inhospitable east coast to the green welcoming west coast, on the route taken by Greenland’s first Colonizer.
Reykjavik - Kangerlussuaq (13 days / 12 nights) - Departs 9 August 2017 (includes Kangerlussuaq / Paris flight in economy class on a European airline).
Ultima Thule – The Horizontal Everest. Meet the Inuit people, the polar regions’ richest and most diverse range of wildlife, and drifting ice.
Kangerlussuaq - Kangerlussuaq (17 days / 16 nights) - Departs 21 August 2017. (includes Paris / Kangerlussuaq and Kangerlussuaq / Paris flights in economy class on a European airline).
Vinland - The Discovery of America Experience the thrill of discovering the shores of America, as it was by the Vikings 500 years before Christopher Columbus Kangerlussuaq – Quebec (15 days / 14 nights) - Departs 6 September 2017. (includes Paris / Kangerlussuaq flight in economy class on a European airline).
In the Antarctic, Le Soléal will offer a first for the company: crossing the Antarctic Polar Circle (latitude 66°33’39’’).
Passengers will call into the Falkland Islands and South Georgia before reaching the Antarctica glaciers. Accompanied by naturalist-guides and experienced expedition leaders, they will go on outings to see colonies of king penguins and explore the Antarctic Peninsula’s most beautiful site, Neko Bay.
Sailing through the sea ice, Ushuaia - Ushuaia (17 days / 16 nights), departs 23 January 2018 (includes Buenos Aires / Ushuaia and Ushuaia / Buenos Aires flights).
