Highlights

• With featured guest Donna Urquhart, Australian ultra-marathon runner, pain scientist and physiotherapist and Cindy Miller Hopkins, American Photo Ambassador.
• An exploration into the almost inaccessible Weddell Sea, in search of majestic emperor penguins, amidst immaculate and dreamlike landscapes.
• Outings and shore visits in a zodiac inflatable with a reinforced team of naturalist guides.
• The eye and the advice of our photo ambassador, a privileged opportunity to immortalize your trip with, in the program: workshops, conferences and personalized advice to improve your photographic skills.
• Conferences and information meetings on board with our passionate experts, specialists in the fauna, flora and history of the polar regions.
• Landscapes: immense glaciers, table top icebergs, immersion in the heart of the ice floes.
• Wildlife: the possibility to observe emperor, Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins; Weddell, leopard and crabeater seals; humpback and orcas.

Each departure is unique. The itinerary, landings, wildlife encounters and activities are subject to weather and ice conditions. The activities mentioned are given as examples, the program of activities will be fine-tuned as the departure of your cruise approaches and will be available on the website.

November 24, 2025 – Ushuaia
Embarkation 11/24/2025 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Departure 11/24/2025 at 6:00 PM
Capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, Ushuaia is considered the gateway to the White Continent and the South Pole. Nicknamed “El fin del mundo” by the Argentinian people, this city at the end of the world nestles in the shelter of mountains surrounded by fertile plains that the wildlife seem to have chosen as the ultimate sanctuary. With its exceptional site, where the Andes plunge straight into the sea, Ushuaia is one of the most fascinating places on earth, its very name evocative of journeys to the unlikely and the inaccessible.

November 25 to November 26, 2025 – Crossing the Drake Passage
Arrival 11/25/2025
Departure 11/26/2025
Use your days spent in the Drake Passage to familiarize yourself with your ship and deepen your knowledge of the Antarctic. The Expedition Leader will first present the IAATO rules of conduct that must be observed during landings in the region and will explain everything you need to know about the zodiac outings. Lectures about the history and wildlife of the Antarctic will be an opportunity for you to learn more about this magical region, where every cruise is a unique experience. You will experience exceptional sailing moments on board and join the naturalist-guides on your ship’s exterior decks to look out for albatrosses, cape petrels, and other seabirds flying over the Drake Passage.

November 27, 2025 – North Antarctic Peninsula
Arrival 11/27/2025
Departure 11/27/2025
Throughout your time in the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, you will find yourself in the heart of a spectacular decor in subtle shades of blue and white, surrounded by exceptional wildlife. You will sail through the Antarctic Sound, named after Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskjöld’s ship, which was trapped by the ice during an important scientific expedition in 1902. The gateway to the Weddell Sea, this sound is filled with gigantic tabular icebergs and plates of sea ice drifting northward from the coastal areas of this vast sea. It is home to Adelie penguins and a great many leopard seals.

November 28 to December 3, 2025 – The Weddell Sea exploration
Arrival 11/28/2025
Departure 12/3/2025
Impassable, extreme and captivating: this is the best way to describe the Weddell Sea, much of which is covered by a layer of thick, densely packed ice. It is a challenge and a privilege to sail upon this sea. Polar exploration finds its full meaning here. Heading towards the South is a real quest, with the promise of highly-charged encounters with the continent’s endemic fauna. This is the kingdom of the emperor penguin, the largest penguin in the world, renowned for its elegance. Unlike other penguins that live on the rocks, the emperor nests on the ice floe which it needs for its reproductive cycle. It is therefore on the ice floe that you will be able to observe it walking around with its characteristic gait. In this southern sea, where the ice changes and is transformed constantly, there is never any monotony. The new reliefs and new colours ensure never-ending wonderment. You will sail into the heart of the immaculate ice floe, which is dislocated or densely packed, into an alley of icebergs. Among them are immense blocks of ice, tabular icebergs, that drift and illuminate the ocean with their cerulean blue haloes. Aboard, on shore, on the ice, you will be as close as possible to the colonies of Adelie penguins, Weddell seals, Mink whales, orcas, snow petrels.… With a little luck, you will get a glimpse of a rare Ross seal with its silver pelage or of emperor penguins, waddling along the edge of the ice floe. A sight that is as fascinating as it is emotional.

December 4 to December 5, 2025 – Crossing the Drake Passage
Arrival 12/4/2025
Departure 12/5/2025
If there is one place, one sea, one waterway dreaded by tourists, researchers and hardened seafarers alike, it is undoubtedly Drake Passage. Situated at the latitude of the infamous Furious Fifties winds, between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, it is the shortest route to connect Antarctica to South America. Seasoned navigators will tell you that you must earn your visit to the White Continent! As the Antarctic convergence zone where cold currents rising up from the South Pole meet warmer equatorial water masses, Drake Passage harbours a very diverse marine fauna. Don’t forget to look to the sky to catch a glimpse of elegant albatross and Cape petrels, playfully floating about in the wind around your ship.

December 6, 2025 – Ushuaia
Arrival 12/6/2025
Disembarkation 12/6/2025 at 7:00 AM
Capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, Ushuaia is considered the gateway to the White Continent and the South Pole. Nicknamed “El fin del mundo” by the Argentinian people, this city at the end of the world nestles in the shelter of mountains surrounded by fertile plains that the wildlife seem to have chosen as the ultimate sanctuary. With its exceptional site, where the Andes plunge straight into the sea, Ushuaia is one of the most fascinating places on earth, its very name evocative of journeys to the unlikely and the inaccessible.

Why choose PONANT?

An attentive crew, expertise, fine dining and more. Within a fully 5 star setting, we take you to discover exceptional destinations while offering you a travel experience that is both authentic and high end.

• Travelling the French way
  PONANT is an exponent for the French way of life across every sea on the globe. On board, this is translated through exceptional services, a multilingual crew and bringing French know-how to the fore.
• Exceptional destinations
  From secluded ports to secret seas, from forgotten beaches to remote lands, our experts choose itineraries that take you away from major tourist routes so you can enjoy unique cruises and shorelines that few have seen before.
• Ships on a human scale
  Thanks to our small capacity ships, we can dock in private ports and offer stopovers in preserved locations. On board, the limited number of passengers means that everybody can enjoy special moments and feel as though they are on a private yacht.
• Our commitments
  PONANT aims at becoming a world reference in the field of sustainable development in the cruising industry. The environment and ethics are among our main concerns, both in the regions we visit and in our relationships within the company and with our partners.