The Emperor Penguins of Weddell Sea

Through PONANT’s alliance with The Explorers Club, this voyage will feature Dr. Cassandra Brooks, a marine scientist and Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies at University of Colorado Boulder. She draws on a diversity of disciplines including marine science, environmental policy, and science communication, with the last 15 years of her career focused on Antarctica. Her work helped drive the adoption of the world’s largest marine protected area in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, one of the healthiest marine ecosystems left on Earth. Dr. Brooks continues her engaged scholarship and seeks to empower the next generations of environmental leaders.

Equipped with specialized laboratories onboard Le Commandant Charcot, Explorers Club Science Grantees will provide invaluable firsthand knowledge, delving into their ongoing research.

With featured guest Sue Flood, British Photo Ambassador.

The theatre of the greatest expeditions, a refuge for the rarest wildlife and an endless ice desert, the Weddell Sea promises you intense emotions during a voyage of exploration aboard Le Commandant Charcot, an enveloping cocoon that is wide open onto the exterior polar setting. This place is home to emperor penguins, majestic birds endemic to the Antarctic, rarely observed and only in the most southern latitudes. The ultimate quest and the promise of all-new, unforgettable encounters.

From Drake Passage, as the wind blows and the waves crash against the stern of your ship, you will enter the southern seas, to the extreme and captivating Weddell Sea. Ice floe as far as the eye can see and gigantic tabular icebergs form the horizon of the colonies of Adelie penguins that populate this expanse. Contemplating these curious and quirky birds is a real privilege and the guarantee of an equally fascinating and touching show. Yet the ultimate challenge of this exploration is the search for and the encounter with their majesties, the emperor penguins. In this season, as the winter gradually makes way for the southern spring, you will perhaps witness a magical show - that of the largest penguins in the world waddling along the ice floe or the younger penguins learning to swim. It is rare to discover their elegance, so the encounter will be priceless.

During your exploration of the Weddell Sea, you will follow in the footsteps of the great polar epics like that of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Our passionate naturalists will also share the history of the gigantic tabular icebergs with you, including their birth in the heart of the immense Larsen Ice Shelf. The ice here boasts all possible shades and the white takes different forms in the surrounding reliefs. Let yourself be guided and set off on an adventure into the heart of incredible and unexpected nature. Your Captain and the expert naturalists humbly seize these opportunities to give you an experience that will remain unique.

It is a challenge and a privilege to sail upon the Weddell Sea; welcome to an extraordinary universe with compelling appeal.

We are privileged guests in these extreme lands where we are at the mercy of weather and ice conditions. Our navigation will be determined by the type of ice we come across; as the fast ice must be preserved, we will take this factor into account from day to day in our itineraries. The sailing schedule and any landings, activities and wildlife encounters are subject to weather and ice conditions. These experiences are unique and vary with each departure. The Captain and the Expedition Leader will make every effort to ensure that your experience is as rich as possible, while respecting safety instructions and regulations imposed by the IAATO.