Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot to Cruise the Saint Lawrence in Winter 2025

According to a press release from Cruise the Saint Lawrence, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot will cruise the Saint Lawrence in the winter of 2025.

Between late January and early March 2025, Le Commandant Charcot will offer four 12-night voyages with visits at a number of Saint Lawrence member ports, including Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé, Sept-Îles, Saguenay, and Québec. According to a news release, Québec and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon will alternate hosting the embarkation and disembarkation procedures.

According to René Trépanier, the organization’s executive director,  “For almost a decade, we have repeatedly promoted unparalleled winterscapes and winter season shore activities with expedition cruise operators. Our efforts appear, at long last, to have begun to pay off with the announcement of this exciting North American premiere.”

For more time for passengers to spend exploring the area, the sailings will at least one overnight stay. The disclosure follows an on-site inspection tour that José Sarica, director of expedition experience at Ponant, and Emerick Le Moul, first officer onboard Le Commandant Charcot, conducted in February 2023.

Ponant’s president, Hervé Gastinel, stated: “At Ponant we are particularly attached to the Saint Lawrence region, a region that our ships have visited in summer for a number of years now. Our market-leading winter cruises will open the doors to totally novel experiences, unrivaled by any operator elsewhere in the world.

“The Commandant Charcot will enable us to navigate the ice in complete safety, while providing passengers with an onboard experience nothing short of exceptional. Working together with Destination Saint Lawrence authorities, we have developed an out-of-the-ordinary itinerary. And we are especially eager to share this adventure with our passengers.”

Minister of Tourism of Québec Caroline Proulx said: Tourism Québec expressed great pleasure in seeing this initiative come to fruition: “The launch of winter cruises on the Saint Lawrence marks a turning point in the history of international cruises in Québec. This announcement aligns to perfection with efforts devoted to promoting upmarket and Indigenous tourism while transforming Québec into a leader in the winter tourism sector.”