PONANT EXPLORATIONS Unveils Inuit-Led Greenland Voyages to the Edge of the Arctic World

There’s an opportunity next year for would-be Greenland Arctic travellers to enter the Inuit way of life in a state-of-the-art, luxury icebreaker. PONANT EXPLORATIONS has confirmed it is doubling its Intuit-led Arctic sailings in spring 2027 with a second back-to-back 13-day voyage sailing on the Le Commandant Charcot with polar specialist SEDNA, the company that designs and co-creates its unique experiences in partnership with the communities it visits. These voyages are as much a powerful, emotional human experience as a spectacular polar expedition; the highlight for many is the time spent in remote Greenland villages, which is often deeply moving, even life-changing.

Double departures from Nuuk in April 2027

In April 2027, Le Commandant Charcot will operate two ultra-remote Greenland Arctic cruises, both roundtrip from Nuuk and designed to be booked back-to-back for an extended High Arctic escape. The “Encounter with the Last Guardians of the North Pole” itinerary runs from 4–16 April 2027, followed immediately by “Beyond the Inhabited World” from 16–28 April 2027, each spanning 13 days immersed in ice, Inuit culture and scientific discovery. Fares lead in from around AU$27,310 per person on the first voyage and AU$32,951 on the second, with a back-to-back offer applying a 10% saving on the cruise fare of the first sailing, excluding port taxes and subject to availability at the time of booking.

Inuit-led encounters in Kullorsuaq and beyond

A defining feature of these Inuit-led Arctic expeditions is the time spent in and around the remote village of Kullorsuaq, a community well beyond the Arctic Circle that PONANT describes as one of the last bastions of traditional polar hunters. Here, towering mountains, creaking glaciers and vast mineral landscapes form the backdrop to daily life built around fishing and seal and bear hunting. Guests are welcomed ashore to meet local families, watch talented craftsmen at work on furs and skins, and experience a hospitality that has become essential to surviving long winters in the High North.

Activities such as dog sledding, snowshoeing, traditional Inuit kayaking demonstrations and polar plunges are conceived and led by Greenlanders themselves, ensuring that experiences reflect authentic local priorities and stories rather than a pre-packaged tourism script. Nicolas Dubreuil, co-founder of SEDNA and a polar explorer who has spent over 30 years travelling these regions, works with his Inuit friends to co-design the programme so that voyages genuinely honour both the environment and the communities who call it home. He has noted that these meetings and activities originate with Greenlanders, who take pride in sharing their way of life, and that guests often leave deeply affected by the strength and adaptability of their hosts.

Overnight camps and exclusive add-on adventures

To deepen immersion, PONANT EXPLORATIONS and SEDNA have developed a collection of optional overnight experiences that can be added to the core cruise, each available to book in advance and at additional cost. One of the most evocative options is an overnight stay with families in Kullorsuaq, travelling in by snowmobile or dog sled, touring the village with residents and sharing a home-cooked Greenlandic meal before sleeping in a typical house. This Kullorsuaq overnight is designed to give guests a grounded sense of everyday Arctic life, from the intimacy of domestic interiors to the realities of isolation and self-reliance.

Disko Bay, Baffin Bay and the iceberg frontier

Beyond community encounters, the itineraries showcase some of Greenland’s most celebrated and least-visited seascapes, including Disko Bay and the broader Baffin Bay region. In Disko Bay, guests can watch monumental icebergs calved from the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose slow-drifting ice giants create an almost sculptural tableau on the dark waters. The area is also known as a prime spot for humpback whale sightings, adding a wildlife dimension to the already dramatic panorama.

Sailing into the scattered floes of Baffin Bay, travellers enter a world where almost everything is rendered in shades of white and ice formations take on surreal shapes. It is here, in the heart of the sea ice, that the chances of seeing polar bears in their natural hunting environment are at their highest, with Le Commandant Charcot acting as a stable, low-impact platform for observation. Moments spent on deck as the ship eases through the pack ice, bathed in polar light, often rank among guests’ most cherished memories of these High Arctic Greenland voyages.

Nuuk gateway and seamless access from Europe

Both Greenland Arctic cruises 2027 itineraries begin and end in Nuuk, Greenland’s colourful capital, set at the mouth of one of the largest fjord networks in the world. PONANT notes that the town’s historic centre, framed by red, blue, green and yellow houses, offers a lively contrast to the sombre waters and provides a welcoming start or finish to the expedition. To simplify logistics, the operator includes charter flights between Paris and Nuuk in the cruise fare, with English-speaking assistance and transfers between airport and pier, and recommends overnight stays in Paris at the start and end of the journey for added ease.

What many a potential polar traveller is actually looking for, more than icebergs and latitude markers, is human contact and a meaningful connection to people and place at the end of the world. In doubling the number of Inuit-led Arctic trips on board SEDNA, and launching them on the luxurious, futuristic icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, PONANT EXPLORATIONS seems intent on satisfying this craving for access, purpose and luxury in equal measure. It’s common for previous guests to report leaving Kullorsuaq and the camps with not just photos, but memories of meals shared with the last guardians of the pole, of jokes and stories shared in cramped tents and silence beneath a billion stars, long after the ice has melted from view.

Image Credit: PONANT EXPLORATIONS