Le Commandant Charcot Bellingshausen Sea Voyages

Arrive in Santiago, Chile, and spend the night prior to an included group charter flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, for embarkation and the start of this once-in-a-lifetime journey.

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…

Use the time spent in the Drake Passage to get acquainted with the ship and learn more about 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 about the Zodiac® outings. Lectures about the history and wildlife of the Antarctic will be an opportunity to learn more about this magical region, where every cruise is a unique experience. From the ship’s bridge, experience exceptional sailing moments before joining the naturalist guides on the ship’s exterior decks to look out for albatrosses, cape petrels and other seabirds flying over the Drake Passage.

Weather permitting, cross the mythic line of the Antarctic Polar Circle, located along 66°33’ south of the Equator. This iconic area demarcates the point from which it is possible to view the midnight sun during the December solstice. Within this circle, the sun remains above the horizon for 24 consecutive hours at least once a year. Crossing this line, an experience known to few people, is sure to be an unforgettable highlight of this cruise through the polar regions.

The sumptuous landscapes of The Gullet, a narrow channel between Adelaide Island and Graham Land, attract all visitors sailing towards Marguerite Bay. It is like an ice palace, its immaculate white walls reflected in the frozen mirror formed by the waters of the Southern Ocean, scattered with icebergs and gleaming blocks of ice. This passage was explored for the first time by the Jean-Baptiste Charcot expedition in 1909, which sketched its position. It was then surveyed in 1936 by the British expedition under John Rymill. It is here in this magical setting that some of the first subaquatic images of the Antarctic were shot during Philippe Cousteau’s four-month expedition to Antarctica between 1972 and 1973.

When Jean-Baptiste Charcot discovered this island surrounded by sea ice in 1910 from aboard the Pourquoi Pas? while mapping Alexander Island, he had not been able to get less than 40 miles away from it. Situated in a zone that experiences frequent low-pressure systems and regular cloud cover, the island remains in many ways an enigma. It is entirely covered in ice and sheer cliffs, with the exception of the rocky outcrops extending over seven miles in the far northwest. The ice in the narrowest part of Wilkins Sound has been cracking in recent times, thus officially detaching this island from its neighbor, Alexander Island, lying roughly 30 miles away. Very few people have landed on this largely untouched island, whose waters attract numerous seabirds such as petrels, Antarctic terns and skuas.

Stretching from the west of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Amundsen Sea, the Bellingshausen Sea was named after the Russian admiral and explorer who has been attributed the first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, in 1820. Among others, its waters surround two of the Antarctic’s largest islands: Alexander Island and Thurston Island. Explore this sea amid ice floe, blocks of sea ice and majestic icebergs. The coastal areas along the Bellingshausen Sea are also renowned as the home of colonies of emperor penguins. Depending on the month of the southern summer, perhaps be lucky enough to observe isolated adults, adolescents seeking emancipation or recently independent new adults.

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard your luxury PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. The ship is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the onboard lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research and discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal.

The icebergs are each more majestic than the next and scattered around the deep and intense blue waters of Marguerite Bay, one of the most beautiful regions in the Antarctic. It is delimited in the north by the mountainous Adelaide Island, in the south by George VI Sound and Alexander Island, and in the east by the Fallières Coast. Charcot named it after his wife during his second expedition to the Antarctic between 1908 and 1910. In 1909, in the southern summer when the skies are at their clearest, he led an important scientific mission to map and study this region. The bay is home to a number of cetaceans and there may be the chance to observe leopard seals or Adelie penguins.

Land on the coast of Pourquoi Pas Island, so named in the 1930s by John Riddoch Rymill in honor of Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who discovered it from aboard his ship Pourquoi Pas? during his second expedition to Antarctica between 1908 and 1910. This mountainous island, situated in the north of Marguerite Bay between Graham Land and Adelaide Island, is 17 miles long and roughly 8 miles wide. It is scattered with narrow fjords and snow-covered mountains. Go to shore in a Zodiac with the expedition team and there may be the chance to observe Adelie penguins going about their business on the island’s rocky shores.

Succumb to the magic of a place unlike any other. To this day, the mythical Antarctic Peninsula still holds real fascination and promises its visitors unforgettable moments. Adventure in this icy realm, in the heart of a spectacular environment with subtle shades of blue and white, surrounded by exceptional wildlife. Penguins, humpback whales, seals and giant petrels are at home here, as are elephant seals, fur seals, Antarctic minke whales and orcas. Depending on which sites are visited, there may be the chance to observe various creatures and share with them the beauty of these extreme parts.

Each day, based on ice conditions, the captain and the expedition leader will suggest Zodiac outings or landings to discover the infinite riches of the Antarctic Peninsula. Glaciers, ice floe, tabular icebergs, mountain peaks that plunge straight into the sea, volcanic beaches, research stations, enchanting bays and vestiges of the whaling industry: these are the faces of the Antarctic that will likely reveal themselves, in a hushed and surreal atmosphere. You will sail in the wake of Jean-Baptiste Charcot, Adrien de Gerlache and Sir Ernest Shackleton, great Antarctic explorers who, from the 19th century, set out to conquer these remote and uninhabited lands.

If there is one place, one sea, one waterway dreaded by tourists, researchers and hardened seafarers alike, it is undoubtedly the 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. As the Antarctic convergence zone where cold currents rising up from the South Pole meet warmer equatorial water masses, Drake Passage harbors 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 the ship.

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…

Say farewell to the ship’s crew, captain and guides, as well as new friends made during this epic voyage. Disembark here, catch the return charter flight to Santiago and travel onward.