A frigidly exciting effort to build a winter cruise ship market in Canada is setting sail. The first icebreaker cruise ship in Canada has begun its maiden voyage along the St. Lawrence River, giving passengers a unique cruise experience with access to Canada's most beloved winter activities.
The vessel, Le Commandant Charcot, is owned by French company Ponant and its owners are looking to kickstart the winter cruise ship market in Canada. The boat departed on its first voyage on Friday and is the first international passenger cruise ship to navigate the St. Lawrence River during the winter. Designed for tough waters like Antarctica, it has capacity for up to 245 passengers and 215 crew members.
“At Ponant Explorations, we feel a deep connection to the Saint Lawrence region, which our ships have been visiting every summer for many years. These winter cruises aboard Le Commandant Charcot, completely unprecedented in nature, open the door to a new and unique experience, offering exceptional moments for our guests," said Hervé Gastinel, President of Ponant Explorations Group in a press release.
The ship's maiden voyage set sail from St-Pierre-Miquelon, a French territory off the coast of Newfoundland, with about 150 passengers. The first stop is Cap-aux-Meules, in Quebec’s Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
As the program gains momentum in Quebec and Eastern Canada, it's expected Le Commandant Charcot will operate five different 12-15 night voyages from January through March. Embarking and disembarking will be shared between Québec and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, while Saint Lawrence ports of call will have specially curated shore excursions that reflect Canada's most popular winter pastimes.
Some of the port activities include snowshoeing in Forillon National Park on the Gaspé Peninsula, ice fishing and snowmobiling in La Baie, Saguenay, and ice skating in Old Quebec City.
For the final voyage of Le Commandant Charcot in March, she will make stops in Greenland before ending her season in Iceland.
“We are truly establishing a winter cruise season on the St. Lawrence,” said Rene Trepanier, executive director of Cruise the Saint Lawrence, in an interview Thursday with the Toronto Sun. He also added that discussions are underway to attract more cruise operators to the region, including Montreal.
For Trepanier, a winter cruise industry in Quebec and Eastern Canada would provide a major economic boost to the ports of call. In turn, it will benefit businesses that offer outdoor activities like dogsledding, snowshoeing, and ice skating.
The Le Commandant Charcot is also the only luxury icebreaker powered by liquefied natural gas. To minimize her environmental footprint, the ship operates on battery power in ecologically sensitive areas. Other sustainable features include the use of recycled, propulsion-based energy to heat her various components, the elimination of single-used plastics, disembarkation protocols respectful of local ecosystems, and a battery pack which enables Le Commandant Charcot to use electric power to navigate silently in protected areas.
“This world premiere event aligns to perfection with our strategy to position the Saint Lawrence as an upmarket winter tourism destination ripe with a superlative blend of snowscapes, culture and Indigenous offerings, all in a single region!” added Trépanier.
The upcoming schedule for Le Commandant Charcot is as follows: 1) February 10th to February 22nd - Saint-Pierre Island (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé, Sept-Îles, La Baie (Saguenay), Québec
2) February 22nd to March 6th - Québec, La Baie (Saguenay), Sept-Îles, Gaspé, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Saint-Pierre Island (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon).
3) March 6th to March 21st - Saint-Pierre Island (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé, Corner Brook, Greenland – Qaqortoq, Fjord de Narsaq, Uunartoq, Nanortalik, Iceland – Reykjavik.
You can get a firsthand look at her winter cruising activities in the video below:
Comments