It’s a wake-up call like no other. As we luxuriate in the warmth and comfort of our stateroom, grateful for the blackout blinds that shut out the perma-daylight of June in the Arctic Circle, the dulcet French tones of our commandant, Captain Patrick Marchesseau, take over our room.
“Good morning passengers,” he croons, a little after eight o’clock. “So, we have made good progress overnight and we will soon be entering the ice.” On any other ship, those words should rightfully spark fear and panic. But this is no Titanic. This is Le Commandant Charcot and the very reason we are here – on the world’s first Polar Class 2 passenger icebreaker – is to travel further north than any passenger ship before us. By comparison, every other passenger expedition ship is a Polar Class 5, designed to cruise among small icebergs but unable to enter the Arctic ice floe where the pristine wonder can be experienced up close.
Which is exactly what we do just moments later. The ship rumbles and groans, setting the soundtrack for the day, which is built to cut through ice up to five-times thicker. “It’s like butter for the vessel,” says the captain with pride. “It’s very easy for her.”
