North Pole cruises: who still goes, what it costs and the alternatives

You can still cruise to the North Pole, but in 2027 the choice comes down to one ship. Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot sails to 90°N six times between July and September, mostly on round trips from Longyearbyen in Svalbard.¹² Russia's nuclear icebreaker still makes the trip from Murmansk, but its longtime Western seller, Poseidon Expeditions, stopped in 2022, and the company that runs it is under US sanctions.³⁴ This guide compares the six Ponant departures by cost per day, explains what the fare covers, and sets out what is left if 90°N is out of reach.

Is there a cruise that goes to the North Pole?

Yes, Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot, with 2027 departures from July 10 to September 13; no other Western expedition line we have checked sails there in 2027.²⁵ There is no land at the Pole, only sea ice over the Arctic Ocean, and NASA puts the average summer temperature there at 32°F (0°C).⁶

The ship is what makes a Western cruise possible. VARD delivered it in 2021, built to Polar Class PC2 and powered by liquefied natural gas with hybrid electric propulsion, with 123 staterooms for up to 245 passengers.⁷ That year it became the first French ship to reach the geographic North Pole.⁸ Ponant says it carries about twice the roughly 10 naturalist guides and experts of its other expedition ships.⁹

Which 2027 North Pole cruise should you book?

The August round trips, unless you want East Greenland as well. Here are the six departures with the cheapest cabin still on sale when we checked on October 15, 2026, per person with two sharing:

The two 18-day voyages add the ice floes off Greenland, the Ittoqqortoormiit region, Scoresby Sund and the Blosseville Coast between the Pole and Reykjavík.⁵ That makes September 13 the cheapest way to see both the Pole and Greenland's biggest fjord system on one ship, at about $3,054 a day against $3,413 for the shorter round trips. Pick an August round trip if the total price matters more than the extra days.

How much does a North Pole cruise cost?

From $44,370 per person with two sharing, the cheapest cabin left for 2027; the lower deck balcony staterooms Ponant advertises from $43,580 were sold out on both August dates.¹¹¹ What the fare covers:

• Flights: economy flights between Paris and Longyearbyen both ways on the round trips, and the Longyearbyen to Paris flight on the Greenland voyages.¹²
• On board: Ponant's open bar and port taxes are included.⁹
• The discount already applied: every fare above includes the PONANT Bonus, up to 30% off the standard fare; Ponant says it decreases as a cruise fills and publishes no end date.¹³
• Booking: none of these voyages can be booked online. Ponant asks you to request a quote.¹

If you can wait, the same page's data lists 2028 round trips from $39,640, with a 30% bonus applied.¹ For scale, the cheapest North Pole day costs about four times a day on HX's 14-day Circumnavigating Svalbard voyage, $11,662 with Oslo flights, or about $833 a day.¹⁴ Our Arctic cruises guide compares the regions on that per-day basis.

What do you do on a North Pole cruise?

You spend most of the days pushing through pack ice, with one stop at the Pole. Ponant's round trip runs Longyearbyen, the coast of Spitsbergen, several days navigating the sea ice, the Geographic North Pole, more sea ice on the way back, then Ny-Ålesund and northwest Spitsbergen before returning to Longyearbyen.¹ The activities it lists are Zodiac outings and shore visits, landings on the ice, kayaking, hiking or snowshoeing, and a polar plunge.¹

None of it is promised. Ponant says the sailing programme, outings, activities and wildlife "cannot be guaranteed and are subject to weather and ice conditions", and that you will "perhaps" walk on the ice at the Pole.¹ It offers "opportunities to glimpse or observe polar bears, seabirds, cetaceans" on the way. If seeing a bear is the goal, a voyage along the ice edge around Svalbard puts you in better territory for less money; see the alternatives below and our polar bear page.

Can you still take a Russian icebreaker to the North Pole?

Only through a Russian agency, from Murmansk, and US rules stand in the way. Russian nuclear icebreakers started carrying tourists to the Pole in 1990, and from 2008 the ship was 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory), which carries 128 passengers.¹⁵³ Western lines used to sell it: in 2017 Poseidon offered two 14-day voyages from Murmansk, and Quark Expeditions sold three departures of its own on the same icebreaker.¹⁵ Poseidon put its North Pole cruises on hold in 2022, and its page now says it is "currently unable to market or operate the North Pole icebreaker cruises that travel in Russian territory".³¹⁶

The icebreaker kept sailing. Rosatom says 50 Let Pobedy made five North Pole cruises in 2024, and in August 2023 Le Commandant Charcot met it near the Pole.¹⁷¹⁸ RussiaDiscovery lists a 13-day voyage from Murmansk on June 30, 2027, from $51,680 per person with two sharing, returning by Franz Josef Land.¹⁹

For Americans, two things rule it out. Atomflot, the Murmansk company that runs Russia's nuclear icebreakers, was designated for sanctions by the State Department on May 19, 2023 and is still on the Treasury's sanctions list; transactions by US persons involving a blocked company are prohibited unless the Treasury licenses them.²⁰⁴ And the State Department's advisory for Russia is "Level 4: Do Not Travel".²¹

Can I legally go to the North Pole?

Yes. No country owns the Pole: when the Barneo ice camp's flights were disrupted in 2019, the Barents Observer explained that the airspace over the Arctic Ocean is international and that landing on the ice is governed by the law of the sea.²² What limits you is the departure point. Ponant leaves from Norway, while the icebreaker leaves from Russia.¹¹⁹

Can you fly or ski to the North Pole instead?

Not on any trip we could confirm for 2027. Flights and last-degree ski trips used Barneo, the Russian ice camp set up every year from 2002 at about 89°N.²² It has not operated since 2018: its 2024 season failed with a cracked runway and bad weather, and 2025 was cancelled, the seventh year in a row.²³²⁴ What the specialists list now:

• Icetrek says it "will not be offering North Pole expeditions, trips or flights in 2027 due to significant logistical constraints".²⁵
• Adventure Peaks lists a last-degree ski trip from Longyearbyen, March 20 to April 4, 2027, from £160,000 land only, but its day-by-day still flies to Barneo.²⁶
• SIX, a new company, plans one-time last-degree trips by helicopter from Longyearbyen, ExplorersWeb reported in July 2026; no price was given.²³

Before paying a deposit for any of these, ask which aircraft and camp will be used. Our North Pole page covers the air and ski routes in detail.

What are the alternatives to a North Pole cruise?

Go as far north as a Svalbard ship can, or ride the same icebreaking ship without the Pole. The realistic options for 2027:

The Svalbard voyages are the closest substitute: Oceanwide says its ship may park for several hours in the pack ice north of Nordaustlandet, where polar bears live, and HX calls reaching the ice edge "an attempt rather than a certainty" because the edge retreats toward the Pole as summer goes on.²⁷¹⁴ Our Svalbard cruises guide lists every 2027 departure we have priced.

Is the Coeur d'Alene North Pole cruise the same thing?

No. The "Journey to the North Pole" sold by Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises in Idaho is a 40-minute holiday cruise across the lake to Santa's floating North Pole and 1.5 million lights, with four sailings a day from November 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027.²⁹ Adult tickets cost $30.50, children 5 and under ride free, and "Sneak Peek Week" sailings from November 13 to 25 are 25% cheaper.²⁹ It makes a holiday outing for a family, at about $44,340 less than the trip to 90°N.

Is a North Pole cruise worth it?

Only if standing at 90°N is the point. At $3,054 to $3,763 a day, the Pole costs several times what a Svalbard voyage does, and the days in the pack ice are about the latitude and the ship, not guaranteed wildlife.¹² Book the September 13 Greenland voyage if you want the most for the money, or an August round trip for the lowest fare, and book early, because the cheapest cabins on every 2027 departure had already sold out.⁵¹¹ If polar bears, walruses and glaciers matter more than the coordinates, a Svalbard circumnavigation gives you those for about a quarter of the daily cost.