Hapag-Lloyd Cruises today confirmed the Hanseatic will stay in the fleet through September 2018, an extra six months. 

The first of the company’s two new expedition ships will be launching in April 2019.

The line’s international preview brochure, due to be published in mid-December, will contain two international cruises onboard the Hanseatic, as well as three international expedition cruises onboard the Bremen.

The cruises on the Bremen are intended to serve as a transition until the launch of the new international expedition ship, which will offer bilingual (English/German) cruises, said the company in a statement. 

“We are preparing our fleet for the future with our two new expedition ships. We are very happy to have largely bridged the gap before the launch of the first ship, by extending our charter for the Hanseatic. This is the best decision in terms of both cost-effectiveness and offering availability to our guests,” said Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.