Hapag-Lloyd Cruises today announced itineraries aboard the new Hanseatic Inspiration, which will be delivered in October 2019, offering an international experience to English- and German-speaking guests.

The Hanseatic Nature debuts six months earlier, in April 2019, offering a German-speaking experience.

Hapag-Lloyd’s two new expedition ships will both hold a Polar Class 6 (PC6), the highest ice class ranking for passenger ships.

Hapag-Lloyd also said the ships would receive an updated livery with a blue hull. 

In addition to Arctic cruises in the European summer and expeditions to the Antarctic in the European winter, the ships will set sail for the Amazon, the Chilean fjords, the Azores and Cape Verde. The cruises range from short four-day cruises to the Frisian Islands, to 20-day expedition trips to the Antarctic.

Among the news, the German line is returning to the Great Lakes for the first time in nearly a decade, thanks to a retractable bridge wing that allows the ship to fit through the locks.

On its 13-day maiden voyage, the Hanseatic Nature will sail from Hamburg to Lisbon in April 2019. Guests on the four subsequent nine-day cruises will also have the opportunity to get to know the new ship in European waters. The Hanseatic inspiration will complete its maiden voyage from Antwerp to Tenerife in October 2019.

The almost identical ships raise the bar in the expedition segment, according to the company, and feature numerous structural elements that make the expeditionary experience even more intense.

“Retractable glass balconies give guests the feeling of hovering directly above the water, and guests can stand on the circuit on the bow of the ship to be closer to the action, even closer than the captain. The new ships have also been given a special visual feature: a blue, undulating finish on the hull,” Hapag-Lloyd said.

Sample Itineraries:

HANSEATIC inspiration:
Maiden voyage, October 14-29, 2019 (15 days) from Antwerp, Belgium to Tenerife, Spain including travel via France (Honfleur), the Channel Islands (Guernsey), Spain (including La Coruna, Islas Cies), Portugal (overnight in Lisbon, Portimao), Morocco (Casablanca), Madeira (Porto Santo Island, and overnight in Funchal).

HANSEATIC inspiration:
Expedition Amazon, March 25-April 11, 2020 (17 days) from Belem to Iquitos: upstream on the Lower and Upper Amazon with numerous expedition activities and Zodiac landings (via Manaus).

HANSEATIC inspiration:
The Great Lakes, June 3-17, 2020 (14 days) with cruises on the Detroit River, Lake Huron (including Tobermory, Parry Sound and Mackinac Island), Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Superior (including Thunder Bay), and Lake Michigan.