Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: the back story
The back story
About Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: the back story
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has run expeditions since 1993, first with the HANSEATIC and the BREMEN, now with three purpose-built expedition ships. Its ocean ships, EUROPA (1999) and EUROPA 2 (2013), carry 400 and 500 guests.
A Hamburg tradition
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises sails from Hamburg and describes itself as the market leader in German-speaking countries. Its two ocean ships, EUROPA and EUROPA 2, are built for space rather than size: EUROPA carries no more than 400 guests and EUROPA 2 no more than 500, each with a crew-to-guest ratio of almost one to one. All suites are outside, and on EUROPA 2 every one has a veranda.
Into the ice
Expeditions began in 1993. The line’s earlier ships wrote some of the history of polar cruising: in 1996 the BREMEN became the first passenger ship to circumnavigate Spitsbergen; in 2003 she found an unknown channel in the Antarctic, now the Bremen Channel; and in 2014 the HANSEATIC became the first non-Russian cruise ship through the Northeast Passage, reaching 85° 40.7′ north, about 480 km from the Pole. In all, the line has sailed the Northwest Passage 22 times.
In places where larger cruise ships would have to turn back, our expedition ships are right in their element.
The expedition class
In 2019 Hapag-Lloyd Cruises commissioned two new expedition ships within a year, HANSEATIC nature and HANSEATIC inspiration, and in 2021 a third, HANSEATIC spirit. They are identical: 138.7 metres long, built by VARD in Norway, with the PC 6 ice class, the highest for passenger ships, which allows them to push through broken pack ice and solid ice about 90 cm thick. Each carries 230 guests (199 in Antarctica and around Spitsbergen), 17 Zodiacs, two retractable glass balconies and an expedition team of up to 16 experts.
Gourmet at sea
On EUROPA, Kevin Fehling of The Table in Hamburg, whom the line describes as a three-star chef, has his own restaurant, THE GLOBE, and is on board in person for selected cruises; Pearls, on Deck 7, is a restaurant devoted to caviar. EUROPA 2 has seven restaurants at no extra charge, from French bistro classics at Tarragon to sushi at Sakura, and a 1,000 m² spa and fitness area.
Two languages
English and German are the on-board languages on all five ships, so you can sail in German style and be looked after in English.
Our advice: if you are drawn to the polar regions, choose a HANSEATIC ship over a larger line’s expedition offshoot. The ice class, the Zodiacs and three decades of experience in the ice are the point.
Why it's on our list
- Expedition voyages since 1993
- The Northwest Passage 22 times, the Northeast Passage five times
- Three identical expedition ships, 2019–2021
- English and German spoken on every ship
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: the back story before you go.