Hanseatic Inspiration

The 2019-built Hanseatic Inspiration cruise ship is the first of three Hapag-Lloyd vessels that introduced the company to the ultra-luxury expedition travel market, together with her sisterships Hanseatic Nature (April 2019) and Hanseatic Spirit (June 2021). All three ships share the same design.

The vessel (IMO number 9183855) is currently Malta-flagged (MMSI 215766000) and registered in Valletta.

History - construction and ownership

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (Kreuzfahrten) is a Hamburg-based passenger shipping company and premium travel brand owned by TUI AG and managed by its subsidiary TUI Cruises. Between 2017-2020, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises was fully owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG (a German-Chilean shipping company, one of the world’s oldest), currently ranked as the 5th largest container shipping line worldwide by fleet capacity.

The shipowner TUI AG, based in Hanover, Germany, is a British-German multinational corporation and the world’s largest leisure and travel company. Founded in 1923, it was known as "Preussag AG" until 2002. TUI Group operates across hospitality and tourism worldwide, with a portfolio including passenger airlines, cruise lines, hotels and resorts, travel agencies, and retail operations.

The 230-passenger Hanseatic Inspiration was built by VARD Holdings Ltd (a subsidiary of Fincantieri, Italy) at the Tulcea shipyard in Romania. She is ice-classed PC6 (the highest for passenger ships) and offers 5-star hotel service and amenities, gourmet cuisine, spacious staterooms, and elegant public areas.

Hapag-Lloyd’s new expedition ship design is based on an ice-strengthened hull and incorporates advanced technologies developed for polar navigation. Among them is the long-range 3D sonar "FarSounder 1000," installed in the bow and integrated into the bridge navigation system. It provides forward-looking underwater mapping to detect hazards such as icebergs or shallow reefs.

The design also includes two extendable glass balconies (glass-bottomed and glass-walled), giving guests the sensation of floating over the sea, as well as a retractable bridge wing for safe passage through narrow locks and canals.

Hanseatic Inspiration is equipped with modern environmentally friendly technologies. Her hull shape is optimized to reduce fuel consumption, and she features an SCR catalytic converter that lowers NOx emissions by nearly 95%. A PROMAS rudder system with a specially designed propeller further reduces fuel use and emissions. Polar equipment includes thermal imaging ice detectors with infrared cameras. The ship is also fitted with cold ironing (shore-to-ship power) capability.

Decks and Cabins

MS Hanseatic Inspiration staterooms (120 total in 10 categories) allow a maximum capacity of 230 passengers (199 on Antarctic cruises).

Cabin categories include Panorama (22 m² / 235 ft²), French Balcony (21-23 m² / 225-250 ft²), and Balcony (28 m² / 300 ft²) with private balconies (6 m² / 65 ft²). Standard amenities include separable beds, Nordic walking poles, binoculars, rain showers, free minibars, coffee machines, and heated bathroom walls for drying wet parkas and towels.

Junior Suites (43 m² / 465 ft²) feature a step-out balcony (6 m² / 65 ft²), butler service, separate living and sleeping areas (with panoramic views and HDTVs), dining area, steam sauna, and a bathroom with rain shower, dual sinks, and heated walls.

Grand Suites (71 m² / 765 ft²) include a private terrace (16 m² / 170 ft²) with heaters, exclusive service privileges, butler service, separate living and dining areas, free-standing bathtub, daylight bathroom with balcony access, steam sauna, rain shower, dual sinks, separate toilet, and heated walls for drying wet gear.

Children under 11 years travel free of charge, while teens aged 12-15 sail at a fixed rate of EUR 60 per night.

The ship has 9 decks, of which 7 are passenger-accessible and 4 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Meals are offered in open seating during the day, while dinner is served in the main dining room (aft on Deck 4). Dining venues include 3 restaurants and 2 bars: Main Restaurant (178 seats), Specialty Restaurant (44 seats), and Bistro Restaurant (84 indoor seats plus ~100 outdoor seats).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

MS Hanseatic Inspiration offers an elegant onboard atmosphere with expert-led lectures and opportunities to explore remote destinations. Guests can enjoy wellness and fitness areas, an aft marina platform for water sports, and 16 Zodiacs (including electric-powered E-Zodiacs) for landings in remote areas.

• Main Lounge (Deck 4) with advanced presentation technology, full bar, and Smoking Lounge.
• Observation Lounge (Deck 8).
• Fitness Area (100 m² / 1076 ft²) with modern equipment and separate Course Room for classes.
• Spa Area (215 m² / 2314 ft²) with ocean views.
• Pool Deck with swimming pool, jacuzzi, and Pool Bar.
• Top-deck Sun Deck with flexible canopy for shaded seating.
• (Ocean Academy) Interactive Knowledge Studio, where passengers can explore information and conduct research independently.

In February 2019, Hapag-Lloyd introduced an innovative digital learning concept unique among expedition vessels. The “Study Wall,” available on all three new Hanseatic ships (Inspiration, Nature, Spirit), features a 6x1.8 m (20x6 ft) interactive touchscreen. It enables passengers to explore detailed content about destinations along the cruise itinerary. Developed over 2.5 years with two Hamburg-based companies, Intermediate Engineering GmbH and mpg ErlebnisRaumDesign GmbH, the Study Wall organizes content (articles, biographies, photos, videos) into five categories. Most of the material is provided by GEOMAR (Kiel, Germany), along with contributions from journalists, scientists, and experts.

The Study Wall is located in the Knowledge Studio (Wissens Atelier / Deck 8), which also features Study Seats with touchscreens, Study Posters with visual scientific explanations, and a dedicated area for microscope research.

Itineraries

MS Hanseatic Inspiration’s program focuses on Polar expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, complemented by seasonal voyages to tropical destinations such as the South Seas and the Amazon River.

Additional itineraries include the Chilean Fjords, Azores, Cape Verde Islands, and the Amazon. Cruise durations range from 4-day sailings to the Frisian Islands (Wadden Islands, North Sea) to 20-day expeditions to Antarctica. During her inaugural season, the ship also visited the USA’s Great Lakes.

Cruise ship cabins were prefabricated by the shipbuilder's sister company VARD Accommodation. The staterooms were designed by the Finnish company NIT Design, which also supplied all materials. In addition to the ship’s cabins and balconies, NIT Design created the Spa, the à la carte restaurant, all staircases, and outdoor deck areas.

The vessel’s steel-cutting ceremony took place on October 9, 2017, at the VARD shipyard in Tulcea, Romania. The keel-laying followed on October 18, during which a special coin was placed under the first steel block for good luck. In Romania, only the hull was built (weighing 6500 tons), while final assembly took place at VARD Langsten shipyard in Norway (near Alesund). Towing the hull 4000 ml (6450 km) from Romania to Norway took about 5 weeks. The 6500-ton hull departed on February 16, 2019, via Istanbul and Gibraltar. The ship was delivered on October 2, 2019, launched with Hapag-Lloyd’s new blue-hull livery.

In November 2017, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises announced hull design changes that would deliver more than 10% annual fuel savings for the new expedition ships. Using a DNV GL optimization process, 10,000 hull design analyses were conducted to confirm efficiency gains. The main improvements were made to the stern, reducing slamming and enhancing passenger comfort.

Hapag-Lloyd opened bookings for both new Hanseatic ships (Inspiration and Nature) on January 23, 2018.

The christening ceremony was originally scheduled for October 13, 2019, in Antwerp, Belgium, but was rescheduled to October 11 and held at Port Hamburg (Überseebrücke Terminal). The ship’s godmother is Laura Dekker, a Dutch sailor born in 1995, who in 2010-2012 completed a solo circumnavigation (518 days) on a 40-foot ketch. The christening ceremony was hosted onboard by Ranga Yogeshwar, a physicist and science journalist born in 1959 in Luxembourg City.

The shipbuilder was Vard Holdings Ltd (VARD), a subsidiary of Fincantieri (Italy). The ship’s first Master was Captain Ulf Wolter.

Hanseatic Inspiration refurbishments review

The ship’s first drydocking took place May 13-22, 2024, at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.

The project covered routine maintenance, safety inspections, classification works, technical overhauls, and hull cleaning/repainting.

Refurbishments included renovations to hotel areas (new carpets, wallpapers, upholstery, tiles), all passenger staterooms, the Lobby/Reception area, public spaces (hallways, stairs), pool deck upgrades, and enhancements to Ocean Spa. All Grand Suites’ bathrooms were fitted with underfloor heating.

The project involved about 100 crew working on the interior, ~300 subcontractors, and ~120 shipyard employees.

Inaugural itineraries 2019-2020

The originally planned Inaugural Cruise (April 2019) was a 13-day sailing from Hamburg (Germany) to Lisbon (Portugal), followed by itineraries in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.

Below are the rescheduled maiden voyages with ports of call:

• 15-day “Western Europe” (October 14-29, 2019) from Antwerp, Belgium, to Tenerife (Canaries), visiting Honfleur, Guernsey (Channel Islands), La Coruna, Lisbon (overnight), Portimao, Casablanca (Morocco), Porto Santo Island (Madeira), and Funchal (overnight).
• 17-day “Amazon River” (March 25-April 11, 2020) from Belem, Brazil to Iquitos, Peru (via Manaus, Brazil).
• 14-day “Great Lakes” (June 3-17, 2020), cruising the Detroit River, Lake Huron (Mackinac Island), Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario, Canada), Lake Superior (Thunder Bay), and Lake Michigan.

15-day Inaugural Cruise

16-day inaugural Transatlantic repositioning crossing from Europe to Caribbean

14-day inaugural Caribbean and Panama Canal cruise

18-day inaugural Antarctica cruise

Godspeed!