Hanseatic Nature

Hapag-Lloyd entered the expedition travel market with three ultra-luxury cruise ships - Hanseatic Nature (April 2019), Hanseatic Inspiration (October 2019) and Hanseatic Spirit (2021). All boats are of the same design.

History - construction and ownership

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

The shipowner TUI AG (Hanover Germany-based) is a British-German multinational currently ranked the world's largest leisure and travel company. It was founded in 1923 and until 2002 was named "Preussag AG". TUI Group's companies specialize in hospitality and tourism services worldwide, with a portfolio including passenger airlines, cruise shipping, package vacations, hotels and resorts, travel agencies, retail shops.

The 230-passenger ship Hanseatic Nature was built by Norwegian company Vard Holdings Ltd (a subsidiary of Fincantieri) at the shipyard in Tulcea Romania. The vessel has the highest ice class for passenger ships, PC6. Hanseatic Nature features many advantages, such as outstanding five-star service provided by the crew, unforgettable culinary, more space for the passengers and a lot of hidden amenities.

Hapag-Lloyd's new cruise ship design is based on an ice-strengthened hull and implemented top-notch marine technologies developed specifically for a polar vessel. Among those is the long-range 3D sonar "FarSounder 1000". The device is forward-looking (installed in the ship's bow) and integrated into the vessel's bridge navigation system. The sonar allows it to maneuver through icy waters, showing and mapping approaching hazards, such as icebergs or shallow coral reefs.

The ship design features 2 extendable glass balconies (glass-bottomed and glass-walled) providing passengers with the unique feeling of floating over the water. The vessel has a retractable Navigation Bridge wing allowing it to pass through a narrow river and canal locks.

Hanseatic Nature is fitted with modern environmental-friendly technologies and equipment. Vessel's hull shape is optimized to reduce fuel consumption and the overall bunker consumption. The ship has an SCR catalytic converter, reducing NOx emissions by nearly 95%. The ship's propulsion features a PROMAS rudder with a specially-designed propeller that helps reducing fuel consumption and lowers emissions. Special polar equipment is the ice detectors - thermal imaging technology with infrared cameras. Cold ironing (shore-to-ship power capabilities) are also available.

Cruise itinerary program

MS Hanseatic Nature itinerary program is based on cruise expeditions to Polar destinations (Arctic and Antarctica), as well as tropical destinations like the South Seas and Amazon remaining on the itinerary.

Cabins

MS Hanseatic Nature accommodates up to 230 passengers (up to 199 on Antarctic expeditions) in a total of 120 cabins in 10 categories.

• Cabins: Panorama (22 m2/237 ft2), French Balcony 21/23 m2 (226/248 ft2), and Balcony (28 m2/301 ft2) with private balcony (6 m2/65 ft2). Amenities include separable beds, Nordic walking poles, binoculars, rain shower, free minibar, coffee machine, a heated wall in the bathrooms for wet parkas and towels.
• Junior Suites (43 m2/463 ft2) with step-out balcony (6 m2/65 ft2). Amenities include butler service, separate living and sleeping areas (with panoramic views and TVs), separate dining area, separable beds, Nordic walking poles, binoculars, free minibar, coffee machine, bathroom with rain shower and two sinks, steam sauna in the shower area, heated wall in the bathrooms for wet parkas and towels.
• Grand Suites (71 m2/764 ft2) with private veranda (16 m2/172 ft2) featuring space heaters. Amenities include exclusive service privileges, butler service, separate living and sleeping areas (with panoramic views and TVs), separate dining area, separable beds, Nordic walking poles, binoculars, free minibar, coffee machine, daylight bathroom with balcony access, free-standing bath, rain shower and two sinks, steam sauna in the shower area, separate toilet, heated wall in the bathrooms for wet parkas and towels.
• Kids under 11 years old travel for free. Teens (ages 12-15) travel at a fixed rate of EUR 60 per night.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Meals are offered within open-seating during the day. Dinner is served in the ship's main dining room restaurant (aft on deck 4). The ship has 2 bars and 3 restaurants: Main Restaurant (178 seats), Speciality Restaurant (44 seats) and Bistro Restaurant (Lido Buffet) with 84 indoor seats plus around 100 outdoor seats.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

MS Hanseatic Nature offers a sophisticated atmosphere and the chance to visit exotic ports. Each voyage is accompanied by lectors. There are extensive wellness and fitness areas, as well as an aft marina platform for water sports. 16 onboard Zodiacs (inflatable boats) and E-Zodiacs (with electric-powered engines) make possible landings in remote expedition areas, regardless of their vicinity to a port.

• Main Lounge (deck 4) with cutting-edge technology suitable for media presentations, precaps, and recaps, full Bar, separate Smoking Lounge.
• Observation Lounge (deck 8)
• Fitness area (100 m2 / 1076 ft2) with modern exercise equipment, separate Course Room (for classes).
• Spa area (215 m2 / 2314 ft2) with ocean view.
• Pool deck area with swimming pool, jacuzzi, Pool Bar
• Spacious top-deck Sun Deck with flexible canopy (shaded seating area).
• (Ocean Academy) Interactive Knowledge Studio - enables passengers to do their own research whenever they wish by viewing the information.

In late-February 2019, Hapag-Lloyd announced a user-friendly digital concept for onboard learning never seen before on expedition vessels. The new "study wall" is available on fleet's three new Hanseatic ships Inspiration, Nature, and Spirit.

• The innovative touchscreen technology (screen size 6x1,8 m / 20x6 ft) allows passengers to research information and various topics related to ship's current cruise itinerary destinations. The digital Study Wall was developed over a 2,5-year period via a partnership with two German companies (Intermediate Engineering GmbH, and mpg ErlebnisRaumDesign GmbH).
• Digital content (articles, biographies, photos, videos) is divided into 5 categories. Most of the information is provided by GEOMAR (Kiel Germany), also by journalists, scientists, and experts.
• The Study Wall is located in Knowledge Studio (Wissens Atelier / Deck 8). The research facility also has four Study Seats (with touchscreens to explore the content), Study Poster (visual scientific explanations), a dedicated area for microscope research.

Cruise ship cabins were prefabricated by the shipbuilder's sister company VARD Accommodation. Staterooms were designed by the Finnish company NIT Design, which also supplied all the materials. Besides the ship's cabins and their balconies, NIT Design also made the Spa, the a la carte restaurant, all staircases and outdoor deck areas.

Vessel's steel-cutting ceremony was on May 9, 2017, when Karl Pojer (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' CEO) gave the official signal to start the ship's building process at the VARD shipyard in Tulcea Romania. On June 20, 2017, was vessel's keel-laying ceremony, during which Karl Pojer placed a lucky coin, later welded into the steel block. Ship's keel consists of 2 steel blocks, each with length 9 m, width 11 m, height 1,5 m and weight 33 tons.

In November 2017, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises announced that hull design changes resulted in projected over 10% annual fuel savings for the new expedition vessels. After an initial assessment, the hull's efficiency was optimized using DNV GL developed form optimization process that included 10,000 hull design analysis to confirm the hull model optimization results. The main changes were done to the hull's stern - optimized for passenger comfort by minimizing the impact of slamming.

In Romania was constructed only the hull (weight 6500 tons), while the rest of the ship was built at the VARD shipyard in Langsten Norway (near Alesund). The 4000 ml (6450 km) long tow of the hull from Romania to Norway started on July 18 and ended on August 27.

Liner's christening ceremony was initially scheduled for April 12, 2019, to be held in Port Hamburg (Germany). The inaugural cruise (maiden voyage) scheduled for April 13. The 2nd vessel from this series (sistership) Hanseatic Inspiration is scheduled for launch 6 months later (in October 2019). Hapag-Lloyd Cruises opened bookings for both new Hanseatic ships (Nature and Inspiration) on January 23, 2018.

However, on March 29, 2019, Hapag-Lloyd issued a statement about the cancellation of the first two Hanseatic Nature cruises due to delayed delivery. The maiden voyage was re-scheduled for May 5 (leaving from Hamburg). Customers booked on the affected cruises received full refund plus 50% future Hapag-Lloyd cruise voucher (valid fleetwide through September 2021). Travel agents received their commissions for all canceled bookings.

The liner was officially delivered by VARD on May 2, 2019.