Netherlands based Oceanwide Expeditions just took delivery of their newbuild Hondius.
The delivery of this vessel, in May 2019, marks the start of what will be a busy expedition newbuild period for the industry. She’s a smaller expedition vessel, coming in at only around 5,000gt! She carries under 200 pax all in outside cabins. No insides and no balconies. The line describes the atmosphere onboard as cozy and informal.
Lloyds Register classed her to Polar Code 6 which is their first classing of a vessel to that high of polar standard. This is the equivilant of IMO’s Polar 1A-Super. (You may have seen Polar Code 1 or 1A out there. This is a slight step beyond that.)
The bottom-most deck, deck 3, contains all outside cabins. Amidships are the zodiac boarding areas as well as storage for expedition gear. Since the climate is so harsh, Oceanwide provides all guests with jackets and boots. This is essentially the ‘mud room’ on board.
Deck 4 has a bow observation area forward.
There’s a small outside walkway that extends down to the middle of the deck. Inside this are are 7 outside cabins on each side. The lobby is located at the end of the cabins and walkway.
The aft part is the main dining room and galley astern.
Deck 5 contains the observation lounge forward.
Tucked away around the corner of the lounge is the ships library on Starboard.
Amidships, aft of the main stairwell, is the lecture hall.
This is separated from the observation lounge forward and is an area where guests get to hear from experts and expedition leaders about what’s instore for them ashore.
The aft parts of deck 5 and 6 are outdoor areas.
Deck 6 contains larger cabins. Interestingly enough, the forward suite on the port side is not available for sale during her 2020 Antarctica season.
Deck 7 is also cabins. The bridge is forward.
Deck 8 is all outdoor and is storage for her toys.
And last but not least, of course, is her cabins.
