HAPAG-LLOYD Cruises’ (HLC) Hanseatic Inspiration has successfully completed her 32-day semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica. The cruise set off from Ushuaia on 28 Jan, crossing the Antarctic Circle and the international date line on its way to the disembarkation port of Christchurch. Guests were able to observe almost all of the penguin...
HAPAG-LLOYD Cruises’ (HLC) Hanseatic Inspiration has successfully completed her 32-day semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.
The cruise set off from Ushuaia on 28 Jan, crossing the Antarctic Circle and the international date line on its way to the disembarkation port of Christchurch.
Guests were able to observe almost all of the penguin species, sea lions, whales and elephant seals available to view in Antarctica.
Passengers also observed orcas, emperor penguins, and huge colonies of Adelie penguins, and more, from on board the ship.
The first landing took place in Whalers Bay, where guests directly witnessed humpback whales and orcas.
Other landings included expeditions to huts of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, the latter on 15 Feb, the Irish Antarctic explorer’s birthday.
The expedition then sailed to Marguerite Bay and onward to the Ross Sea, a remote region only accessible for a small number of ships.
Other highlights in the Ross Sea included the first-ever landing at Cape Bird on Ross Island, crossing the waters off the ice wall of the Ross Ice Shelf, and an evening visit to Mount Erebus.
Inspiration also undertook a detour to Peter I Island in the rarely accessible Bellingshausen Sea.
Hapag-Lloyd has already planned its next Antarctic semi-circumnavigation for 2027, on board sister ship Hanseatic Spirit.
The Antarctic semi-circumnavigation is one of the longest and most challenging routes in Hapag-Lloyd’s expedition program.
