Is the comming new HONDIUS expedition cruise vessel a
top luxury offer?
by Earl of Cruise
As for the intended destinations
- yes!
The 2019 comming new expedition cruise vessel HONDIUS - courtesy OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS
As the former research
vessels ORTELIUS and PLANCIUS, but too the sailing vessels REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
and NOODERLICHT, the new HONDIUS is planend to sail in the polar regions. Too
Tropical destinations will be added for HONDIUS.
Jodocus Hondius has been choosen by OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS as the
namesake for its new vessel. It is the Latinized version his
Dutch
name - Joost de Hondt, *October
14th 1563 – † February
12th 1612),
sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the
Elder to distinguish him from his son Jodocus Hondius II. He was a
Flemish engraver
and cartographer
living in the provinces of the Netherlands, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
He is best known for his early maps of the New World
and Europe, for
re-establishing the reputation of the work of Gerard Mercator, and for his portraits of Francis Drake. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography
in Europe in the 17th century.
What once began as an experimental solution for
deployment of ships laid up in the stormy winter season on the North Atlantic
developed into a raging market - the cruise industry. Which is split in the
friendly named volume market (mass tousism), luxury cruises and expedition
cruises. And within the last we find the top luxurious and the lesser ones.
This expedition market is rising as there is no
tomorrow. Over the last year nearly each month a company announced a newbuild or
a new aquisition for the market segment which was top luxurious or less. But
the market has one thing in common it is never a mass market as the guests will
be the sophisticated travellers that have seen nearly each corner of our world
and have the money to spend. Such an expedition is far from inexpensive. Even
if the investment in the expedition vessel itself may be less than that for a
mass market plastic filled ship.
The PLANCIUS in the Ross Sea - courtesy OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS
Plancius was the first bigger vessel for the Dutch
tour expert in Arctic and expedition cruises. The ORTELIUS and the PLANCIUS are
purpose rebuilds former research vessels, and have therefore in the
construction itself restrictions. So the decision for a purpose newbuild is a
logical step knowing about the newbuilds from HURTIGRUTEN, HAPAG LLOYD CRUISES,
LINDBLAD NATIONAL GEOGRPHIC, SCENIC and finally for the top end CRYSTAL, as
well some other specialists as CRUCEROS AUSTRALIS in Chile, and new aquisitions
from QUARK.
The ORTELIUS - courtesy OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS
SCENIC opend a door into a new form of luxuries on
board of expedition vessels, which CRYSTAL countered with its bigger expedition
yacht for fewer guests on board and so more luxury.
Luxury is for each of us different, depending from
where we are - social, education, income, upbringing, way of living, etc. we
have and how we show, if in the way of the new rich, with oriental pride or
decorum.
The targeted destinations are the Artic waters with
the "eternal" icefields and their flora (if, as in Greenland) and fauna. Nobody knows when global warming
is finally melting our Arctic ice - despite other ideologies which babble of a
communist conspiracy.
The HONDIUS will be built in the croatian BRODOSPLIT
Yard, will accomodate 180 (max 196) passengers, will be 107x17,6m, will have
the Ice classification LR PC6 (~1A) and is paned to set sail for the first time
in the summer season 2019 (May).
The passengers will be accomodated in 4 bed cabins
with porthole, staterooms with French balconies, or real balconies or in a 33m²
Suite.
The sailing vessel REMBRANDT VAN RIJN - courtesy OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS
The vessel will be enviromental friendly with energy efficient
machines by using reducing and saving energy technology, a shaft generator and
not a seperate diesel generator, reulting in high fuel efficient, no use of
hazardous lube, and other enviromental friendly technology on board and in the
hotel.
PRINCESS CRUISES got a penalty of US$ 40,000,000.00 for
oil polution via its "magic Pipeline" since 2005 according to a
whistleblowing engineer. And this was "only" in "normal"
waters. It is the highest penalty which had been sentenced in the USA.
We definitely do not have an extra world in the holds
or trunks.
Cruising in such fragile enviroments as the Arctic
Seas it is a must to be enviromental friendly because of ecological
resposibility and following the IMO regulations. Otherwise there will be no
sailing in the Artic with a vessel which is not passing these regulations. The
vessel itself even the eviromental friendliest and with nearly no carbon
footprint is impacting in the hyper sensible ecology.
The sailing vessel NOODERLICHT - courtesy OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS
Offering a 4 bed cabin/Stateroom with a porthole shows
the origin of OCEANWIDE EXPEDITIONS a tour operator for sail trainees, who pay
for sailing on board a sailing vessel and work as a trainee with the rest of
the crew. An offer very seen with sail training vessels.
Compared with other competitors in the expedition
market the HONDIUS is not that luxurious as the staterooms in total are smaller
and the passenger space ratio is less than even that of the HURTIGRUTEN
newbuilds with 600 passengers. HONDIUS will sail with 180
Guests booking such a category may not be the
wealthiest or used to be amoung rich. This may cause some frowns from the upper
categories occupants, or the one or the other misunderstanding from the 4 bed cabin
booking guests.
The design does remember me about the first set of
RENAISSANCE CRUISES vessels, of which all still are sailing with new owners and names. These small 88m
112 to 120 passenger vessels are mostly catering still the upper end in the
market. I found them a bit cramped back then. Noe we have the HONDIUS at 107m
Length, but nearly a doubled capacity.
The luxury of HONDIUS is not the vessel itself, this
is more a mass market offer, but the intended destinations are the luxury.
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