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November 29, 2024

Hapag Lloyd’s expedition ship repositions from Boston to Panama

Hapag-Lloyd has one of the most highly rated cruise ship fleets in the world. Their pioneering role in cruising began in 1891. That was the year that Albert Ballin, Director of the “Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft”, Hapag for short, offered its first pleasure cruise. It sailed from Hamburg to the Orient with 241 passengers aboard. This year, this Cruising Journal-ist writer sailed Hapag Lloyd’s 240 passenger Hanseatic Inspiration. The 2019-launched Expedition ship was repositioning from the Great Lakes to begin its season in Antarctica.

We boarded this sparkling white ship in Boston

To this veteran cruiser, it would be hard to imagine a more sleek and sophisticated ship’s interior than that of Hanseatic Inspiration. It’s an oasis of light in colors my travel companion compared to Antarctica where inspiration will spend 3 months this season. All blues and whites with pops of color in Hapag-Lloyd orange, the ship gleams. The stateroom I was assigned to was identical to 39 others in size and smaller than the 63 Balcony Cabins, the 14 Junior Suites and the 4 Grand Suites. It was an oasis of light and brilliant design. There was no possible way this chronic over-packer could fill the ingenious storage solutions in this stateroom. In fact, I spent the voyage discovering new cubbyholes and hidden drawers.

The lighting was extraordinary allowing complete control of how light and how bright one wished the stateroom to be. It is quite a complex system and I was grateful to have a printed guide on how to use its control panel! There was a mini bar filled with soft drinks replenished daily, a bathroom with a rain shower and a heated wall. There were Binoculars, Walking Poles and a Coffee Maker. There was a flat screen television to keep you apprised of all activities aboard ship. News junkies beware: The televised news, whether in German or English, was spotty and depended on the ship’s position at sea. There’s WiFi that’s free an hour of each day. After that, beware. It doesn’t come cheap. In fact, that may be the most blissful thing aboard Hanseatic Inspiration. You can turn off the world for the 7 days it took us to arrive in Panama.

On Hanseatic Inspiration every member of the crew from the officers to the waitstaff could not be nicer

And how was the food? Magnificent! There are three dining venues aboard Hanseatic Inspiration –four– if you count 24 Hour Room Service. Passengers adored the Lido Restaurant with its open-air seating once the weather warmed up. Every day saw buffet selections at all three mealtimes. And at both breakfast and lunch, there were specialty egg selections to start the day and wonderful barbecues on deck at lunch.

The Main Dining room is lovely—and the food is superb. My companion would have ordered the superb Weiner Schnitzel every night it not for the superb specials the Chef’s team produced with great flair nightly. And then there’s Nikkei! This restaurant is the most intimate venue and requires easy-to-get reservations. Nikkei deserves an explanation. It’s described as Peruvian Japanese cuisine. That does not mean Peruvian and Japanese dishes on opposite sides of the menu. It is the fusion of the two: In the late 19th century, a treaty between Japan and Peru led to about 800 Japanese workers traveling to Peru for work. Today, Peru has the second-largest Japanese diaspora in South America. (The largest is in Brazil.) These Japanese are called “Nikkei”. On the Hanseatic Inspiration the name refers to the fusion of Japanese and Peruvian flavors. Nikkei even has its own kitchen.

In all venues, wines are poured by the bottle, glass or quartino. They are not included in the fare—likely my only complaint aboard Hanseatic Inspiration. But there are many evenings when Hapag Lloyd’s champagne flows freely and one night, the officers of the ship prepared an entire menu of cocktails on the pool deck.

Activities aboard Hanseatic Inspiration and one super surprise

Passengers who choose to sail on repositioning cruises generally do so because they don’t really want to do anything but sail. They don’t expect, nor would they particularly enjoy, 80 different activities a day. They’ll be happy on Hanseatic Inspiration. Granted, we were informed that the lead lecturer on the trip had missed his flight to Boston. He was replaced by a woman who gave breathing exercises, while the Sports Director conducted low-impact exercise classes and shuffleboard tournaments and presided over the Gym and the Spa. There’s also a Beauty Spa where a manicure will set you back 65 Euros.

Most interesting were a series of talks by the Captain including a lecture on how to build a Hapag Lloyd Container Ship. Most popular of the Captain’s offerings was an invitation to give passengers the opportunity to steer the ship. Participants received a signed certificate for having sailed 1 nautical mile as Helmsmen of Hanseatic Inspiration. Most exciting of all, we awoke on our 5th sea day, not having seen land since Boston, to Captain Rossler’s Announcement. Off the starboard side of the ship lay the southern coast of Jamaica. Over it was a glorious rainbow. And as if this magnificent sight wasn’t enough, we were invited to take to the ship’s zodiacs and swim, yes, swim in the 81-degree Caribbean Sea. 95 of us took advantage of this invitation. It’s impossible to say how many swimmers were well past retirement age. And none of us has a certificate to prove it.

Entertainment aboard Hanseatic Inspiration

Don’t expect any Las Vegas-Style Reviews. Or a night at the Kit Kat Klub. That’s not to say there wasn’t a wonderful pianist in the Observation Lounge at the Cocktail Hour and concerts after dinner entertainment in the Main Lounge called the HanseAtrium. There’s also a juke box there but it remained strangely silent. Smokers are welcome to the “Invisible Lounge” which is visible right off the HanseAtrium. You’ll save money aboard this ship: There’s no casino or even a mileage pool. As to in-cabin entertainment, you can watch movies 24 hours a day although the selection is somewhat limited in scope. Best to bring along books you’ve been meaning to read.

All in hall, Hanseatic Inspiration is a great experience in two languages

Hanseatic Inspiration is one of 5 Hapag-Lloyd Cruise ships. One of three identical sisters, inspiration is the only expedition ship on which both German and English are spoken. Passengers with a working knowledge of English will feel right at home as most of the Service personnel are Filipinos. They speak flawless English as does every one of the Officers and the warm and welcoming staff you’ll come in contact with. Hapag Lloyd’s conventional cruise ships, Europa and Europa 2 are among the highest rated cruise ships on earth. Europa caters to a German audience. Europa 2 caters to both German and English speakers. For complete information on Hapag-Lloyd cruises go to www.hl-cruises.com

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Monte Mathews

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