MV Hondius
Oceanwide's 170-guest flagship and the world's first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel — purpose-built for expedition cruising, with two gangways and a sheltered indoor Zodiac boarding bay for faster, drier shore landings.
The World's First Polar Class 6 Expedition Ship
MV Hondius is the ship that put Oceanwide on the modern map. Launched in 2019 from Croatia's Brodosplit yard, she was the world's first vessel registered to Lloyd's Polar Class 6 — not a research ship refitted into a cruiser, but a hull designed from a blank sheet for one job: getting 170 guests into the ice and back out efficiently. Two separate gangways and a sheltered, indoor Zodiac boarding bay mean landings launch faster and drier than on almost anything her size.
She carries the full Oceanwide expedition kit — a fleet of fast Zodiacs, sea kayaks, a covered aft marina platform, an observation lounge, and a lecture room for the naturalist-led program that fills the hours between landings. Accommodations run a wide range for an expedition ship, from portholes and windows up to junior suites and balcony-equipped grand suites. She's also among the greenest ships in the polar regions, with LED lighting, biodegradable lubricants, and waste-heat recovery for freshwater.
A quick honesty note, as always: our read is built on her specs, her class-leading credentials, and Oceanwide's three decades of polar experience rather than our own time aboard. But if you want the newest, most capable hull in a value-focused fleet, Hondius is the one to beat. Line her up against the rest of the Antarctica fleet before you choose.
Related Videos
Room Types
Quadruple Porthole
Triple Porthole
Twin Porthole
Twin Window
Twin Deluxe
Superior
Junior Suite
