HX Expeditions Unveils 1896 Cabin For 130th Anniversary Celebrations
If you’ve previously dipped your toes in the water of luxury expedition cruising, you may have come to expect a certain level of sumptuousness when it comes to your accommodation. We’re talking spacious suites, stylishly modern furnishings, high-tech amenities.
Might we interest you in a cabin that contains none of the above?
No, wait, don’t go anywhere!
We promise that this is actually an incredibly exciting opportunity, one that any adventurous traveller worth their salt ought to bump to the very top of their bucket lists.
As part of their 130-year anniversary celebrations, HX Expeditions are offering guests sailing aboard MS Fridtjof Nansen the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sleep in a 19th-century cabin, a replica of those from the line’s early days. These lucky passengers will be transported back to the summer of 1896, when the world’s first expedition cruise departed mainland Norway for Svalbard, igniting a thirst for adventure still experienced by cruisers today.
The construction of the 1896 Cabin has not, however, been plain sailing throughout. Earlier this year, HX came face to face with a rather dramatic hurdle in the form of cabin materials (including those used for the ceilings, wall and floors) going missing en route to Buenos Aires.
For a lesser cruise line, this may have been an insurmountable blow, but for HX Expeditions, it was a chance to enhance the product even further, to reimagine the design and ultimately construct something even more impressive. Now, the 1896 Cabin is a true HX monument, a symbol of the dedication, unswerving perseverance and attention to detail that has made them of the world’s leading expedition cruise lines.
“This cabin was always meant to honour our origins, and sometimes the journey to create something meaningful mirrors the journeys we undertake at sea,” said Gebhard Rainer, CEO of HX Expeditions. “What our teams and partners have delivered is extraordinary. The 1896 Cabin is not just open – it’s surpassed everything we first envisioned. History, after all is best remembered when lived”.
Meticulously designed by AROS Marine – one of Europe’s leading maritime interior experts – and HX’S own hotel operations team, the Cabins features over 20 unique furnishings including traditional wooden chests, wardrobes, a stone-effect fireplace, a porthole window, a hidden bar (see if you can find it!), bunk beds and a wide desk. Both design teams are accustomed to producing modern interiors for the contemporary cruiser and embraced the opportunity to dive into historical research, creating something that embodied HX’s impressive heritage.
“At AROS, increasing project complexity is met with a balance of research, precision and turnkey delivery. The HX 1896 Cabin captures this approach, inspired by late-19th century expedition living and developed through careful study of period materials, lighting and craftsmanship,” said Mantas Lataitis, AROS Head of Design. “In close collaboration with HX Expeditions, this vision was brought to life as a one-of-a-kind onboard space, blending historical character with contemporary build expertise”.
Construction of the cabin took a team of specialists 309 hours and required more than 140 pieces of wood, including 90 square metres of recycled threshing barn wood planks for the ceiling and walls and reclaimed German cabin wood for the beds.
However, the Cabin’s true splendour lies in its details, including the authentic maritime artwork purloined at European vintage fairs, the ambient light-bathed fireplace and even the air, fragranced with an enticing salt-air-and-aged-wood scent, for total immersion of the senses.
Overnight stays in the 1896 Cabin are available to book now on select MS Fridtjof Nansen voyages at an additional cost of €100 per person. The Cabin accommodates up to three passengers at a time and is strictly limited to one night per guest per voyage. For those not spending the night, there’ll be other opportunities to explore with tours and talks from historians already pencilled into the schedule.
And the best part? All this is for a good cause, with 50% of profits being funnelled into the HX Foundation, contributing to their anniversary year goal of raising £130,000 for science and conservation programmes.
Following in the footsteps of your expedition cruise predecessors doesn’t get more immersive than this—it must be experienced to be believed!
You can find out more about HX Expeditions here.
