M/ v Hond ius was built i n 201 9, as the first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in th e world, meeting th e la t est and highes t Lloy d’ s R egis t er st andar ds f or ice -s tr en gth ened cruise ship s. Surpassing th e r equirem ent s of the P olar Cod e adopt ed b y the Int erna tional Maritime Or g aniz a tion (IMO), Hondius r epr esents th e most fle xible, advan ced , inno v a t iv e t ouring v essel i n the polar r egions, thor oughly optimiz ed f or e xplor at ory voy ages th at pr ovide y ou the utmost fir st -hand c on t act with the Ar ctic an d An t ar ctic a. Hond ius c omp lies w it h th e lat es t SOLAS - r egul at ion s (Saf ety O f Lif e A t Sea). M/v Hond ius i s 107 .6 m long, 15 .3 m wide and has a maximum dr aft of 5.3 m, P olar Class 6 (equiv alen t 1 A -Super), 1 5 knots a v er age cruising speed and has 2 x ABC main engines; tot al 4, 20 0 kW .

Exped ition Guide:

[Austr alia]

Exped ition Guide:

[ C h ina ]

T oda y's pr ogr amme is filled with pr epar a tions f or ou r visit to Ant ar ctica. As our second da y at sea begins with our e xpedition leader , Chloe's fir st 'Good morning!' w ak e-up call. Th e w eather con dition s w ere not f a v our able f or s t arting our cr ossing thr ough the Dr ak e P assag e, so we had to w ait a lit tle while. Ins t ead, we had the unique opportunity to sail t ow ar ds St a t en Island. Aft er breakf as t At 09.15 AM, an announcemen t w as made to go to deck 3, “the Boot R oom” , to try on the warm, wat erpr oof muck boots that we wer e going to use in all our activities outside Hondius. Aft erw ards, Mar celo in vited us to the lou ng e f or an amaz in g f ir s t lectu r e about the hist ory of St a t en Island and how it inspir ed Jules V erne and ev en show ed us original maps. It w as an e xperience tha t cov er ed all ou r senses. Isla de los Es t ados , also kn ow n in English as St at en Island , is an Ar  g  en  tine island tha t lies 29 kilomet r es of f the east ern e xtr emity of Tierr  a del Fuego  , fr om which it is separ at ed by the Le Maire Str ait. The island is part of the Ar g en tine pr o vince of Tierr  a del Fueg  o  , and of the departmen t and city of Ushuaia. It has been declared an "E c ological, His t oric, and T o uris t Pr o vin cial R eserve". Prior to Eu r opean arriv al, the island w as visit ed by the Y  amana people, who inhabited the islands south of Isla Gr  ande de Tierr  a del Fuego  . The fir st Eur opeans to encoun ter the island w er e the Spanish na v al capt ain Fr  ancisco de Hoces and his cr ew in 1526. His ship, the San Lesmes, w as part of the Spanish Loaísa e  xpedition to the P acific Ocean. The ship f ound the island aft er it had become separ at ed fr om the r est of the flee t in a s t orm. Almos t a century aft er the Spaniar d s, the Dut ch e xplor er s Jac  ob le Mair  e and Willem Schouten passed the island on 25 December 1615 , naming it St at en Landt . We had the opportunity to see the r eplica of the old ligh thou se. The landscape w as brea th t aking. Ne xt on our daily schedule w as lunch.

The da y beg an with e x citement as we w ok e up to our very fir s t view of the An t ar ctic Islands coas tline. Under brillian t sunshine and cloudless skies, the continen t appear ed sharp and vivid on the horiz on. The conditions w er e e x cep tion al: no wind, calm seas, and crys t al-clear visibility . All ar ound the v essel, penguins could be seen leaping out of the wat er , while occ asion al whale blow s r ose in th e dis t ance. Man y of us g ather ed on the out er decks early , eag er not to miss a momen t of this spect acular arriv al.

During the morning, Expedition Guide Ali delivered an insigh tful and w ell -r eceived lecture on pen guins, c ov ering beha vior , adap t ations, and the species w e might encoun t er in the da y s ahead. Aft erwar ds, the expedition t eam guided ev ery one throu gh the mandat ory biosecurity pr ocedur es, ensuring that all boots, outer la y er s, backpacks, and equipmen t w er e fully cleaned and pr epar ed f or the fir s t landing in An tar ctica. Mean while, ther e w er e sev er al w orkshops deliver ed on the outer decks as we all w ant ed to be out side as much as possible: there was a phot o w orkshop, citiz en science, surve ying f or marine mammals, and bir d wat ching and ID . Lunch w as served as the ship continued sailing t ow ar d Deception Island, the dr amatic v olc anic calder a known f or its narr ow entr ance at Nep tune’ s Bello w s. As the v essel appr oached the entr ance and final pr epar ations f or landing w er e underw a y , a sudden call fr om the deck dr ew everyone outside —or cas had been spot t ed. Not just a f ew , but thr ee pod s, mad e up of man y individuals, the y w er e tr a v eling and socializing ar ound the ship. For an e xtended period, the or ca remained nearby , surf acing, cir cling, and giving us an e xtr aordinary wildlif e encoun ter . Camer as click ed r apidly , and the decks filled with quiet amaz ement as we w at ched the animals glide eff ortlessly thr ough the still w at er . The planned landing w as under s t andably dela y ed, though no one seemed to mind in the sligh tes t. Once the or c as c ontinued on their w a y , the ship pr oceeded int o the calder a, and we w er e finally able to disembark at Whaler s Ba y , a his toric sit e mark ed by old whaling s tructur es, rus ting boiler s, and dr ama tic black -sand beaches. Th e e x cellen t w eather held, allo wing f or a leisu r ely e xplor ation of th e sit e. We also had the chance to go z odiac cruising outside Neptune’ s Bello w s, t aking in the volc an ic cliff s and the ser ene c on ditions that made the aft ernoon especially memor ab le. We all returned to the ship aft er this success ful fir s t activity in Ant ar ctica, ener giz ed and delighted by the da y’ s experiences. Following dinner , the e xpedition t eam hosted the daily r ecap, of f ering r e flections on the da y and sharing plans f or the adv ent ures to come. As fir s t da y s in An t ar ctica go , it could not ha v e been mor e perf ect.

Our da y beg an a t 6:45am with a g entle w ak e u p call as soft morning light drifted acr oss the Err er a Channel. Br eakf ast f ollowed and it soon became clear that w e had been gift ed a n e x cep tional da y of w eather . Danco Island w elcomed u s with calm seas, bright blue skies and gen t oo penguins bus y with their nes ting rituals. The peace ful conditions made both the landing and th e cru ising f eel almos t ef f ortless and man y of u s f ound our selv es quiet ly w ondering what the har sher side of An t ar ctica mus t b e lik e. The landscape sparkled in th e sunshine and the morning passed i n a r elax ed and cheerful rh ythm.

Af t er lunch w e t r a velle d t o Nek o Harbour for what proved t o b e a defining moment of the voyage. This was our first con tinen t al lan ding on An t ar ctic a, a miles t one tha t c arried a sen se o f p ride and aw e for everyone. Stepping onto the mainland i n such calm and spect acular w ea ther f elt tru ly special. Gen t oo penguins wander ed along th e shor eline and e v ery so oft en a sharp c r ack fr om th e glacier w alls echoe d acr oss the ba y reminding u s that this peaceful scene sits within a powerful and constantly shifting en vir onmen t. The afternoon z odiac cruise off er ed sweeping views of the tow ering ice and glass y wat er which reflect ed the entir e harb our lik e a mirr or . Our early e v ening r ec ap b r ough t t he da y t oge ther beautifully . Chlo é spok e about th e colossal squid which f ascinated the r oom while Ma t t shar ed his memor able Brad Pitt rule of polar photography which had ev ery one smiling and eager t o put their new wisdom t o use. Af t er dinn er , th e ship set tled in to a r ela x ed ev ening until a n e x cit ed announcemen t came ov er th e speak er s at ar ound 10:00pm that or c a s w er e beside the ship. W e hurried to the decks where the fading light revealed orcas and whales gliding gracefully around us in wha t f elt lik e a final gift from the Ant ar ctic wildlif e. As w e finally r eturned t o our cabins w e could not help but f eel gr at eful f or such a r emarkable day . W e cannot wait t o see what tomorrow brings, though w e have already been briefed that colder w eather i s o n th e wa y and t o mak e sur e we rug up f or th e adven tu r es ahead.

The da y beg an shr ouded i n dense, low clouds, setting a dramatic, chilly scen e with outsid e t emp er atur es hov erin g a t 0°C. Our spirit s, how ever , wer e high, driv en b y the an ticipation o f en c oun t ering a new species: the agile Chins tr ap P e nguins. A w arm, f ortif ying br eakf as t pr epar ed u s f or th e c old an d ou r fir st landing. W e disembarked a t Palaver Point , a des t ina t ion f amed f or its signific an t Chins tr ap P enguin c olo n y ( Pygosc elis ant arcticus ). The journey thr ough the ba y of f er ed br eatht aking, almos t cinematic view s. The sea, while r ela tiv ely calm, w as filled with massiv e icebergs —some lar g er than our own v essel, the Hond i us —th eir sculpt ed f orms a s t ark reminder o f the glacial en vir onment. The morning pr ov ed e x cep tion al f or marine wildlif e. Our Z odiacs and k a yaks w er e privileg ed t o ob serv e sev er al Humpback Whales ( Megapt era novaeangliae ) f eeding a nd r esting close t o th e shor e and ev en alongside our boats. As th e morning activities ended, gen tle snow beg an t o f all, signaling our retur n t o th e w armth o f th e ship. Aft er a welcome and hearty lunch —f eaturing a f antastic spaghet ti with marinar a sauce f ollow ed by a well -deserv ed tir amisu—w e wer e ener giz ed f or the afternoon. The sec ond e x cur sion w as a Zodiac cruise thr ou gh th e spect acular Gr aham P assage . Despit e the f og and per sis t en t sub-z er o condition s, the en vir onmen t w as c apt iv a t in g. W e w er e once ag ain f ortunat e with marine lif e, spotting both Humpback and Mink e Whales ( Balaen opt era acut orostrat a ). The passage itself w as littered with uniquely -f ormed icebergs c alv ed f r om th e surr ound in g glacier , show c asing na tur e’ s ab str act art is try . The e x cit emen t of the da y con tinued in t o the e v ening w ith ou r special BBQ Ni gh t . I t w as a p erf ect b lend o f deliciou s f oo d , gr eat music, and dancing, pr oviding th e warmest possible closure t o a n otherwise cold da y of Antarctic exploration. It was a d ay of stark, icy beauty and incredible wildlif e sightings, ending on a high not e o f c amar aderie and celebr a tion .

We awok e on the morning aft er the barbecue to 10 cm of fr esh snow on the decks of t he Hondiu s. Cruising g en tly south under over c as t skies, we en t ered P ar adise Harbour , named by the whaler s f or the huge pods pf whales ther e, but still jus tifies long aft er th ey slaugh ter ed them, with beautiful mount ains surr ounding the ship on all sid es. We arriv ed at Br own St ation , one of the man y Ar g en tinian r esear ch st ation s on the con tinen t. As the per sonnel had not y et arriv ed f or the summer season , we w ere able to land at this r emot e outpos t of humanity . Gr eet ed by shea thbills s trut ting ar ound the empty buildings, the guides set up a tr ail tha t zigz agg ed up to the viewpoin t ov erlooking the harbour . This g a v e a spect acular panor ama acr oss to Lemaire Island and Bry de Island. We had to k eep our dis t ance from the hug e snow ov erhang abov e the s t eep clif f s, which ar e home to the blue e y ed c ormor ants tha t nest her e. Meanwhile the k a y ak er s paddled in a beau tiful moon shaped lagoon while big iceber gs nud g ed ag ains t the hull of Hondius as humpback whales surf aced in the bay .

In the afternoon , we cruised acr oss the ba y to the nearby St on y P oin t. The guides took r eal car e not to br eak pr opellor s as they appr oached the shallow r ocky beach. The y dug out st air s and fix ed a r ope so we could g et on to the snow which by this time w as v ery soft. We needed snow shoes to w alk up to the viewpoin t. For man y of us it w as ou r fir s t time to e xperience this new w a y of tr a v el. On the w a t er , we spot t ed a couple of W ed dell seals do zing on an ice floe, and the

k a y ak t eam had a v ery special enc oun t er with a leopar d seal. Th e highligh t of the aft ernoon f or man y of us w as the polar plunge. Stripping of f and immer sing oneself in w ater that’ s at 1 degr ee Celsius w as surprisingly popular! T o w els w ere specially pr ovided by the cr e w , f ollow ed by a r apid z odiac shut tle back to Hondius f or a long hot show er .

The da y beg an with An tar ctic gifts: clear skies and calm seas. A s th e ship pushed st eadily northward , the morning sun lit u p th e snowy mountains o f Deception Island off the port side, their icy flanks glow in g i n th e sunlight . On th e st arb oar d sid e, a small gr oup o f Humpback Whales surf acing, their blows backligh t b y th e sun. It was th e kind of w ak e - u p call that needed n o alarm—one that r eminded e very one aboar d e x act ly where the y wer e: a t th e edge of the w or l d . Th e v essel con tinued north, tr acing th e rugged east ern coas tline of Livings t on Island b ef or e easin g in t o

the narr ow MacF arlane Str ait. Jagged peaks rose sharply fr om the w ater , and the str ait ’s shifting blues and silver s seemed almost unr eal in the morning . B y mid-morning, the ship anchor ed of f Y ank ee Harbour , a natur al, crescen t -shaped re fuge long used b y sailors, sealers, and—more recently—wildlife enthusiasts. Conditions were good, allo wing f or a split morning o f land e xplor at ion and z od iac cru ising. Onshor e, lif e w as i n full swing. The lar ge Gen t oo penguin colon y —nearly 5,000 s tr ong—filled th e air with their c alls and bus tling activity . Among them, visit or s spot t ed a handful of Chins tr ap penguins w ea ving their w a y thr ough the cr ow d, their crisp markin gs making them eas y t o pick out. Not f ar aw a y , a lone Ad élie penguin s t ood a t th e edge o f th e colon y , almos t as if contemplating whether i t had shown u p t o th e wrong party. An elephant seal dozed lazily along the beach, barely acknow ledging its audience e x cept f or the occasion al, half -heart ed flipper scr at ch . Out o n the water, th e zodiac cruise brought y e t another per spective. A sleek Mink e whale surf aced r epea tedly near the boa ts, its dark shape gliding silen tly beneath th e w a v es as i t f ed. More elephan t seals lou ng ed on scat t er ed pat ches o f shor eline, perf ectly unbother ed b y th e passing z od iacs.

This morning, we had the luxury of no w ak e -up call. Chloé le ft us to w ak e and rise at our own time and pace; quite a pleasant change after four days of early starts for activities off the ship.

Looking out the window w e f ound our selves i n f og, with visibility down about 2 0 metres . T his persisted f or th e early part o f the morning bef or e clearing t ow ar d s the horiz on . This enabled u s t o see ag ain some of the seabirds w e had bec ome f amiliar with on t he r out e south….. Ligh t - man tl ed Alb atr oss, Cape P etr el and Southern Fulmar . Inside, th e lectur e pr ogr amme kick ed off with Andr ew p r esen t in g on An t ar ctic Or c a. A s w ell as givin g u s lot s o f gener al in f orma tion about the na tur al hist ory o f Or ca, h e shar ed with u s his int erpr et ation o f th e amazing encount er w e had earlier i n the trip, near Dece pti on Island. H e left u s in n o doubt that w e had w itn essed some thin g a bit special – pods c oming t og ether t o f orm a gr ouping o f 4 0 - 4 5 individuals. After that, Chloe took u s t o th e other end o f th e siz e spectrum w ith her f ascin a t ing t alk on Plankt on , w h ich w as e y e op ening and v ery w ell receiv ed. Over lunch, the ship w as surr ounded b y clouds o f Prions. Often dif ficult bir ds t o identify t o a species lev el, they w ere almos t all An t ar ctic Prions with the occasional Blue P etr el . After a short break (ma ybe a nap f or some!) w e joined Koen f or a pr esent ation in the lec tur e theatr e on all the other destinations and activities that Oceanwide Expeditions of f er i n the south and north polar r egions (and se v er al places in between !). Th e final present a tion w as a w orld pr emier e b y An dy about glacier s and people and th e interaction between the two. H e took u s through glacial structures, the historical human view of glacier s including the danger of cr ev asses and ho w t o mitig at e the risks. H e finished with a reflection of the effect o f rising temperatures on glaciers – using them as a barometer o f global warming. Following o n from this great talk w e had t o return our muck boots t o th e expedition t eam. The y had serv ed us so well o n our e xpedition – an d this w as a furt h er sign t h at it w as c om in g t o a close a s w e surr endered t h em. Dinner w as a f ully v eg et arian of f ering – Ocean wide’ s own a t t emp t t o pr omote sus t ainability; what e v er th e mot iv a tion, v eg et arians and non - veget arians alik e really enjoyed their f ood. And that w asn’t the end of the da y as Sasha t ook over the lectur e theatr e to t ell t ales, in his inimitable style, about ‘How to get to An t ar ctica’ .

On behalf of Oceanwide Expeditions, Captain Ja n Dobrogowski , Expedition Leader Chloe Maréchal, Hotel Manager Jeroen William Barnes and all the crew and st aff o f M/V Hondius, i t has been a pleasure tr a vellin g w ith y ou.

1.Whale rs Ba y 2.Da nco Isl an d 3.Neko Ha rbour 4.Palav e r Point 5.Graham Pa ssage (Zodiac Cruise) 6.Brown Sta tio n 7.Sto ny Point (Zodiac Cruise) 8.Yankee Ha rbour 9.Ed inburgh Hill (Zodiac Cruise)

Antarctica Discovery and learning voyag e Monday 17 th Nove mbe r 2025 Embar katio n - Ush uaia WELCOME ABO ARD ! Luggage will be deliv ered to your cabin. P lease ch eck to mak e sure you have receive d all your luggage. If you have any extra luggage in your cabin – please notify a crew membe r. * * Tea and coffee ar e alwa ys a vai lab le in the lo unge on deck 5 * * ±1715 Safety bri efing - Please join u s i n the loun ge (dec k 5 , forward) for a welcome t o the voy age , followed b y a mand atory saf ety b r iefin g an d lifeboat d rill . Lifebo at Dril l All guests accommodated on Deck 3 (Cabins 301-337) will go to MUSTER STATION A wh ich is the Rest aurant on De ck 4 All guests accommo dated on deck s 4, 6, and 7 will go to MUSTER STATION B wh ich is the Observ ation L ou ng e on Dec k 5 ±1800 Departure fr om Ushuaia. The bridge will be closed durin g these operation s. 1 8 3 0 Expe dition I ntroduc tion & Captain’s W elc ome – Please join u s i n the lou ng e (deck 5 ) for a n intro duc tion to the expedition, a welcom e t o your new home from th e Hotel manager, th e captain ’s toas t an d t o m eet you r e xp ed ition team . 1930 Buffe r di nne r is ser ved in the dining room (deck 4) ±2045 Zodiac safe ty briefi ng - Please j oin us in the loun ge (Deck 5) for a man datory safety bri efin g ab out ou r zod iac operation s. We will sai l into open sea this evening and the ship may move – please secur e your belongings and be ca reful wh en m oving around the ship. Take your seasi ckness medication befor e w e head out into open sea - the doc tor wil l be available in the lo unge after dinner to assist .

0745 Wake up call - Go od Morn in g! 0800 Breakfas t is ser ved in the dining room (dec k 4) . We will a rra nge you i n Group s for t his voy age. Pleas e check t h e lists on the not ice bo ard at Recep tio n to find out wh ich grou p you are in. 0 9 3 5 Muck Boots - W e will call yo u b y colour gr oup to collect your Muck boots from the boot room o n deck 3 . Please bring y our thick socks t o m ake sure you have th e perfect fit! Please lis te n for a nno unce me n ts. 1 0 4 5 Lecture – Please mee t Marcelo i n th e lou n ge. He's g oin g to ta lk ab ou t I sla d e los Estados, th e r em ote islan d a t th e eastern tip o f A rge n tin a kn own for its dr amatic land scap es. 1230 Lunch wi ll b e served in th e dining room ( deck 4). Expe dition afte rn oo n In the aftern oon we hop e to offer a zodiac cruise alon g the shore of I sla de los Estados but this will d ep end on the weath er and sea condition s we find when we get there. Please listen for ann ouncemen ts regard in g our activity. Please dr ess w armly a nd wi th wate rproo f clo thi ng. 1815 Recap – Please join the Exp ed ition team in the lou n ge ( deck 5) for ou r first daily recap and b riefing. 1900 Din ner is served in the dining room (deck 4) – Tonight’s dinner will be plated – please make your way to the dining room prom ptly . Please wa lk slo wly on the ship, never rush. Keep one hand for yoursel f but at least one hand for the ship. Shut all doors fir mly and keep fingers aw ay from door fram es .