“The most important news is that we are bilingual now, every ship,” said Lisa Wilken, head of luxury at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. “Since January, the three expedition vessels and the two Europa ships, are fully bilingual. Especially now on the Europa, we are getting more international clients.”

The 135-year-old company, which helped pioneer leisure cruising, had previously operated only the Europa 2 and Hanseatic Inspiration in both languages.

Extending the model to the Europa, Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Spirit has meant rethinking day-to-day details, but Wilken said the company has a playbook to draw from.

“The Inspiration and Europa 2 were always bilingual, so we of course have the knowledge here on how to do that,” she explained. “Changes include menus and for example, who will be responsible for the international guests and who is the first contact person for them.”

On ships of this size, Wilken said, the bilingual rollout comes down to one-to-one guest care.

“For us, it’s really personal service,” she said. “Especially on the Europa it’s really a chance for us to show this great vessel to the world again.”

Smaller international groups are treated as an opportunity, not a logistical hurdle.

“When there is a smaller group, for example three couples are coming, we can really be into our authentic service, because we are close to our customers,” she said. “It’s really important to tell our international guests: if you need something specific, please let me know, so we can do a one-on-one with a lecture, for example.”

Wilken said the expedition side of the business is already drawing strong demand from Asia.

“With the expedition vessels, there’s strong demand from Asia,” she said. “Many people really want to go to Antarctica. We have had some Chinese groups and Taiwanese groups, and momentum continues to pick up.”

Traditional feeder markets outside Germany remain the priority on the luxury side.

“We have the key markets with Benelux, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg,” she said. “We also have some travel agents from the UK on the Europa now which are getting to know the ship quite well.”

Rather than setting a hard target for international mix, Wilken said she is watching guest sentiment.

“I guess we shouldn’t focus just on goals. For me, it’s word-of-mouth,” she said. “The NPS has been really amazing, and they were spreading the word to so many of their family members and to crew members as well. I do not have a special goal, no number in my head where I said, ‘it needs to be that.’ The most important thing is that they are happy and they return to our fleet.”

Hapag-Lloyd’s two ultra-luxury ships remain distinct products, Wilken said, though the Europa has moved somewhat closer to the Europa 2’s more contemporary style since its 2019 refurbishment.

“When we modernized a bit more of the Europa, it turned out it’s not this traditional ship anymore,” she said. “Of course we have a captain’s welcome, but it’s not like you need to come in a dinner jacket. We do not want the two to be the same. We have a long history of the Europa and many repeaters who love it as it is. But we are now more casual.”

The Europa 2’s family suite, meanwhile, has made it a draw for multigenerational travel.

A key piece of the Europa’s appeal to the newly broadened guest base, Wilken said, is its culinary program, anchored by three-Michelin-star chef Kevin Fehling.

“We have three-star Michelin chef Kevin Fehling, who has the three-star Michelin restaurant The Table in Hamburg,” Wilken said. “He travels 20 days on the Europa every year, and he has his own restaurant, The Globe. He’s directly in his restaurant, and the guests come in.”

The expedition fleet’s winter deployment has been deliberately diversified. Two ships head to Antarctica and one will rotate between Northern Europe and the Indian Ocean.

“We decided that one year a ship would sail in the Baltic, and up to Norway, and the next year it would go to Madagascar and the Seychelles. Because of course, there is so much to se, especially around Madagascar, an expedition vessel fits so well there.”

For the Northern Europe program, it appeals to Germany’s drive to market. The ship operates with an icebreaker escort in the most demanding sections, and guests can disembark through the shell door to walk on the ice.

“That is a true experience and a perfect fit to the expedition theme,” Wilken said of the Northern Europe program

For the Indian Ocean rotation, Wilken said the ship typically embarks or disembarks guests in South Africa, Mauritius, or the Seychelles, with the bulk of the program centered on Madagascar.