The 1896 Cabin aboard the Fridtjof Nansen is officially open, HX Expeditions said in a press release.

While the cabin was originally meant to be launched in January, the cruise line explained that there were some setbacks during construction when essential elements were lost in transit to Buenos Aires.

Available on select voyages starting from April 25, 2026, and continuing throughout the year, it is offered as an optional upgrade for €100 per night per person.

Availability is limited to one night per guest (max three guests per booking), per sailing, and half of all profits will support the HX Foundation, funding global conservation and community projects.

“This cabin was always meant to honor 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.”

Created to mark the company’s 130th year of exploration, the cabin recreates the atmosphere of a late-19th-century explorer’s cabin.

Guests can step back into the summer of 1896, when DS Lofoten departed mainland Norway (Hammerfest) for Svalbard on the world’s first expedition cruise.

The cabin was designed and crafted by AROS Marine, with décor, furniture and other objects sourced at markets and vintage fairs across Europe, while the wood used for the floors and ceilings was recycled.

The cabin, which took 309 working hours to build, includes over 20 furniture pieces, such as bunk beds (sleeping two guests) and a single bed, wooden chests, chairs, stools, wardrobes, an old-fashioned desk and a hidden bar in a barrel.

The experience is made complete with the addition of the scent of salt air and aged wood through a custom “scent pod.”