Fridtjof Nansen

Is Fridtjof Nansen a good ship for Antarctica?

Fridtjof Nansen is a good ship for an affordable Antarctic trip and a weak one for small-group landings. She is the newest ship in the HX Expeditions fleet, built in 2020 for 490 guests, and her 12-day Highlights of Antarctica voyages start from $8,830 per person with two sharing, the lowest Antarctic fare HX lists for 2026-27.¹² The fare includes a Buenos Aires hotel night, flights to Ushuaia and back, drinks and gratuities, and it already includes HX's anniversary discounts, part of which applies only to bookings made by November 9, 2026.³¹¹

The trade-off is her size. Antarctic rules put no more than 100 of her guests ashore at a site at once, and about a quarter of the published landing-site guidelines exclude ships of her size altogether (details below). Pick her for the price, the high share of balcony cabins and big-ship comforts such as a pool and hot tubs. Pick a ship of 200 guests or fewer if time ashore is the point of the trip.

How big is Fridtjof Nansen?

She is 140 m (459 ft) long and 23.6 m (77 ft) wide, carries 490 guests in HX's figures, has 265 staterooms and suites, and measures 20,889 gross tons.¹⁴¹⁸

The three guest numbers describe different limits. 530 is her full capacity: Hurtigruten's 2020 bond prospectus said she and her sister "will be able to carry 530 guests", HX's 2021 ship facts give "530 (500 in Antarctica)", and IAATO's vessel directory lists 530.⁵¹⁸⁶ 500 is the most she carries in Antarctica, the figure in HX's Antarctica FAQ.¹⁰ 490 is the figure on HX's ship page today, and that is the number to plan around.⁴ Her sister, Roald Amundsen, has the same length, beam and 490-guest capacity and was built in 2019.¹ IAATO's profile of HX calls the pair the world's first hybrid expedition vessels built for polar travel.⁷

How does a 490-guest ship handle Antarctic landings?

In rotations. The Antarctic Treaty's general guidelines for visitors allow at most 100 passengers from a vessel ashore at any one time (fewer where a site's guideline says so), with one guide for every 20, and say vessels with more than 500 passengers shall not make landings.⁸ That ceiling is worded in passengers, not berths, so her 530 berths do not bar her: HX carries no more than 500 guests on its Antarctic trips, and IAATO files her among ships of 201 to 500 passengers.⁶¹⁰ Landing all 490 guests at one site therefore takes at least five rotations of 100.

HX boards its expedition boats from a "tender pit", a small pier that folds out from the ship's side; each boat seats about 10 people, and boat groups are called by name over the speakers so guests do not queue.³

The site rules matter more than the rotations. Of the 45 visitor site guidelines the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat publishes, 11 admit only ships carrying 200 passengers or fewer, including Penguin Island, the Aitcho Islands, Paulet Island and Baily Head on Deception Island.⁹ At six more, among them Brown Bluff, Port Charcot and the Yalour Islands, only one ship carrying over 200 passengers may call per day, so another large ship can take the slot first, and eight others, including Cuverville Island and Whalers Bay, allow two or three such ships a day.⁹ Neko Harbour and Half Moon Island, both on HX's list of possible Antarctic Peninsula landings, carry no such limit for ships of up to 500 passengers.³⁹

Which cabin should you book on Fridtjof Nansen?

Book an Arctic Superior balcony cabin if you want private outside space without paying for a suite, or a lower-deck TT cabin if floor space matters more. Every cabin is an outside cabin and half have private balconies.⁴

The largest non-suite cabin has no balcony: a TT cabin is 291 sq ft, against 194 sq ft for a standard XT balcony cabin.⁴ Our guide to balcony cabins in Antarctica weighs whether the balcony is worth paying for.

Suites come with meals in the Lindstrøm fine-dining restaurant, premium drinks such as signature cocktails, Champagne on arrival, daily laundry and turndown, and, on departures from Ushuaia, an afternoon at the Arakur Resort & Spa before boarding.⁴ In the other grades the minibar is charged and bathrobes are available on request.⁴

What is included on board, and what costs extra?

All meals in Aune, the main dining room, are included, as are wine, beer and spirits (premium drinks excepted), Wi-Fi without streaming, gratuities, and the pool, hot tubs, sauna and gym.⁴³ Fredheim is the informal restaurant, and its meals can be taken back to your cabin.⁴ The polar plunge is included too, usually once per Antarctic trip.¹⁰ HX added a round-the-clock Grab & Go food station on board in 2026.¹¹

Guests outside the suites pay extra to eat in Lindstrøm, and spa treatments are charged.⁴ The Antarctic activities are paid add-ons, bookable on board only: tent camping $505, bivvy-bag camping $402, guided sea kayaking $229, the inflatable Discovery Kayak $148 and snowshoeing $91, as listed on the Highlights page without saying whether the prices are per person.³ Places are limited, and when more guests want to camp than there is room for, HX draws lots.¹⁰

One extra is unique to this ship: the 1896 Cabin, a night living "as the pioneers did" to mark HX's 130th anniversary, listed at $100 for 2026 and 2027 departures.⁴³ Our HX Expeditions page covers the full inclusions and fares.

Where does Fridtjof Nansen sail in 2026-27 and 2027?

She spends October 2026 to March 2027 in Antarctica, then sails north for Iceland, Greenland, the Northwest Passage and Alaska.² These are her departures with the lowest fare HX showed on October 14, 2026, per person with two sharing, including the anniversary discounts that end for some bookings after November 9, 2026:¹¹

The March 19 voyage is the long way home: after five days in Antarctica it crosses the Drake Passage, spends three days in the Falklands and calls at Puerto Madryn before Montevideo.¹² At $552 a day it is her cheapest Antarctic trip per day.¹²

She does not sail to Svalbard: HX's 2027 Svalbard departures are all on Fram and Spitsbergen.² Svalbard has limited ships in its protected areas to 200 passengers since January 1, 2025.¹³

How does Fridtjof Nansen compare with Roald Amundsen, Ultramarine and Viking Octantis?

Against her sister the choice is the itinerary, since the hardware is the same; against Ultramarine and Viking Octantis she trades space ashore for a much lower fare.

Roald Amundsen runs HX's 16-day Iconic Antarctica, Antarctic Circle and Antarctica & Falklands voyages in 2026-27, plus Highlights departures from January 9 to February 8, 2027.² The Quark fare is its March 10, 2027 Antarctic Explorer in an Explorer Suite at the brochure fare, including a Buenos Aires hotel night and charter flights; three sharing a triple pay from $15,590. The Viking fare is a fall-sale price on February 8, 2027.¹⁵¹⁷ Ultramarine's 199 guests need two rotations ashore, not five.¹⁴⁸

Verdict

Fridtjof Nansen is the lowest-priced way into Antarctica that HX sells, and her balconies, pool and included drinks make the sea days comfortable. Book her October 30, November 19 or March 9 Highlights departure if price decides it; all three started below $9,300 when we checked.³ If you want fewer rotations ashore, or the sites closed to ships over 200 passengers, choose HX's 200-guest Fram or a smaller ship from another line.