Hondius Vs Ortelius: Which Oceanwide Ship Is Better?

Quick Facts Side By Side

Hondius is the newer and more polished of the two: a 2019-built Polar Class 6 ship carrying 170 passengers in 80 cabins, with the only private balcony in the pair. Ortelius is a 1989-built former research vessel carrying 108 passengers in 50 cabins, with no balconies but with the fleet's most unusual itineraries, including helicopter-supported Weddell Sea voyages. Both depart from Ushuaia, and both show Antarctic Peninsula fares from $7,800 per person.

Oceanwide Expeditions built Hondius as its flagship and kept Ortelius, a converted Polish research vessel, for the routes that need a tougher, simpler ship. The operator's ship pages frame them as siblings rather than rivals, and the fare structure backs that up: the entry fares the operator publishes for Peninsula voyages are the same on both. The differences that matter are size, comfort and what each hull is asked to do.

One point of context before the detail: these are two of the three Oceanwide ships in Antarctica. The third, Plancius, is covered in our Plancius and Expedition comparison and sits between them in age and price, with Peninsula fares from $7,050 per person. If budget is the driver, our cheap Antarctica cruise guide places all three in the value tier alongside G Adventures and Poseidon Expeditions.

Who Each Ship Is Built For

Hondius suits travellers who want the classic Peninsula expedition without giving up shipboard comfort: it carries more passengers, has a wider cabin spread from quadruple portholes to a balcony suite, and boards Zodiacs from a sheltered indoor platform. Ortelius suits travellers who prioritise the itinerary over the ship, especially the remote Weddell Sea and emperor penguin routes where its helicopters operate.

Hondius was delivered in 2019 and the operator describes it as the first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, an ice class equivalent to 1A-Super. That rating matters in practice: it lets the ship push into ice edge areas earlier in the season with less routing caution. At 107.6 metres and 170 guests it is still firmly a small expedition ship, well under the 500-passenger ceiling above which vessels may not make landings in Antarctica at all (see Amundsen Vs NG Endurance). We cover the ship in more depth in our Hondius guide.

Ortelius is a different animal. Built in Gdynia in 1989 as a research vessel and refitted for passenger service, it carries 108 guests in 50 cabins at 90.95 metres, with an ice class of UL1, equivalent to 1A. The operator's ship page highlights two things: its 10 Zodiacs with 60hp Yamaha engines, and the helicopter flights offered on Weddell Sea, emperor penguin and other remote voyages. That second point is unique in this pair. No other Oceanwide ship offers helicopter access, which is what makes Ortelius the choice for travellers chasing Snow Hill Island's emperor penguin rookery. Our Ortelius guide goes deeper on those routes.

Cabins And Suites

Hondius offers eight cabin categories from a quadruple porthole cabin at roughly 15 to 16 square metres up to a Grand Suite of 26.7 square metres with a private balcony, the only balcony across the two ships. Ortelius offers six categories, all porthole or window cabins without balconies, from quadruple portholes around 12 to 14 square metres to Superior cabins around 18 to 20 square metres with a double bed and sofa bed.

The cabin ladder is where the two ships feel most different on board. Hondius gives you a genuine spread: the operator's cabin page lists Quadruple Porthole, Triple Porthole, Twin Porthole, Twin Window, Twin Deluxe, Superior, Junior Suite and the Grand Suite with private balcony. Ortelius is simpler, with Quadruple Porthole, Twin Porthole, Twin Window, Twin Deluxe and Superior categories, plus twin-share arrangements on some voyages. If a balcony or a suite matters to you, Hondius is the only option here; if you just want a warm, functional berth at the lowest fare, either ship's quadruple or twin porthole cabins do that job.

Both ships' quadruple and triple cabins are the fare anchors: they are how the $7,800 entry price is reached on Peninsula departures. If you are weighing whether the cabin upgrade is worth it, the honest answer from the fare data is that the gap between a quad and a twin window on these ships is small relative to the total trip cost, which our Antarctica cruise cost guide breaks down alongside flights, gear and insurance.

Food, Lounges, And Life Onboard

Hondius has an observation lounge plus a separate lecture room; Ortelius has a bar and lecture room plus an observation lounge with large windows. Neither operator page lists named dining venues, a pool, a spa or a gym on either ship, so do not expect mainstream-cruise facilities on either.

These are working expedition ships, and Oceanwide does not oversell them. On Hondius, the operator's ship page names the observation lounge and the separate lecture room, and notes the sheltered indoor Zodiac boarding platform, which in practice is the comfort feature you notice most: you suit up inside, out of the wind, before every landing. On Ortelius, the page names the bar and lecture room and the observation lounge with large windows. Neither page names restaurants, and neither lists a spa, pool, gym or theatre. If onboard polish is a priority, neither ship is the right pick and a line like Viking or Silversea fits better.

What the pages do not say, and what matters more on a Peninsula voyage, is that days at sea are short. A classic sailing spends roughly two days crossing the Drake Passage each way, a crossing our Drake Passage guide covers in detail, and then the ship is in the Islands and Peninsula corridor where landings and Zodiac cruises fill the schedule. On those days the lounge is a briefing room more than a social hub. My own memory of expedition-ship life in Antarctica is of a ship that felt quiet and purposeful rather than resort-like, and both of these vessels fit that description.

Itineraries And Routes

Hondius runs 11, 13 and 19-day voyages from Ushuaia, including Basecamp departures with free camping, kayaking and mountaineering, plus Falklands-South Georgia-Antarctica combinations. Ortelius runs 11, 13 and 25-day voyages from Ushuaia, and its signature departures are the roughly 10-day Weddell Sea emperor penguin voyages with helicopters in November-December and remote Weddell and Bellingshausen Sea expeditions of 24 to 28 days.

Both ships work the same gateway. Everything sails from Ushuaia, which our Antarctic Peninsula cruise guide maps alongside the landing sites you can expect on the classic route. The real itinerary split is between the Peninsula mainstream and the remote expeditions: Hondius's 2026-27 programme includes the Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp voyage (23 November to 5 December 2026), Discovery voyages of 10 to 11 days in December and January, the 16-day Falklands-South Georgia-Antarctica combination (16 January to 3 February 2027) and whale-watching departures of about 10 days in March. Ortelius's programme is where the unusual stuff lives: the Weddell Sea emperor penguin voyage with helicopters around 10 days in November-December 2026, a remote Weddell Sea expedition of roughly 28 days in February-March 2027, and a Bellingshausen Sea and Peter I Island voyage of about 24 days in January-February 2027, also with helicopters.

The from-prices above are the lowest Peninsula fares the operator publishes for the 2026-27 season across its departure lists; longer and helicopter-inclusive voyages price higher, and the operator does not publish a single fare for those remote routes on the ship pages. If the emperor penguin voyage is the goal, book early: those helicopter departures are few and the 2026-27 season is already on sale. The wider set of guides lives on Cruises In Antarctica.

Expedition Team, Landings, And Activities

Hondius carries Zodiacs with a sheltered indoor boarding platform and runs Basecamp voyages that include free camping, kayaking, snowshoe hiking, mountaineering and a photo workshop. Ortelius carries 10 Zodiacs with 60hp engines and offers helicopter flights on its Weddell Sea and emperor penguin voyages; its page does not list kayaking or camping. Under IAATO rules, no more than 100 passengers may be ashore from a vessel at one time, with a 1:20 guide-to-visitor ratio.

The landing rules shape everything on both ships. The IAATO visitor guidelines cap shore time at 100 passengers at once and require a minimum of one actively guiding staff member per 20 visitors, so on Hondius's 170 guests landings run in rotations, while Ortelius's 108 can often go ashore in a single movement or two. That is a genuine, sourced advantage of the smaller ship: less queueing at the gangway, more time on the ice per rotation.

The activity lists come straight from the operator's ship pages and differ sharply. Hondius's page lists the Basecamp programme: free camping, kayaking, snowshoe and hiking, mountaineering and a photo workshop on designated voyages, all launched from the indoor boarding platform. Ortelius's page lists only its 10 Zodiacs and the helicopter operations. Kayaking and camping are not claimed for Ortelius, so if paddling among icebergs or a night camping on the Peninsula is on your list, Hondius is the ship that does it. The trade is aerial: only Ortelius can put you in a helicopter over the Weddell Sea ice toward the emperor penguin colony.

Deciding between a Basecamp departure on Hondius and a helicopter voyage on Ortelius is exactly the kind of fork where a second opinion pays off. A free consultation on expedition options can check which of the two activity programmes still has berths for your dates.

Prices And What The Fare Includes

Both ships publish Antarctic Peninsula fares from $7,800 per person for the 2026-27 season, with Plancius undercutting them both at $7,050. Oceanwide's ship pages do not itemise fare inclusions such as drinks, parkas or boots; the operator suggests gratuities of 10 to 15 EUR or USD per passenger per day as a blanket contribution.

The matching entry fares are not a coincidence: Oceanwide prices by voyage and cabin category, not by ship prestige, so a quadruple porthole on the 11-day Peninsula trip costs the same whichever hull you ride. What the pages do not publish is an inclusion list. Neither Hondius's nor Ortelius's page states that drinks, parkas or flights are included; both pages state the suggested gratuity range. Budget accordingly: our cost guide places the realistic all-in spend for a mid-range 10 to 12-day Peninsula trip, fare plus flights, gear, tips and insurance, at roughly $12,000 to $25,000 per person, and travel insurance with medical evacuation cover is required by operators rather than included in any fare.

One caution on the remote routes: the operator does not publish from-prices for the Ortelius Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen voyages on its ship page, so any figure you see elsewhere should be treated as indicative. The helicopter-inclusive departures in particular price well above the Peninsula tier, and the only reliable way to get a current number is to ask, which is what the free consultation is for.

The Real Differences

Five contrasts decide this pairing: age and hull, size and landing flow, cabins, activities, and itineraries. On price and destination they are near-identical, which is why the choice usually comes down to what you want to do once you get there.

1. Hull and ice class. Hondius is Polar Class 6, equivalent to 1A-Super, on a 2019 build. Ortelius is UL1, equivalent to 1A, on a 1989 build. Both are fully capable Peninsula ships; Hondius is the more modern platform.
2. Size and landing rotations. 170 passengers versus 108. Under the 100-ashore rule, Ortelius moves its whole complement in one or two rotations; Hondius needs more.
3. Cabins. Hondius has eight categories and the pair's only balcony (Grand Suite). Ortelius has five window-and-porthole categories with no balcony.
4. Activities. Hondius runs Basecamp voyages with free camping, kayaking, snowshoeing, hiking, mountaineering and photo workshops. Ortelius runs helicopters on remote voyages and lists no kayaking or camping.
5. Itineraries. Hondius covers the Peninsula, Basecamp and Falklands-South Georgia combinations. Ortelius covers the Peninsula plus the remote Weddell Sea, emperor penguin and Bellingshausen routes nobody else in this fleet reaches.
6. Comfort at sea. Hondius's indoor Zodiac boarding platform and newer build make two-day Drake crossings easier to live with; Ortelius is more spartan in the same seas.
7. Where they are the same. Same operator, same Ushuaia port, same $7,800 Peninsula entry fare, same gratuity suggestion, same absence of published inclusion lists. If you book a standard 11-day Peninsula voyage in a twin cabin, the experience is closer than the age gap suggests.

Which One To Choose By Travel Style

Choose Hondius for comfort, balconies, Basecamp activities and the classic Peninsula and South Georgia routes. Choose Ortelius for the smallest-ship landing flow, the lowest cabin count, and above all the helicopter-supported emperor penguin and Weddell Sea voyages. Price should not drive the decision, because the entry fares match.

If that table still leaves you torn, it is because the two ships genuinely overlap on the standard voyages. The clean way to break the tie is to fix your activity list and your dates first, then let the ship follow: compare both ships with expert help before either sells out for your month, at no cost and with no obligation.

Common Questions About Hondius Vs Ortelius

Which ship is newer, Hondius or Ortelius?

Hondius, by three decades. It was built in 2019; Ortelius was built in 1989 as a research vessel and later refitted for passengers.

Do Hondius and Ortelius cost the same?

For standard Antarctic Peninsula voyages, yes: both ships publish from-prices of $7,800 per person for the 2026-27 season. Remote Ortelius voyages with helicopters price separately and are not published on the ship page.

Does Ortelius have balconies?

No. None of its cabin categories have a balcony. Hondius has one: the Grand Suite with a private balcony.

Which ship is better for emperor penguins?

Ortelius. It is the Oceanwide ship that runs helicopter-supported Weddell Sea voyages toward the Snow Hill Island emperor penguin rookery, typically departing in November and December.

Can you go kayaking or camping on both ships?

No. The operator lists kayaking, camping, snowshoeing, hiking, mountaineering and photo workshops on Hondius Basecamp voyages. Ortelius's page lists Zodiacs and helicopters only.

How many passengers does each ship carry?

Hondius carries 170 passengers in 80 cabins. Ortelius carries 108 in 50 cabins. Both are well under the 500-passenger limit above which vessels may not make landings in Antarctica.

More head-to-head comparisons: Quark Vs Oceanwide: Which Polar Specialist Fits?; Magellan Explorer Vs Hondius: Fly Or Sail The Drake?; Ortelius Vs Plancius: Which 108-Passenger Ship?; Aurora Vs Quark: Which Upscale Specialist Wins?; Hondius Vs Sea Spirit: Which Small Ship Fits?; Lindblad Vs Ponant: Naturalist Programme Or French Luxury?.