4.4.2023
JOINED PRESS RELEASE HELSINKI SHIPYARD / SWAN HELLENIC
Third and largest ship in the elegant ice-class Swan Hellenic fleet is now on her way to the Mediterranean, where cultural expedition cruising began
Swan Hellenic took delivery of SH Diana from the Helsinki Shipyard on Friday the 31st of March. Swan Hellenic’s newest and largest ship is en-route in the Baltic and will pass through the Kiel Canal tomorrow night.
SH Diana is now sailing to Palermo for her inaugural cultural expedition cruise, the ten-night Mysteries of Carthage and the Moors, which will take her guests to explore some of the most fascinating locations in North Africa before crossing the “Pillars of Hercules” to Seville and Lisbon. Departing Lisbon on the 25th of April, the nine-night Historic Ports of the Western Seaboard will see her hugging the coasts of Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to reach Amsterdam.
Here on the 4th of May, a Christening Ceremony with US luxury travel industry icon Valerie Wilson as godmother will take place naming SH Diana in the traditional manner with a modern twist, sending her on her way in style to cruises of the Scandinavian fjords and a full Arctic season.
“We’re delighted to have taken delivery of this exceptionally beautiful and versatile new 5-star vessel,” said Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito. “As the largest ship in our fleet, she is the first to be outfitted with large tender boats as well as expedition zodiacs, offering guests a wide variety of extraordinary in-depth experiences seeing what others don’t.”
About Helsinki Shipyard:
Helsinki Shipyard Oy is located in the capital of Finland and specializes in shipbuilding technology and building of special vessels for demanding conditions and routes. The shipyard has a long tradition and unmatched expertise in designing and building of icebreakers and other high ice-class vessels for operations in cold environment. In addition to the arctic know-how, our specialization covers also passenger ferries and cruise ships.
The shipyard operations date back 155 years to when Helsingfors Skeppsdocka was authorized to open a shipyard in Hietalahti on the 4th of March 1865. The shipyard is renowned as a pioneer in Finnish shipbuilding, a substantial employer and part of the history and landscape of the City of Helsinki.
For more information about Helsinki Shipyard Oy
Communications, Helsinki Shipyard Oy, tel. 358 10 622 2248
About Swan Hellenic
Swan Hellenic was relaunched in July 2020 to proudly continue the spirit of cultural expedition cruising the company pioneered in the 1950s. Building on its British roots, the new company has a global cultural cruising outlook dedicated to providing guests with the opportunity to see what others don’t.
Swan Hellenic’s purpose-built ships feature elegant Scandi-design interiors, extensive outdoor spaces and dedicated expedition facilities. SH Minerva and SH Vega, two new 5-star Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ships with ice-strengthened hulls, launched in December 2021 and July 2022 respectively, each accommodate 152 guests in 76 spacious suites and staterooms, the majority with large balconies. A slightly larger PC 6 ice-class vessel, SH Diana, accommodating 192 guests in the same distinctive comfort and style in 96 staterooms and suites, will be arriving in May 2023.
All three ships feature 3 dining venues – the Swan Restaurant, Club Lounge and Pool Bar & Grill – and are being built in full compliance with SOLAS Safe Return to Port requirements. Dedicated to guests with a passion for adventure and cultural exploration, the company’s meticulously planned itineraries explore the wild landscapes, wildlife, peoples and unique cultures of the world’s less travelled regions.
The crews each include a team of 12 seasoned expedition guides, expert speakers and lecturers, for a total complement of 120 and 140 persons respectively, offering outstanding staff-to-guest ratios to deliver the highest standards of attentive personal service.
Creative and expert partnerships significantly enhance the guest experience. Many of the cruises are also accompanied by world-renowned experts from the SETI Institute, who provide guests with expert insights into the history and latest discoveries in astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology and planetary science, and the quest to find other forms of life within and beyond our solar system.
Headquartered in Cyprus with offices in London, Dusseldorf, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale (serving the North American market), Hong Kong (serving Greater China, India and South-East Asia), Sydney (serving Australia-New Zealand) and Copenhagen (serving Scandinavia and Iceland), together with a partnership serving Japan, Swan Hellenic supports the travel trade with local specialist partners to provide customers with expert personal service worldwide.
For more information about Swan Hellenic, please visit www.swanhellenic.com
For Swan Hellenic, please contact:
Patrizia Iantorno, VP of Global Marketing: patrizia.iantorno@swanhellenic.com
For Press, please contact:
Renato Bodi, TwentyTwenty: Tel.+41793746887 renato.bodi@twentytwenty.biz