HX Expeditions has shared more images of its 1896 Cabin, to launch next year as part of the expedition cruise line’s 130th anniversary celebrations, as CEO Gebhard Rainer revealed that initial interest has been extremely strong.

Speaking to LATTE on a recent visit to Sydney, Rainer shared his expectations for the exclusive one-night experience to be available throughout 2026 aboard MS Fridtjof Nansen. “I think it’s going to be a great, a great success,” he predicted. “We already have a lot of loyal customers who are asking to book and who are booking a night in that now.”

Launching on 29 January 2026, the 1896 Cabin will immerse guests in a carefully recreated late-19th-century expedition setting. Complete with handcrafted period furnishings, authentic scents, and atmospheric details, the cabin has been designed to “capture the spirit of HX’s earliest explorers.”

While the cruise line has a number of activities planned to mark the 130th milestone, it is the heritage cabin Rainer is most looking forward to. Although, at first, the team thought it was a “crazy” idea, they went ahead and made it a reality – with the buzz now building in a major way. “It’s just fantastic,” he said.

It creates the perfect opportunity to talk about HX Expeditions’ long heritage, according to Rainer. “I am really excited to talk about that 130-year history,” he shared, “When you trace it all back from an expedition point of view, in 1896 the first paying tourists were taken on an expedition from Hammerfest up to Svalbard. We have some old pictures of that – it’s just an unbelievable story.”

The company’s historic connection with the Hurtigruten brand is just one part of that history, Rainer stressed. “As a brand name, Hurtigruten was only established in 2006. Prior to that, the company had a variety of different names, went through a lot of different mergers and disaggregations,” he said.

“This is an opportunity where you don’t have to talk about Hurtigruten.”