SH Diana

Opening a new chapter

Recently,Swan Hellenic announced that the naming ceremony of its largest ship, SH Diana, will be held in Amsterdam

Luxury travel visionary and icon Valerie Ann Wilson(Founder and CEO of Valerie Wilson Travel)will be the Godmother of the cultural expedition cruise pioneer’s third purpose-designed expedition cruise ship at a ceremony on 4 May 2023 in the presence of Swan Hellenic Senior Management, local dignitaries, VIP guests, the media, and members of the cruise and travel industries from around the world.

Ms Wilson’s key role in the naming ceremony underlines the strong relationships the renascent Swan Hellenic has already built across the United States. Renowned not only as the Founder and CEO of Valerie Wilson

Travel, Ms Wilson is also Chairman Emeritus of the Global Member Advisory Board of the Virtuoso® global network of luxury travel advisors, and Chairman Emeritus to the Virtuoso® Hotels & Resorts Committee. She has earned countless awards including ‘Lifetime Achievement’ from Virtuoso® and Travel Weekly.Valerie Wilson Travel is proud to be part of FROSCH, a Chase company.

Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito comments, “We’re truly honoured to have Valerie as Godmother to this very special new ship, considering her iconic status in the US travel industry and the importance of the US market for Swan Hellenic. SH Diana proudly takes us back to where our story began, while also opening a new chapter that takes cultural expedition cruising worldwide in exceptional comfort and style.”

Maiden cruise

Following the high-profile events and entertainment after the naming ceremony, Ms Wilson will remain on board as a VIP group host during SH Diana’s maiden cruise to Tromso, ‘Norway Explored,’ sailing on the evening of 4 May.

Having visited Germany’s Heligoland archipelago, SH Diana will call at Mandal, the southernmost town in Norway, and start making her way up almost the entire Norwegian coast. Benefiting from expert insights throughout, her guests will explore its longest, deepest, and most dramatic ords, remote lakes, historic stave churches and charismatic fishing ports on their way to Tromso, Gateway to the Arctic.

Technical specifications

SH Diana

Exterior design: McFarlane ShipDesign

Interior Design: Tillberg Design of Sweden

Builder: Helsinki Shipyard OY

Year of build: December 2022

Class: Polar ice-class expedition ship (PC6)

Classification: Lloyds Register

Registered: PANAMA

Capacity: 192 guests and 141 sta

Guest staterooms & suites: 96 including 11 suites (80% with large panoramic balconies)

Crew staterooms: 73

Decks: 9

Length: 125m

Beam: 23m

Max Draft: 5.45m

Gross tonnage: 12,100GRT

Engine Type: Hybrid Diesel Electric – 4x Medium speed,

Propulsion: 4.6 MW

Generators: 690V/1760 kV

Cruising speed: 14.5 knots

Maximum speed: 15.5 knots

Expedition team: 12 Zodiacs: 15 (11 Mk 5 and 4 Mk 6)

Dr Terje Leirenwill be accompanying the maiden cultural expedition cruise throughout, sharing his expert knowledge, insights and company with the guests on board. Mr Leiren is Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies and History at the University of Washington, Seattle, and was the University’s first holder of the Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies (2007-2017).

Swan Hellenic’s historic return

Having completed her Arctic Season of seven cultural expedition cruises, SH Diana will make her way back down the western seaboard to the Mediterranean, marking Swan Hellenic’s historic return to the region for which the concept of cultural expedition cruising was originally created. Then she will go further, taking it worldwide as she continues through the Suez Canal to the Paradise Islands, Madagascar and Southern Africa on her way to Antarctica.

SH Diana is the third and largest in a series of three elegant, high ice-class, cultural expedition cruise vessels made for authentic discovery experiences worldwide, with a strong bias for extreme latitude areas.SH Diana features a 4.6MW diesel-electric propulsion system with selective catalytic reduction and a PC6 ice-strengthened hull with extra-large stabilisers for exceptional passenger comfort. At 125m, the 12,100t vessel has been specially designed to explore the most inspiring and inaccessible places on the planet.

SH Diana and her siblings

SH Diana, like her sister ships SH Minerva and SH Vega, has been designed to meet the latest environmental regulations and is completely self-su cient for up to 40days or 8,000nm. Preparations have been made to implement zero-emission battery technology which would also make it possible to operate silently in port, marine reserves, and other sensitive natural areas. The vessels are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning, advanced wastewater treatment systems and the waste storage facilities required for operating in sensitive polar areas.

Providing spacious 5-star accommodation for 192 guests in 96spacious staterooms and suites, the vast majority with large balconies, SH Diana is operated by an onboard team of 141 to provide the highest levels of personal service.

Distinguished by the same elegant interior design as her acclaimed sister ships, with open-plan interiors, unobstructed sea views and extensive deck areas, there are nevertheless certain key di erences, salient among them a dedicated presentation and lecture theatre overlooking the lounge and on-board tender boats to take guests ashore in addition to the customary expedition zodiacs. Like her siblings, SH Diana will feature a state-of-the-art gym, spa, panoramic sauna,superbly equipped restaurant and cellar, club room and swimming poolwith poolside grill.

SH Diana is the third and largest in a series of three elegant, high ice-class, cultural expedition cruise vessels made for authentic discovery experiences worldwide, with a strong bias for extreme latitude areas.

En route

On 4 April, Swan Hellenic announced that it had taken delivery of SH Diana from the Helsinki Shipyard on Friday 31March, and that its newest and largest ship is en route in the Baltic and will pass through the Kiel Canal the night after.

SH Diana then went 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 25 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.