Opulence meets adventure
Image courtesy of Hybrid Air Vehicles
The onboard experience
When you are onboard an OceanSky Cruise, expect to sail through the clouds, drink in hand. You can choose to partake in conversation with fellow voyagers or sit back with a book in hand and enjoy the scenery passing below. As time moves onward- you can prepare for your upcoming exciting adventure at the next disembarkment point or perhaps you are ready for a delicious local meal and some good wine. In all cases, we are ready to serve you.
- Private staterooms with spectacular views
- Luxury meals designed by top local chefs
- Unique and remote destinations
Staterooms with a view
Our staterooms are designed not only to maximize floor space but to fully immerse our passengers in the fantastic scenery that can be viewed from our deeply angled windows. Enjoy some pre-adventure rest in bed with our top-of-the-line eco-mattresses or a meal on your room’s private viewing platform.
Images courtesy of Hybrid Air Vehicles
Dining among the clouds
Jesper Vollmer, the former Danish royal chef, is spearheading our culinary program, pulling together talent from all over the world to innovate on the best of local cuisine from each of our itinerary destinations. Indulge in our menus of fresh takes from seasoned and up-and-coming chef roster. Our wines are hand selected to complement each dish. If you are a bit peckish between meals, our hosts will provide treats, coffee, or a cocktail to hold you over until the next mealtime.
Food
Jesper Vollmer
OceanSky Cruises, Head of Dining
“…Although our guests are going to be high-end travellers and maybe they’re used to drinking champagne and eating caviar and truffles wherever they go… but I want to surprise them with something different and more experiential. I imagine it like a choreography of food and meals – and not necessarily the Michelin star type of food – but much more as an experience linked with the storytelling of the trip, the stars we’re going to see, the landscape, the animals…everything has to be visible on the plates and there has to be a story and a thread through it all…”
Untouched scenery
Since airships fly at a relatively low altitude, you will have skyscraper views of largely untouched scenery. Before, these perspectives of the earth have been seen through the lenses of drones, but now you can see them firsthand- whales breaching along coastlines and herds of animals running free on the plains. With viewing galleries in all directions, you won’t be limited by a camera lens.
Common Questions
How big is the Airlander 10 and the cabin? How many guests can stay in one cabin?
The overall size of the Airlander 10 is 98m (320ft) in length 50m (164ft) in width. The private Horizon Cabin overall area measures approximately 10m2, of which includes a shower and bathroom and a small wardrobe.
One cabin is for maximum of 2 guests.
Is it safe?
Airship navigation is subject to the same regulations any commercial airplane would. The aviation industry is the safest and most regulated in the world. We will take off and land at approximately 20kts/37Km / 23 Miles, this is bicycle speed. The coating is made of a double layer of Kevlar, the same material bulletproof vests are made of. The lifting gas used is helium, which is not flammable and it’s not pressurized either. Because of its lifting gas, airships float in the air. They also have 4 independent engines. In case of an unlikely total engine failure, they would still float in the air. Airships can sustain flying under the same weather conditions any airplane would.
What about winds and bad weather?
Like any other commercial aircraft, Airlander will be type certified and capable of flying in a wide range of weather conditions. The Airlander can safely take off and land in wind conditions similar to commercial airplanes but unlike other large airplanes, Airlander is not restricted by cross-wind, as it can simply turn into the wind and take off in any direction due to the non-dependency of runway direction. The North Pole is not a very windy or gusty place. Hybrid Airships are heavier than air and are quite sturdy, the Airlander was moored to the mast in 50knots in New Jersey in 2012 without any issues.
The top speed of modern large-scale airships is about 65 knots so a steady strong wind will slow us down but not stop us. Upon landing the problem arises with gusty winds, not so much with steady and even strong steady winds. The North Pole is not gusty since there is no terrain at all. The Airlander will also be capable of withstanding lightning strikes and icing conditions, similar to all types of certified commercial aircraft.
…Check-in, waiting rooms, boarding queues: everything seems designed to make us forget that we are moving between continents at one thousand kilometres per hour. The flight of large airships was far from this. Elitist, inaccessible to most, it seemed to be the flying transposition of the luxury style of the transatlantic liners of the past, when the experience lay not in the destination but in the journey…
History
