Hurtigruten expedition ships to Norway

[VPS]

Has anyone travelled on one of these? The cabins look fairly basic especially as my last cruise was Seabourn. They do guarantee that if you don't see the Northern Lights you get another free one week cruise though

 

[Daver6]

Yes! MrsDaver6 and I went in late 2019. Covered in Norwegian cruise, London, Bavaria and the Maldives

I'll respond here in more detail a little later or tomorrow with some pics and general comments.

 

[VPS]

Yes! MrsDaver6 and I went in late 2019. Covered in Norwegian cruise, London, Bavaria and the Maldives

I'll respond here in more detail a little later or tomorrow with some pics and general comments.

Thanks I'll check that out and look forward to more

 

[Scarlett]

We did a one way Bergen to Tromso and although I had not been on a cruise beforehand (and haven’t since - not my way of holidaying), it was pretty good as it’s still a ‘coastal steamer’ rather than a floating conspicuous consumption palace. We got off the ship once or twice each day to do the local excursions.
Sailing up into the fjords - check
Spectacular scenery - check
Pretty token cabin - check (but other than sleeping each night, why would you need anything other than a small room with bed and ensuite?)
Auroral show - check! (whilst sailing on the appropriately named Polarlys)

I recall it was pretty expensive, but then so was driving around Norway before and after the Hurtigruten part of the trip.

I don’t think you’d be disappointed booking a coastal Norway cruise with Hurtigruten.

 

[VPS]

Yes! MrsDaver6 and I went in late 2019. Covered in Norwegian cruise, London, Bavaria and the Maldives

I'll respond here in more detail a little later or tomorrow with some pics and general comments.

I've just reread your full TR and think that I might have to do some more research - it's going to be a come down from Seabourn but I think the scenery will make up for it

@karen blancfield can you give me more details on the crampons you purchased please?

 

[TheRealTMA]

I've just reread your full TR and think that I might have to do some more research - it's going to be a come down from Seabourn but I think the scenery will make up for it

@karen blancfield can you give me more details on the crampons you purchased please?

I think we still have some YakTraxs somewhere if you are interested. Had planned to give them to another AFF member but was banned from AFF for sometime so could not connect to get address.

PM me if you’d like them.

 

[Daver6]

Right, I have some time to offer some meaningful input.

We did a one way Bergen to Tromso and although I had not been on a cruise beforehand (and haven’t since - not my way of holidaying), it was pretty good as it’s still a ‘coastal steamer’ rather than a floating conspicuous consumption palace. We got off the ship once or twice each day to do the local excursions.
Sailing up into the fjords - check
Spectacular scenery - check
Pretty token cabin - check (but other than sleeping each night, why would you need anything other than a small room with bed and ensuite?)
Auroral show - check! (whilst sailing on the appropriately named Polarlys)

I recall it was pretty expensive, but then so was driving around Norway before and after the Hurtigruten part of the trip.

I don’t think you’d be disappointed booking a coastal Norway cruise with Hurtigruten.

We too are on the Polarlys. As well this was our first cruise and I'd never had a desire to cruise. The thing to remember with all these ships as they're not just cruise liners. They're working ships used to move people, their cars and cargo between coastal ports.

We did the return 11 day voyage and loved it. I'm glad we did both directions as you stop at the night ports during the day on the return voyage. We opted for a relatively cheap room on the lower deck with just a port hole. We spent very little time in the room apart from sleeping. We tended to get off the ship at every port we stopped at long enough (30 minutes plus). For the shorter ones we'd just go for a short stroll. You're never far from land so the is constantly amazing scenery.

I did sneak a peak at some of the "better" rooms. To be honest, I don't think it would have been worth the extra expense. The suites (or whatever the term for the big rooms with extra are) sure looked better, but I just don't think this is the kind of trip where you want to just sit in your room or watch TV.

At first I thought the price we paid was expensive. However, in hindsight it was stunning value. 11 nights accommodation and all meals provided. Alcohol was extra and you could buy packages. We didn't though. A couple of nights we did order a special bottle of wine though. I thought the food was excellent. Sufficient variation with an attempt to source food local to the area.

@karen blancfield can you give me more details on the crampons you purchased please?

We picked some up in Norway. The rubber type that you can slip over any shoes. We grabbed some from a sports store in Kirkenes. I don't recall exact price but they were cheap. I'm pretty sure they're going to be easy to find anywhere there and cheaply too.

If you have specific questions or area you want more info about, please ask.

The company has many different ships. We did some research into ones that looked more appealing to us and then worked on dates that aligned. For the most part though, I think they're relatively similar.

I felt it was a pretty well run operation and I didn't have any gripes.

 

[VPS]

Right, I have some time to offer some meaningful input.



We too are on the Polarlys. As well this was our first cruise and I'd never had a desire to cruise. The thing to remember with all these ships as they're not just cruise liners. They're working ships used to move people, their cars and cargo between coastal ports.

We did the return 11 day voyage and loved it. I'm glad we did both directions as you stop at the night ports during the day on the return voyage. We opted for a relatively cheap room on the lower deck with just a port hole. We spent very little time in the room apart from sleeping. We tended to get off the ship at every port we stopped at long enough (30 minutes plus). For the shorter ones we'd just go for a short stroll. You're never far from land so the is constantly amazing scenery.

I did sneak a peak at some of the "better" rooms. To be honest, I don't think it would have been worth the extra expense. The suites (or whatever the term for the big rooms with extra are) sure looked better, but I just don't think this is the kind of trip where you want to just sit in your room or watch TV.

At first I thought the price we paid was expensive. However, in hindsight it was stunning value. 11 nights accommodation and all meals provided. Alcohol was extra and you could buy packages. We didn't though. A couple of nights we did order a special bottle of wine though. I thought the food was excellent. Sufficient variation with an attempt to source food local to the area.


We picked some up in Norway. The rubber type that you can slip over any shoes. We grabbed some from a sports store in Kirkenes. I don't recall exact price but they were cheap. I'm pretty sure they're going to be easy to find anywhere there and cheaply too.

If you have specific questions or area you want more info about, please ask.

The company has many different ships. We did some research into ones that looked more appealing to us and then worked on dates that aligned. For the most part though, I think they're relatively similar.

I felt it was a pretty well run operation and I didn't have any gripes.

Thanks I'll check out a few things and will PM you if I need any info

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Hi VPS. Just seen this post. I have also travelled on Hurtigruten back in end of 2017. Trip report posted here: The land of Iceland, Norwegian Coastal Cruise and a touch of Germany!

I travelled on the Polarlys in an Arctic Superior Cabin on level 5. The only thing I'd do differently would be to book the same cabin on level 6 (the ship's 'walking track' is on level 5). Would highly recommend doing the 11 day round trip - especially over winter!

 

[BCons]

Coming late to this - we cruised Bergen to Kirknes in early Sept 2016 - Fantastic scenery, best experience on a ship, tho we arent cruise types at all.

Several things we remember - Hurtigruten will offer unsold cabin upgrades at a big discount on board as you board. Assuming you are relatively active people sign up for all the shore activities - bike riding in Tromso, bus trip up n out of Geiranger fjord, and the (paid) quad bike tour at Kirkenes out to the Russian border was another. Crew are essentially public servants - Hurtigruten was the main coastal service for yonks until new airports/bridges/tunnels were built with oil revenue and Hurtigruten swung from a state shipping svc to tourism - so service isnt the unctuous level of Seaborne or others.

We were in a fwd cabin with a nice round window on 'Midnatsol' and when the announcements about Northern lights are made then believe them.

Oh and dress warm and dry..

 

[BCons]

And just to give you an idea - the vast majority of the usual Bergen/Kirkenes/Bergen run is done in sheltered waters, so theres very little open ocean risk of big seas. But it can be windy as this youtube clip shows. As a sailor I can say this is seriously excellent ship-handling, which is on display every time you visit the 30-odd ports each way with Hurtigruten:

 

[VPS]

Thanks I have ended up booking and was able to get a trip without a single supplement so I'm very happy about that. Looking forward to it. I keep going back and reading @Daver6 report to get more ideas. Another friend was going to be on the same ship but we're now going a few days apart so we've been researching excursions together