Seeking Hurtigruten Review
 

We are looking into the 12 day round trip Norwegian Coastal voyage on Hurtigruten. Would love to hear from anyone who has taken this trip. Not looking for luxury amenities or traditional entertainment -- just nature and scenery. Any comments on food, itinerary, weather (August) and comfort (outside stateroom) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

We did the 7 night trip and thought that was enough. ((*))

I've been there and done that and would love to do it again. I traveled late May into June. With constant daylight, at times it was difficult to know when to go to bed.

Breakfasts and lunches were buffet and excellent. Dinners were Norwegian without choice but posted early. You could make a special request if the evening's offering is something you hate or are allergic too. Dress was smart casual. A few men wore blazers.

The staterooms were exactly as pictured on their website. I had an "N" cabin on deck 3 of the Kong Harald and couldn't have been more pleased. There was plenty of room.

There are a couple of reviews on Cruise Critic and several more on Trip Advisor - Norway Forum.

Your fellow passengers are well-traveled and well-educated.

Barbara

Dear Barbara: Thanks -- I was hoping you would post something since I knew from my search that you had taken the trip. Did you go one-way, or round trip?

Frankly, none of the other posts that came up here or on Cruise Critic were really helpful. We are looking at a category N but cannot go before August of this year. Several posts mention June as the optimal time -- how was the weather? If June is better, we'll look at going in '09. It'll be a Mother/daughter trip and Mom is a Floridian, so knowing about temperatures and what to pack is really important to our decision. I hadn't checked on Trip Advisor yet, but will do so. Thanks for the info.

Mimi:


One thing is certain...you will throughly enjoy the experience. Scenic vistas around every cape...very laid back experience on board.

Yes, an unforgettable journey, north and south.

Bon Voyage.

Stu T.

I took the 12 day round trip. The weather was varied, warmer to the south. Bergen gets a lot of rain.

I took two cashmere turtleneck sweaters and didn't wear them as much as I anticipated. I took silk long underwear but didn't use them. I always travel with a polartec jacket that I can wear under my gortex rainjacket.

August won't have continual daylight but that is probably the biggest difference.

Barbara

I can only give a second-hand report. I booked my boss on the Midnatsol from Bergen to Kirkenes last October. Yes, October. My travel agent friend kept warning about the weather. I was more nervous about the ship's accommodations as Mr. and Mrs. Boss are wealthy and very picky. (They actually didn't want the luxury cruise ship experience, nevertheless I wasn't sure they knew what they were giving up.)

Anyway, long story short, they had a great time. There were some late-season issues (fewer passengers, less food and less varied offerings, a little service fatigue), but they've recommended the trip to many friends.

The only question I have on your plan is, "12 day round trip"? I think I'd opt for one-way north and drive south to see some of the large inland fjords.

id be really interested in any travellers who found cruising tedious
im not sure that is the word mind you since being surrounded by beauty cant be all that 'tedious' surely !
however, mabye there are a few out there who simply feel imprisoned on a boat no matter how beautiful the surroundings
i have sailed and found that to be just 'ok' - not my favourite mode of seeing the sights because it is so slow
id like to maybe incorporate some boat days into our scandinavian trip but im hesitant..will be interested in your responses
thank you

Driving South isn't an option. Check the mileage and the roads for that matter. A number of people, mostly British, got off at Trondheim on the way south and took the train to Oslo. The train trip from Tronheim to Oslo is supposed to be quite beautiful.

I didn't find the cruise tedious at all. It was relaxing and I'm sure my blood pressure dropped by quite a few points. (I have never been on a luxury cruise and don't plan on going on one either. I did take a small boat on the Inside Passage in Alaska.)

Barbara

thank you Barbara
have noted the recommendation to take the train from trondheim to oslo
just wondering if anyone has heard anything about the lofoten islands - worth the extra distance is it more of the same?

We only took three days of the cruise, starting in Kirkenes and ending in Bodo, then continuing through Norway on our own. I loved it and I'm glad we went -- it was a great and different experience, BUT. . .

I could have taken the full one way cruise, but I'd have been "bonkers" doing the full round trip one. But then I'm not really a cruise person to start with.

One issue is that many of the stops are in the middle of the night and there is nothing to see or do there (even though it was daylight all night). And none of the stops even in the daytime are long enough to really explore or do much. So while the scenery is magnificent -- a little of that goes a long way with me. Twelve days of sitting on the boat looking at things would be way too much for me.

And although we did it in late June and the weather was really beautiful, going around the north point was really rough. There were only a small handful of us in the dining room the second night -- everyone, including much of the crew was sick. I have never been seasick but took pills anyway as they warned us it was going to get rough. The pills did not work for most passengers. I got bruised from walking down the passageway as the ship was really tossing and I got thrown against the wall quite a lot. This is NOT an exaggeration. I'm not sure why that was as we were not in a storm, but I assume that doesn't happen every cruise.

A friend and I took the one-way trip from Kirkenes to Bergen aboard the Nordkapp in May/June 2005. As several people have said, the scenery was nice, especially in the northern part of the cruise. The ship stopped at several ports to load/unload cargo and people so this is not a true cruise ship. No evening programs or gambling casinos (that I remember). It was mostly sitting in the upstairs lounge reading a book and looking at the scenery. Several people would arrive in the lounge early in the day to "reserve" the good seats. On 3-4 stops, a land trip was offered, like the lofoten Islands. We would get off the ship, take the land trip and meet the ship at the next stop. Went ashore in Trondheim, too.

That being said, I went a bit "stir-crazy" and couldn't imagine taking the round trip which some people on board were doing.

When we arrived in Bergen and spent a couple of rainy days, we then took the Nutshell tour using the Flam railway to Oslo which I enjoyed.

As for our room on the ship--I remember only that it was in midship and about the middle deck--two couches that folded out to a bunk beds side by side, not over each other. One night there was a terrible storm where the waves actually reached the window of our room--a bit scary but not as rough as I would expect because of our mid-ship location.

The food on board was buffet for lunch and breakfast but the evening meals (I think) were sit-down and order. Not sure about this. Food was good and plentiful.

This was my second time to Norway and I remember it as a very expensive country to visit, but clean and well ordered. I still can't enjoy that Frogner Park-strange.

Margo

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'm just a little confused by the folks who said they were bored. I would find a transatlantic crossing boring but can't imagine an ever-changing coastline, towns and cities, being anything less than wonderful.

I appreciate all the info from Barbara but am concerned about Mom who's prone to colds and flu. As a Floridian, she doesn't have as much warm clothing as I do. This may not be the trip for her. I guess I'll have to work on DH and convince him that he'll love it.

Mimi, maybe we're not explaining it very well. Much of the cruise is well off shore so you often really don't see much for hours at a time except a glimpse of mountains or something in the distance -- and if it's foggy or rainy, less than that. You really don't see "ever-changing coastline, towns and cities". In fact at most of the places you dock at an out of the center rather ugly commercial docks area, so there is NOTHING really worthwhile to see and no time to get into town-- unless you do as someone else mentioned which was to take a land trip to the next town and pick up the boat again. But then you're paying for double "transportation" -- seems kind of foolish to me.

And don't get me wrong. We still enjoyed it, but don't forget it is basically a mail/cargo ship. Their main goal is to deliver goods, not cruise along the scenic coast showing you the best there is to see.

Mimi,

After six hugely enjoyable round trips on Hurtigruten I do not recognise NeoPatrick’s description of the voyage, and the short trip from Kirkenes to Bodø described hardly gives a true impression of the whole journey.

For much of the voyage you are close to the coast which shows considerable variety and in many places is quite breathtaking. Often you dock in the heart of the town, as at Vardø, Honningsvåg, Hammerfest, Tromsø, Finnsnes, Stokmarknes, Svolvær, Ørnes, Sandnessjøen, Brønnøysund, Kristiansund, Molde and Ålesund. Time ashore at these varies but many people manage to find plenty to interest them when ashore. I suppose it all depends on your attitude.

It is true that the southbound voyage calls at places like Tromsø, Bodø and Ålesund at night, but that is obvious from the timetable and one of the reasons that many people prefer the northbound leg if they are only going one way. The positive side of the southbound schedule is that it pretty much gives you the chance to see what you missed at night going north.

The weather is, of course, down to chance but the longer the voyage the better your chance of getting more good weather. We have never experienced much bad weather. It can be cold, this is the Arctic after all, and people from Florida may want to wrap up well (although the clean air up there probably reduces the chances of catching a cold).

What you do need to be quite certain about is the type of ship you want to go on. The difference between the traditional and the modern vessels is so great that if you make the wrong choice you will probably regret it.

Michael

Mimi and Lanejohann:

Mimi, you may be interested in these options to the 12-day cruise.

Lanejohann:
>>>id like to maybe incorporate some boat days into our scandinavian trip but im hesitant..will be interested in your responses<<<(you also expressed an interest in the Lofotens...see below)

On one visit to Norway, we did the following as an option to the full cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes (and return?). Started out with three nice days in Oslo, boarded the NIN and went all the way to Bergen where we spent three satisfying days..boarded the Hurtigruten and went as far as Trondheim, disembarked and spent a day and night there...re-boarded the next day ship north, and went as far as Bode (taking a fascinating land tour to the Svartsisen (Black Ice) glacier, and were bussed to Bode. Stayed overnight in Bode, rented our car for the next day, took the ferry to the Lofotens...spent two days driving the highway from the colorfuul fishing town of "A" to Svolvaer...scenic heaven everywhere..(even an astounding white sand beach that would match any sandy beach in the Carib!)
After a night in Svolvaer, boarded the ferry to the mainland (actually two ferries, drove the very scenic highways through Narvik and into Tromso. Spent a day and night in Tromso, drove back to Narvik to turn in the car (no drop charge), and then boarded the overnight sleeper train to Stockholm...marvelous trip throughout...spending three days on the ship was very pleasant, but enough for us and our two travel partners...gave us a good feel for the voyage...we paid only for the three nights on board...and there is an eating option for people who don't book the entire trip...a very good cafeteria with exceptionally reasonably priced offerings.

By the way, we prebooked the three days on the Hurtigruten, before leaving the USA (time of year, August).

Stu T.

p.s...the white sand beach was in the village of Ramberg.

wasleys, you make some good points about the "attitude". I'll admit that my attitude is that you really don't get much from a two or three hours shore excursion in any city. That's why we limited our Hurtigruten trip to the short version at the north end where other transporation would be difficult in favor of being able to spend a couple of days in some of those other locations instead of just getting a glimpse of it by stepping off the boat for an hour or so.

We loved our overnight in Bodo before flying for a two night stay in Trondheim and then taking two days to drive to Alesund where we could spend two more nights exploring the area, before a full week driving and enjoying the fjords. We much preferred doing that to spending several more nights on a boat getting glimpses of the coast line (albeit, much of it beautiful indeed). I guess that's why we're not cruise people generally -- we like more time IN places rather than ON a boat. We all have different ways we like to travel, that's what makes the world go round.

I know many people check off places they've had a shore excursion to around the world. I'd personally not usually call most of those "experiencing" those destinations. Maybe that's just me.

And while I understand someone doing a cruise because they want to cover a lot or at least "see" a lot of different places in a short time, the idea of spending 12 full days in that one fairly short route in a round trip for "seeing" a few places for a few hours each just isn't my idea of "experiencing" Norway, especially if you don't have the time to combine it with considerable further exploration. You can really "experience" a hell of a lot of Norway a lot of other ways in 12 days.

thanks. tower, for your input
i'll plot your route on a map and see if we have time

i still havent been able to nail my dear boy to sit down and have a look at what is feasible

typical male- he will eventually get excited about it all when he can sniff the fumes on the tarmac lol
in the meantime ill do the groundwork - so thanks to all of you for your help in this!

thanks too Neo Patrick and Margo
i think we might give the boat a miss
if we are depending on good weather id rather be in a car - at least we can choose our stops within reason

now as far as pre- booking accommodation im guessing it's best to organise everything before we go - darn shame because i wouldve like to have just done some research , have some ideas of places to stay but leave it up to the travel and weather gods as to where we park ourselves at night
is this possible or do we play it safe and book accommodation
we are going in early june and im not really keen to have to fork out big dollars just because we have missed out the more popular cheaper versions