Everything Hurtigruten - question answered!

[Louby-Lou]

On 2/15/2020 at 4:31 AM, bob brown said:

Thanks!

 

If we have free (and decent internet), I may do a "live from" thread...

Thanks, Bob, I’ll look forward to your reports.

 

Lou

[clo]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:42 PM, Louby-Lou said:

There have  been greatly differing reviews for Hurtigruten in Antarctica. 

I guess I missed those. We first sailed on them to Antarctica. What kind of things did people have a problem with? We loved it all.

[Louby-Lou]

5 hours ago, clo said:

I guess I missed those. We first sailed on them to Antarctica. What kind of things did people have a problem with? We loved it all.

I was referring to the reviews on Cruise Critic for the Roald Amundsen.

[thehucks]

Hello.  Thank you for all of the wonderful information posted here!  After looking over the itineraries for Hurtigruten's coastal voyages, I would love to take my family of four (kids would be 18 and 16) on a cruise.  My only concern is this:  of the four of us, three have food allergies.  Two are allergic to gluten, dairy, fish, and shellfish.  I'm only allergic to gluten and dairy.  Is this cruise line able to accommodate allergies like this?  I can't have a starving 16 year-old boy on board 🙂  Thanks for any information you can provide.

[hallasm]

51 minutes ago, thehucks said:

My only concern is this:  of the four of us, three have food allergies.  Two are allergic to gluten, dairy, fish, and shellfish.  I'm only allergic to gluten and dairy.  Is this cruise line able to accommodate allergies like this?  

Same question and answers in this topic 

 

[BoloMK34]

My wife and I live in southern California and seeing the northern lights is on our "bucket list".  This weekend we started some research possible options.  This cruise line was one several that were attending the most recent Los Angeles Travel Show (February 2020).  OK...we're VERY interested in this line BUT THEIR WEBSITE IS TERRIBLE!  

 

I'd be very interested in hearing what people think about not only this line but their rooms and service.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Scott Wallace

 

 

[p18750]

We are currently on the Roald Amundsen on an 18 day Antarctic cruise and we have been very happy with the ship, cabin, crew and service. We requested a cabin on the lowest deck in the middle of the ship to minimize the effects of bad weather but we're very pleased at the size and layout of the cabin. It is obvious the crew it's very happy to be working for this company and particularly this ship. The food has been very good although the variety is less than other cruise lines. In addition to the normal crew there are 25 people associated with the activities who give lectures and demonstrations in their fields. For the Antarctic we have two marine biologists, an expert on birds, a geologist, an expert on glaciers and a historian. Since these are people actually working on these fields the presentations have been hit or miss but they are very available for individual discussions and to answer questions.

At breakfast this morning wife and I were watching humpback whales right next to the ship amid a field of icebergs glaciers and marveling we could be doing this on-board such a wonderful ship.

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, BoloMK34 said:

I'd be very interested in hearing what people think about not only this line but their rooms and service.

I assume you’re looking at the coastal voyages along Coast of Norway. Hurtigruten is right now in a transformation from a working coastal route operating 11 very different ships in coastal service every day with 34 stops from Bergen to Kirkenes into a expedition cruise line. Coastal voyages are not ‘cruise line’  but more working ships with cars and goods.
Right now Hurtigruten is investing in expedition ships and converting some of the coastal ‘ferries’ ’ to expedition ships at a higher standard,

If you’re are planting a Hurtigruten coastal voyage you have to do your homework regarding selection of ships and cabins - very different offerings,

From January 2021 Hurtigruten will operate expedition cruises during winter along Norway coast.

I have had some really fantastic voyages with Hurtigruten - last year in January - my review. Planning a midsummer voyage in June.

If possible compare prices at the Hurtigruten.no site and challenge your local TA on prices - or book at the .no site (in Norwegian language).

Please post your questions. Highly recommended tour.

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by hallasm

[frog243]

Thanks to all for these interesting posts.  We have “tried” to take the Norway coast trip for several years, but other trips came up that we wanted to take instead, so...  we’re finally looking at 2021.  Sadly, one friend that really wanted to take the trip with us has passed on while we delayed.😢

I have a small page of notes from these postings, and will monitor in the future.

[Homerody]

In preparation for our up coming coastal sailing, I've accumulated a trove of research for the ports/stops that we're interested in exploring on foot.

 

Just wondering though:  Does Hurtigrutem offer any port specific maps or tourist type information to  passengers for use in port stops?

 

I'll be bringing my own materials, maps etc... and taking an occasional excursion - but this will be a DIY port exploration, mostly.

[SarniaLo]

Usually there is a tourist map available at the excursion desk (or near the reception), at least for the main cities.

When I first started travelling with Hurtigruten, each passenger was given a small booklet about the journey with a few pages for each day : brief historic outline, some local information, the towns visited, the main landmarks along the way... It was a very helpful guide for the trip and I've learnt a lot from it. Then they stop giving it, and now it's still possible to buy it on some ships (in the shop), for about 60 NOK. It comes in different languages. I don't know if it has been updated recently, but it can be a worthwhile investment. It may look a bit like this :

[Homerody]

@SarniaLo thank you for the great tip.  I'll take a look to see if they have the book in the ship store.  (It will be a nice trip souvenir too).

 

Even if it is not available, I think with the material I have, I'll be OK for some non-excursion exploration of most port cities.

 

Thanks again.

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, Homerody said:

In preparation for our up coming coastal sailing, I've accumulated a trove of research for the ports/stops that we're interested in exploring on foot

Just look at the length of the stops. Does vary during the season’s  as well as northbound/southbound .
Ports with longer stops are Trondheim, Bodø. Tromsø and Honningsvåg.

[Homerody]

Alas coastal cruise has been cancelled. We'll have to see what the future brings.

 

 

[ubarpants]

Hi all, I'm just starting to look at Hurtigruten for a potential trip in 2022 (because if I can't travel, I can at least PLAN travel, right?).  I'm pretty confused because I see a few options on their website--the traditional coastal trip with the 34 short port stops, and then these other expedition itineraries going from Bergen to Honningsvåg round-trip, with longer stays in a smaller number of ports.   These are the ones called "On the Cusp of Spring," "Summer Along the Coastline," etc., on the US site. These latter itineraries are interesting to me because it seems like they have some aspects of regular cruising, with meals included, longer port stops, etc., but are more focused on the journey instead of the casino and belly flop contests! 

 

The reason I'm confused is that I can't find any reviews, trip reports, or even more concrete info (such as port timings etc.) on these.  I see that when people ask about doing more of a typical cruise on this line, the response is invariably that Hurtigruten is made up of working ships and it's a ferry system, etc., and that wasn't my impression for these expeditions.  I'm wondering if I've misunderstood what this itinerary actually is, or if it's a new offering or something?  I have more specific questions about this trip particularly but wanted to check my overall understanding first!

[oakridger]

They are new offerings.......

[p18750]

I am not sure if our cruise was representative but I believe all Hurtigruten cruises concentrate on the trip and not casinos, etc. In fact the Roald Amundsen we were on did not even have a casino or stage and there was no scheduled entertainment like other cruise ships. We did an Antarctic cruise on Roald Amundsen in February and the trip was all about seeing the Antarctic. They have Expedition personnel onboard who are selected for knowledge of the particular area you are going and give lectures and are available to discuss specific items you might be interested in. For example on our cruise we had working marine biologists on board who took water samples each day and explained what they found. 

If you just want to see the scenery of Norway you can take any cruise line but if you want a more in depth view of Norway I would recommend Hurtigruten.  

[hallasm]

6 hours ago, ubarpants said:

The reason I'm confused is that I can't find any reviews,

Yes, the expedition voyages with fewer and longer stopsfrom Bergen to Honningsvåg are new offerings starting January 2021 - also some from Hamburg and Dover (Seasonal)

The reason is the Hurtigruten will operate fewer ships on the coastal voyage with the 34 stops from January 2021 - now they are the only operator  with eleven ships - from January 2021 two operators - Havila Kystruten is new with four ships and Hurtigruten will operate seven ships.

Hurtigruten will use the four ships replaced by Havila for the new itinerary. Small expedition ships - no casino, no shows and limited entertainment. Expedition teams on ship and daily lectures.

[vtgumby]

THANK YOU to the prior folks who recommended using the global site to book their expedition. I would never had thought to look for it but grateful for the people who mentioned it, we grabbed a better cabin and STILL saved 2k. Nice chunk of change and the difference is the offers for each site so be sure to check this so you know what you’re getting. In our case we will pay a larger deposit vs the current offer of $500 pp for US site. We also never use the airfare credits, preferring to do our own bookings, so that would be a lost perk for us.

Bottom line, we’re thrilled and getting right back to reading the advice on this site. It reminds me of the Galapagos blog on a smaller scale (hundreds and hundreds of pages) and the trip also reminds me of a similar mindset, all about the beautiful landscape .

Yay!
Thanks for the huge money saving tip!

[vtgumby]

25 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

THANK YOU to the prior folks who recommended using the global site to book their expedition. I would never had thought to look for it but grateful for the people who mentioned it, we grabbed a better cabin and STILL saved 2k. Nice chunk of change and the difference is the offers for each site so be sure to check this so you know what you’re getting. In our case we will pay a larger deposit vs the current offer of $500 pp for US site. We also never use the airfare credits, preferring to do our own bookings, so that would be a lost perk for us.

Bottom line, we’re thrilled and getting right back to reading the advice on this site. It reminds me of the Galapagos blog on a smaller scale (hundreds and hundreds of pages) and the trip also reminds me of a similar mindset, all about the beautiful landscape .

Yay!
Thanks for the huge money saving tip!

I missed the deadline to edit so my new advice is using Hurtigruten.NO instead of global.hurtigruten.com, I checked the site after I posted, did a dummy booking and booked the same cabin for $2200 less so check it out. Different rules, etc but if it works then it’s another option!
Right now we’re incredibly happy amidst Covid times, dreaming of Norwegian fjords!!

[vtgumby]

On 1/8/2020 at 10:37 PM, clo said:

Just checked with Bob and neither of us remember it so we're guessing it was okay. It faded in comparison to this:

 

WOW! We just found Hurtigruten for Norway and I’m working my way back on the blog and see this, now I need to find an Antarctica trip, you’ve inspired me CLO! Thanks for sharing this beauty!

[clo]

4 hours ago, vtgumby said:

WOW! We just found Hurtigruten for Norway and I’m working my way back on the blog and see this, now I need to find an Antarctica trip, you’ve inspired me CLO! Thanks for sharing this beauty!

It's totally my pleasure. That was my favorite iceberg. That still makes me chuckle. How many people have a fave iceberg. And remember that big ships can't disembark passengers.