Hurtigruten Info and drinks

[gollane]

Here is my view on our 12 days classic round trip on the Kong Harald,7March/18 march.

Fix your own luggage tags with your name  & cabin No before boarding the transfer bus, otherwise you will have to transport your own bags from reception (deck 3) to your cabin.

If embarking in Bergen you will board on deck 5 and have to find your cabin as there is no one to offer directions.

You will need to be patient at check in if you are part of a charter flight,very slow .

For the benefit of our drinking companions around the world ,we saw very many people carrying bags clearly marked DUTY FREE ,some with 3 bags!,and none were challenged,the staff really aren't bothered,I doubt if you will be challenged.On that theme there are many outlets for alcoholic beverages during the voyage.They are vinmonopolet's the 3 we used were in Tromso in the Nerstranda  shopping area,visible from the ship,and in Hammerfest & Stomarknes,very easy to find very close to the dock.Just be discreet when boarding,we found the wine boxes good value eg 1.5 litres of chenin blanc for just over £20.00..

If you aren't happy with your assigned dining time see the maître d on the first night and they will do their best to change it for you,we went from 6pm to 8.30 without problem.Also the fine dining restaurant,Kysten,is excellent,the menu looks expensive but full board passengers only pay the cover fee of about £20.00 and no more,well worth a visit.

Our cabin ,344,on deck 3 seemed small at first but there is plenty of storage for the 11 day trip,there is no tv or kettle in these cabins.Deck 5 cabins have a walkway outside and the windows are not one way glass !

If showering at sea do not leave anything on the bathroom floor as the shower tray is very shallow and if the ship rolls the floor will flood as my soaking slippers prove.

The shower is the smallest we have ever seen on a ship.The lectures on board are popular so you need to be in good time,the only padded seats are by the windows.Importantly  check the website before booking excursions as the brochure does list the times,the website does and some visits take place at dusk or in the dark.

Hurtigruten call this the most beautiful cruise in the world,it is,the scenery is breath taking.

Oh one final point about  on board drink prices the prices shown all have 25% vat added to them.

Hope this helps you to enjoy the trip.

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, gollane said:

one final point about  on board drink prices the prices shown all have 25% vat added to them.

.. and gratitude as well.

Thank you for the detailed review. 

Did you see Northern Lights and how was the waters along the coast?

Edited March 20, 2019 by hallasm

[gollane]

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

.. and gratitude as well.

Thank you for the detailed review. 

Did you see Northern Lights and how was the waters along the coast?

Yes the lights showed up on four nights although I missed one alert. 

The open sea was a little choppy on the way to, I think, Honningsvag but I'm not sure however the last nights open sea leg was very rough ,enough to clear all the shelves in our cabin. But living

on the Isle of Man we're used to rough seas.

Overall the weather was very kind to us.

[gollane]

13 hours ago, gollane said:

Here is my view on our 12 days classic round trip on the Kong Harald,7March/18 march.

Fix your own luggage tags with your name  & cabin No before boarding the transfer bus, otherwise you will have to transport your own bags from reception (deck 3) to your cabin.

If embarking in Bergen you will board on deck 5 and have to find your cabin as there is no one to offer directions.

You will need to be patient at check in if you are part of a charter flight,very slow .

For the benefit of our drinking companions around the world ,we saw very many people carrying bags clearly marked DUTY FREE ,some with 3 bags!,and none were challenged,the staff really aren't bothered,I doubt if you will be challenged.On that theme there are many outlets for alcoholic beverages during the voyage.They are vinmonopolet's the 3 we used were in Tromso in the Nerstranda  shopping area,visible from the ship,and in Hammerfest & Stomarknes,very easy to find very close to the dock.Just be discreet when boarding,we found the wine boxes good value eg 1.5 litres of chenin blanc for just over £20.00..

If you aren't happy with your assigned dining time see the maître d on the first night and they will do their best to change it for you,we went from 6pm to 8.30 without problem.Also the fine dining restaurant,Kysten,is excellent,the menu looks expensive but full board passengers only pay the cover fee of about £20.00 and no more,well worth a visit.

Our cabin ,344,on deck 3 seemed small at first but there is plenty of storage for the 11 day trip,there is no tv or kettle in these cabins.Deck 5 cabins have a walkway outside and the windows are not one way glass !

If showering at sea do not leave anything on the bathroom floor as the shower tray is very shallow and if the ship rolls the floor will flood as my soaking slippers prove.

The shower is the smallest we have ever seen on a ship.The lectures on board are popular so you need to be in good time,the only padded seats are by the windows.Importantly  check the website before booking excursions as the brochure doesn't list the times,the website does and some visits take place at dusk or in the dark.

Hurtigruten call this the most beautiful cruise in the world,it is,the scenery is breath taking.

Oh one final point about  on board drink prices the prices shown all have 25% vat added to them.

Hope this helps you to enjoy the trip.

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by gollane
Spelling error

[Travel2?]

Quick question (or two): Are you assigned your dining time at the time of booking, allowed to request a preference at any point? Aiso, in the forum with Daniel Skjeldam, he mentioned an available drink package on board yet I can find no information regarding this.

Thanks

[gollane]

I don't remember being offered a choice of dining times, if I had I would not have chosen 6pm but you can change. 

The drinks package is bookable in advance or on board,  this entitles you to one bottle of wine per night and as stated the cheapest wine is about 50pounds (inc vat). The package does save money but I don't feel it is a generous offer. 

Much better to have a couple of drinks in your cabin and just buy a glass with meals. 

[Travel2?]

Thanks.......

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, Travel2? said:

Are you assigned your dining time at the time of booking, allowed to request a preference at any point? 

No - time and table assigned  when boarding - but as mentioned just ask for different table or time. 

Bottled wine quite expensive also as package. Wine by glass is my preference. 

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

No - time and table assigned  when boarding - but as mentioned just ask for different table or time. 

Bottled wine quite expensive also as package. Wine by glass is my preference. 

 

We tend to enjoy "fine wine", and Hurtigruten surprised us with some nice bottles, and also... by offering by the glass from some of those.  We almost never see that. 

So we got to try a glass of several different nice wines that we had never had a chance to try before.

That made dinner even more pleasant than it already was - and it was VERY pleasant already 

 

GC

[Travel2?]

Hi GeezerCouple!

We are not connoisseurs by any means but....definitely enjoy a good glass of wine! Glad we'll have this option with nice choices!

Thanks

[GeezerCouple]

13 minutes ago, Travel2? said:

Hi GeezerCouple!

We are not connoisseurs by any means but....definitely enjoy a good glass of wine! Glad we'll have this option with nice choices!

Thanks

 

Yup, that was a VERY nice surprise.

Usually it's the very "least expensive" (= "cheapest") wines that are served by the glass.

Another advantage, it allowed us to taste several different selections among their nicer wines... a real treat.

 

We hope to return!

 

GC

[Travel2?]

As you are hoping to return, we can't wait for our first trip (not wishing an entire year away)!

[poz222]

We found it is easy to move from early to late but more difficult to do the opposite (late to early) as they tend to book large groups together at early (and give it is an “older” crowd they tended to eat earlier). I never got an option, for us late was fine, but some others around us had issues changing. If you have an excursion during dinner they will accommodate 

[Travel2?]

Thanks...we have always preferred late seating so this would be fine with us!

[grayjay]

If you'd like a certain time for dinner, just ask for it before by e-mail. I did this two or three months before boarding and got what I requested - early dining time and a table for two. As I am a bit of a picky eater - I love fish, for example, but don't eat anything which lived in the sea and had legs of a kind 😟 , so I wrote down three kinds of things I wouldn't want to eat , and it also obviously was sent to the ship we sailed on and each night whenever there was something on the menu I wouldn't want to have I got an alternative. Worked every time , about 4 nights out of 12 I got a different starter or dessert, for example, or my dish was decorated a bit differently.

I also pre-ordered a water package ( 2 small bottles of sparkling mineral water) but I could have also done that on board either as a package or as single bottles or I could have gone off the ship to buy in in a supermarket nearby.

On our first evening on board wine and beer packages were also sold on board.

 

[Travel2?]

Thank you Grayjay! I will keep this on my to-do before departing. As for meals, I'm picturing all kind of sea creatures with legs....I always thought I would be up for any kind of seafood!

[grayjay]

20 hours ago, Travel2? said:

Thank you Grayjay! I will keep this on my to-do before departing. As for meals, I'm picturing all kind of sea creatures with legs....I always thought I would be up for any kind of seafood!

 

It was a pleasure! The food on board really was delicious, even though as my husband was led to eat anything on his plate as a kid I obviously wasn't and that may be the reason I'm not as willing to try unknown things that landed on my plate like the "revived" dried fish ( liked it, though!) or the seaweed, bright and green, on the second evening which I pushed onto my DH's plate where he ate them with relish...

Two more things I remember which were very good: On some afternoons there were tastings ( for free) of lamb or mussels or warm apple cake and hot chocolate ( small fee).

And the last thing - then I'll stop talking about food because there is so much more to a Hurtigruten journey!! - : if you are on full board meals and want to try the specialty restaurant you only pay for the upgrade ( approx. 220 NOK). Some people on board did this, for example, when they didn't like the food choices for the vegetarian dinner that was offered one day. ( quite good, though!!)

[Travel2?]

Grayjay....thanks for the food update! In our travels, we have always strived to embrace the culture, including the regions food specialities; yep, that included guinea pig in Peru! We'll embrace the total experience; everything tastes great with a good glass of wine!