Norwegian Coastal Voyage - 12 Day

[lucky cal]

I hope someone who has traveled on this itinerary can shed some light.

 

I'm thinking about Hurtigruten's 12-day coastal voyage and I'm confused about how much time, if any, you spend in port. I understand that this trip operates as a ferry service so most stops are very short, but are there any longer stops that allow for exploring or activities as you would have on a traditional cruise? It's not clear to me from the Hurtigruten materials I've received.

 

I recognize the point of this voyage is mainly the beautiful scenery and that's very appealing to me, but I would like to spend some time off the ship as well.

 

Thanks.

[hallasm]

There are 34 stops on the 6 night voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes - most stops are 15 minutes - few 30 to 60 minutes stops. Timing depends on time of the year.

Northbound one longer 3 hours stop each day like in Ålesund, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg (North Cape). Here youl'll be able to explore the city on your own.

Southbound stops in Tromsø and Bodø is shorter and during night. I do prefer Northbound and have never don the full 11 nights - done one 6 night northbound and several shorter - primarily from Bodø to Kirkenes.

Very scenery sailing but nice with he longer stops.

Please note that ships are different - some ships have expedition teams - many lectures and they are also arranging hiking excursions.

[SarniaLo]

Sailing plan can be found here : https://www.hurtigruten.com/practical-information/sailing-plan/

(note slight variations between seasons).

[lucky cal]

On 2/4/2020 at 5:33 PM, hallasm said:

There are 34 stops on the 6 night voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes - most stops are 15 minutes - few 30 to 60 minutes stops. Timing depends on time of the year.

Northbound one longer 3 hours stop each day like in Ålesund, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg (North Cape). Here youl'll be able to explore the city on your own.

Southbound stops in Tromsø and Bodø is shorter and during night. I do prefer Northbound and have never don the full 11 nights - done one 6 night northbound and several shorter - primarily from Bodø to Kirkenes.

Very scenery sailing but nice with he longer stops.

Please note that ships are different - some ships have expedition teams - many lectures and they are also arranging hiking excursions.

 

Thank you. Is it possible to do or see much during a 3-hour stop? Do the ships dock right in town so you can just walk off and explore, or would transportation be required?

 

While I'm excited about the scenery involved, I'd like to be able to experience the Norwegian culture and it seems like this might be difficult to do with such a short time on land.

[lucky cal]

On 2/5/2020 at 10:48 AM, SarniaLo said:

Sailing plan can be found here : https://www.hurtigruten.com/practical-information/sailing-plan/

(note slight variations between seasons).

 

Thank you. This sailing plan is very helpful!

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, lucky cal said:

 

Thank you. Is it possible to do or see much during a 3-hour stop? Do the ships dock right in town so you can just walk off and explore, or would transportation be required?

 

While I'm excited about the scenery involved, I'd like to be able to experience the Norwegian culture and it seems like this might be difficult to do with such a short time on land.

The ports are relatively close to city centers. Some alternatives:
Six night northbound front Bergen to Kirkenes with pre- and post-cruise stays in Oslo, Bergen and Kirkenes - the train from Oslo to Bergen is a excellent option - you can then combine your Oslo to Bergen with ‘Norway in a Nutshell‘  from Flåm.

In addition to the Coastal voyages with many short stops, Hurtigruten is also offering 12 night expedition cruises from Bergen from 2021 with longer stops in ports. 

[lucky cal]

On 2/6/2020 at 7:05 PM, hallasm said:

The ports are relatively close to city centers. Some alternatives:
Six night northbound front Bergen to Kirkenes with pre- and post-cruise stays in Oslo, Bergen and Kirkenes - the train from Oslo to Bergen is a excellent option - you can then combine your Oslo to Bergen with ‘Norway in a Nutshell‘  from Flåm.

In addition to the Coastal voyages with many short stops, Hurtigruten is also offering 12 night expedition cruises from Bergen from 2021 with longer stops in ports. 

 

Great info. Thanks hallasm! I'll look into these options.

[bones774]

Do all the port towns have welcome signs nearby? For instance can one run off boat, take pic with town sign and jump onboard again? thanks

[hallasm]

You'll see the name of the city on many of the harbour buildings - Not a guarantee, but I believe you'll be able to find port names at all ports - but for the majority of the ports it's only a 15 minutes stop an you cannot leave the ship. Also several stops during night time.

Just few examples - at 0,20 min SKJERVØY at the firsts video and STAMSUND at 0.25 minutes at the second video.

The stop at Skjervøy is an example of a 15 minutes stop.

 

 

[bones774]

danke

[ighten]

I think (correct me if im wrong) that you can book longer excursions and then rejoin the ship at the next or even next ++ port (which will be the same day)

Edited July 14, 2020 by ighten

[hallasm]

23 minutes ago, ighten said:

I think (correct me if im wrong) that you can book longer excursions

Yes, but only through  Hurtigruten.
My Lofoten video in post #9 Is an example where the excursion did start in Stamsund and then we met the ship again in Svolvær.