hejiranyc

I sailed on Hurtigruten last year in the high Arctic.  Indeed, Hurtigruten is all about the business - getting you from Point A to Point B safely and hopefully with some educational experiences thrown in the mix.  No discos.  No theatrical shows.  No casinos.  No swimming pools.  And if you're on an expedition cruise in the polar regions, you will basically be buttoned up the entire time in winter/hiking gear, so it's definitely less nerve wracking for those of us who are carrying a few extra pounds/kilos.  I would definitely recommend Hurtigruten, but be aware that it is a different experience from traditional cruise lines.  

21 hours ago, COMBOY said:

Oh, I think that kind of stereotyping all young and attracting people as the only ones that can have a good time.  I consider myself as "average" looking and having gone on either an all-gay cruise or mainstream cruise; I've always had a good time and met others.  I think it comes down to your attitude and your ability to get out of your comfort zone and mix and mingle instead of hiding behind a book.   Most all people have some sort of social anxiety.  It's all part of the fear of rejection.  If someone isn't interest in me I just move to the next person.  I guess if you want to hide behind a book that's your decision; but I think it's kind of pointless going on a cruise.  You might as well stay home.  Just my two cents. 

Don't misquote me.  I didn't say that young and attractive people are the ONLY ones that can have a good time.  I'm just saying that if you are neither of those things, your results may vary.  I think going solo on a gay cruise is a recipe for bringing out the worst insecurities in all of us (which probably explains the prevalence of drugs on such outings).  It takes a lot of confidence to put yourself out there like that, especially so if you are not considered physically attractive in the mainstream/conventional way.  I personally was considering the RSVP Alaska cruise this year, but I decided that I'd rather be stress/neurosis-free.  Unlike at a gay bar or club, you can't just simply decide you've had enough and walk off the ship!

On 2/8/2019 at 1:42 PM, Bella0714 said:

Thank you, hallasm. I have emailed Hurtigruten's UK office, and I will report back when I receive an answer.

 

I am able to access Hurtigruten.no through a VPN. We're looking at the Sept. 5, 2019 sailing because the Thursday-Tuesday itinerary seems to be slightly better than the Monday-Saturday.

 

FYI, we were originally planning to go to Norway in March with Northern Lights being the main objective. The plan was to travel Bergen to Svolvaer on Hurtigruten then spend 5-7 days in Lofoten before heading home. This would've given us 11-13 days above the Arctic Circle.

 

But then I saw how inexpensive Svalbard can be on Hurtigruten, and since mid-Sept. is good for NL, we're now looking at the following:

 

Sept. 5-11: Hurtigruten Svalbard. Fly to Bergen in the morning.

Sept. 12-20: Hurtigruten Bergen to Svolvaer via Kirkenes

Sept. 20-22: Lofoten then home.

 

So fewer days above the Circle (as far as NL viewing is concerned because Svalbard is not good for NL in early September) but we get to see Svalbard and, maybe, polar bears.

 

We'd be sacrificing snowy landscapes for autumn colors, we wouldn't get to see the ice hotel or go dog sledding, but we would have far less weather concerns (snowy roads, etc.) in Lofoten and might be able to see more of Lofoten in less time. I am a little concerned that September seems to be cloudier than March for NL but it seems to be just as good for NL activity since it's around the equinox.

 

Sorry if I'm thinking out loud. The more I research, the more our plans change.

That sounds like a lovely itinerary!  It's a shame that you aren't spending more time in Bergen; it is a very interesting city.  Definitely check out the Bergen Castle and Rosenkrantz Tower.  There is also a nearby military museum that is more interesting that it may sound.

I've traveled around Lofoten in September and it does get very chilly.  And there were almost always low-lying clouds with peeks of sun.  Just the most stunning landscape I have ever seen.  I did see the northern lights very, very faintly in Leknes one relatively clear night.  I heard I missed out on a really dazzling show in Svolvaer another night.  Anyway, regardless of whether you see NL, Lofoten will be awesome.

On 2/8/2019 at 1:28 PM, hallasm said:

I have never sailed MS Nordstjernen and I doubt that many CC members have sailed that ship. But hope you’ll get some responses and answers to you very valid questions

Total of  76 cabins, of which 24 only have a washbasin and shared bathroom facilities. Most have upper and lower berths.
As I understand the deck plan no shared bathroom located on Deck A (lower deck) - only located on deck B (middle deck) - and only one shared bathroom area for the 24 cabins. So guests at deck A might go to bathroom at deck B - but do not know for sure and do not know details.

I’ll suggest you do ask for more detailed information by emailing Hurtigruten at booking@hurtigruten.com, or by calling the office in Norway at +47 81 03 00 00 - press 9 for English!

you might also want to check the price in NOK - I just checked - lowest price is NOK 9,975 which is USD 1,160  - cabin with private bath does start at USD 1,700 - let me have the dates you want to travel and I can check the price if you can’t access Hurtigruten.no - might be savings if booking in Norway rather than US.

The best time to see polar bears is between May and september.

Much of this is inaccurate.  I went on this exact tour on the Nordstjernen in August 2018, so I can tell you exactly how this works.  As a solo traveler, I was assigned an inside cabin on the "E" level, which is located at the lowest level of the ship.  Noisy doesn't even begin to describe the cabins down at this level.  Also, the interior cabins are the size of a small closet, which is literally the depth of a bunk bed and double the width of a bunk bed (a couple across from me said that one person had to step outside every time something needed to be retrieved from a suitcase).  I had barely room for myself and my suitcase; I couldn't even begin to imagine how two people could split this cabin.  Definitely not for anyone with claustrophobia or light sleepers.  In addition to the constant drone of the engine, everything rattles and creaks.  And although the bunks themselves were comfortable (that is, if you are not a taller/larger person), it just overall looked like a utility closet inside, complete with exposed pipes and really poor lighting.  Very depressing.

Regarding the plumbing situation, there is one private toilet room on that "E" level.  One level above there are two small private shower rooms and a third "luxury" shower room with its own toilet and a nice porthole window to look out whilst showering.  There are also separate mens/ladies rooms with 4 toilet stalls each on this level.  The bathrooms are kept immaculately clean and you can even see a housekeeping log that indicates that the bathrooms are serviced hourly.  I personally made sure I woke up no later than 7AM so that I could claim the luxury shower each morning.  I never had to wait in line.

Also, the trip comes with two nights of accommodation at the Radisson Blue or the Coalminers Cabins - they choose for you depending on the level of cabin you buy on the ship.  I ended up at Coalminers Cabins, which is on the far, far side of town, which I actually enjoyed.  There are trails to explore, and if you're really ambitious, you can hike all the way to the glacier (although that is probably not recommended due to the ever-present threat of polar bears).  It's a 30-minute walk to the center of town, but you do get a more remote perspective out there.  A small herd of Svalbard reindeer crossed my path as I was walking back one time.  Anyway, the Coalminers Cabin also has shared bathrooms, but there are plenty of them, so there is no need to worry about waiting.  But definitely bring your own shampoo and soap!

On our trip, I believe we saw 13 polar bears, which I recall was a surprisingly large number for this particular tour, as polar bears are more likely to be seen in the northern/eastern parts of Svalbard.  But they were all very distant sightings that, even with binoculars, barely registered as white blips on a green canvas.  Still, it was cool to see mothers and cubs hanging around and doing their thing, and the cubs especially looked well-fed, which is a good thing.

As my cruise was during the later part of August, I'm not sure what you can expect to find in September.  I did see some birds, but most of them hard already migrated for the winter.  There were a few seals and a few blue whales too.  A handful of small icebergs here and there.  I think we may have missed a landing or two due to conditions

It was a fun trip overall and you do get the opportunity to get friendly with lots of people since there aren't many passengers on the ship.  It was definitely a good experience overall, although I would spend a little more money to upgrade to an exterior cabin with its own bathroom (one less thing to stress about) and I'm sure the Radisson Blue is much more posh than Coalminers Cabins.  One minor complaint I have is that there were no optional excursions to explore/hike deeper into the terrain.  At each landing, everyone was kept on a very tight leash (presumably due to polar bears) and the hikes were very slow/unchallenging due to the physical limitations of most of the passengers.  Anyway, definitely go on this trip, but keep your expectations in check.

If you are young and attractive, you have a 0% chance of having a bad time.  Just calling it like it is.  I've witnessed all too often the older, "average" looking solo cruiser who spends the whole trip behind the pages of a book.

I was also wondering the same thing... whether the lights are like the neon green color you see in photographs.  I saw what I considered to be a spectacular display of lights in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in early September, which appeared as an undulating, narrow, pale milky/opalescent green band that appeared directly overhead.  I just couldn't breathe for a few minutes; the sheer scale of it- stretching from one side of the sky to the other - was incredibly awe-inspiring despite a nearly full moon.  That being said, it wasn't fluorescent at all, even though it pulsed and waned in intensity throughout the display.  The beauty of it was the fact that it was such a random occurrence.  I was in my hotel room getting ready for bed and I just happened to peek out the window and noticed something a bit odd about the night sky.  I quickly put on everything I packed and ran outside and stood in the freezing cold for an hour by myself just mesmerized - easily one of the most unforgettable sights of my life. 

 

I assume they do *not* "bill in US$", including for final payment.

If they did, the currency conversion would be protected.

 

Am I correct that for a cruise perhaps 15-18 months from now, it would be a "who knows" what the US$ cost would be?

(Sorry; it should be obvious that we've never tried to do this before, taking advantage of currency differences far in advance.)

They invoice amount is in the LOCAL currency of the site you are using, so, yes, the actual cost of the cruise will fluctuate until you pay the full amount. If you feel that there is the possibility of a global financial shock due to, let's say, a certain corrupt, shady president being indicted/impeached, then you should consider paying up sooner than later. Depending on your time horizon, I think it's more of a question of "when" and not "if."

We'd be *very* interested in this.

 

American here. I booked my expedition trip on the NO site because it was not offered on the US site (back before American traffic became automatically redirected to the US site). In a nutshell, so far so good. Keep in mind:

-All communications, forms, itineraries and information documents are written in Norwegian. Using Google Chrome to translate to English is helpful for emails but not for PDF attachments. Fortunately, with a little searching around the Hurtigruten sites, you will find the equivalent PDF documents written in English.

-10% payment upfront, followed by an email containing a link to a payment site to pay the balance. Unfortunately, the payment site was on the NO site, so I was unable to access it. After a single email exchange, I was sent a link to the U.S. pay site where I was able to make the payment.

The USD is really, really strong at the moment, especially against the Scandinavian currencies. If you are going to book a Hurtigruten voyage now, and you haven't figured out a way to get to the NO site, I believe you can try the DK or SE sites. The pricing may not be as good as NO, but it will probably be better than the EUR or UK sites. But with great pricing comes great risk; the cancellation policies are generally more strict than the US.

If all goes well on my Svalbard expedition next week, I may book an Antarctica expedition while I am in Norwegian territory.

I was wondering if anyone was considering this cruise (open-sea.com) leaving from Barcelona. From what I can tell it's going to be a fully chartered gay cruise and this week they're offering a solo interior cabin for 999 euros, which is really, really tempting. I mean, really tempting. It checks off so many boxes for me - western Mediterranean itinerary, European clientele, Spain (never been there), etc. But the icing on the cake for me is the bizarre entertainment lineup, which appears to be a bit of a hot mess - a mix of washed up Euro one-hit wonders, Eurovision competition winners and RuPaul doing a DJ set in Ibiza. It all seems like cheap, trashy fun amidst a backdrop of gorgeous scenery... and I hear the Mediterranean islands aren't bad either ;p. But knowing me, it could either be a wondrous week of boozy fun... or a week hiding in my cabin with books. One or the other.

Oh, and flights from NYC to BCN are really cheap at the moment!

Any takers?

Oh, I stand corrected - the new MM-HWGA movie was shot in Vis, Croatia; the original movie was shot in Greece.

If this was an all-gay charter, it would be a no-brainer for me, especially since I would be traveling solo. But since this is not, I suspect that it will be almost 100% older couples (the main demographic with disposable income). There is nothing wrong with that at all; it is what it is. But for me as a single, middle-aged-but-not-old person, it can be potentially a very isolating experience, which is compounded by the fact that these ships do not have lots of ways to spend your days at sea. And honestly, who doesn't love a bit of gay drama at sea?!

Thanks for putting this on my radar. It does look like a lovely itinerary, although I have to admit that Mykonos would have been a nice stop despite the fact that, yes, it is way, way touristic. I'm now going to have to give the Mamma Mia tour some serious thought. If the Star Flyer is anything like the Royal Clipper, it is going to be a wonderful experience. I did an all-gay trip to Croatia aboard the Royal Clipper a few years ago and it was unforgettable, especially when the ship was at full sail as it left the port. I'm not sure whether it would be similarly fun in "mixed company," but it is probably a forgone conclusion that anything billed "Mamma Mia" would have a large gay contingent, and if Star Clippers was smart, they would target the LGBT community aggressively.

Speaking of Croatia, isn't that where both of the movies were mostly shot?

OK, have it your way. It's all fake news. The Russian government does not engage in anti-gay propaganda. Contra Tatchell's protest, Putin vigorously opposes his pal Kadyrov's torture and imprisonment of gay Chechens, and did not threaten Canada for accepting gay Chechen refugees. The government did not prosecute someone for a facebook posting that referred to a group promoting sexual rights for 18-29-year-olds, and did not just shut down an HIV education website for being insufficiently antigay. The Moscow Pride Parade is a ringing success. Russian queers enjoy the full protection of the law. And ILGA-Europe, a network of LGBT groups, did not name Russia the fourth most gay-unfriendly country in Europe, just ahead of Turkey and Azerbajian (though up from 2nd most homophobic the year before).

 

And, of course, Russia does not employ people to go online and covertly subvert Western democracies or post pro-Russian propaganda. So the fact that not one of your Cruise Critic posts has to do with LGBT people except as relating to Russia, the fact that all your 100 other CC posts read like they could be written by the Russian Tourist Bureau, and your intimate knowledge of Russian law and politics despite your living in Baltimore mean nothing. I'm sure you're just another cruiser on the side of gay rights, but sorry, товарищ, our little conversation is done.

 

Happy Pride!

^^This times 1000!

I have been mulling over this trip. Solo. On the one hand, it sounds like potentially a lot of fun. When I think back on my past gay cruising experiences, I think about the cool people I've met. But I also think about the b****y cliques that form and those guys who are always so thirsty for attention and behaving all extra EXTRA. If I am lucky, I can see myself settling in with a cool group of fun, mature guys. If I am unlucky, I can see myself, iPad in hand, reading voraciously for seven days.

If you go to the menu page you can select any language or currency including NO.

 

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No, that doesn't work. It might work from your location, but selecting NOK brings me back to the US site. If I ever decide to book Hurtigruten again (probably not), I had better do it while I am in Norway in a few months.

Huh?

 

You need to submit the receipts for the replacement clothing AND send the new clothing, too?

And then they are supposed to send you the money... so... you can go back out and purchase duplicates of the replacement clothing?

 

??

I applied for compensation AFTER I returned home from my trip. I submitted my receipts (through email) as requested. But then I received an e-mail that I had to send the clothing items in too (to Norway)! Supposedly they donate it to charity. Whatever. Needless to say, I didn't get any compensation for clothing due to Norwegian's complete and utter incompetence.

Are you able to access a non-USA website for Hurtigruten using a VPN?

 

Also, which Svalbard cruise is not showing on the USA website?

We've been interested in one, so I just checked, and there are quite a few variations showing.

 

Thanks!

 

Not that this is necessarily a proper "excuse", but in some cases (with other cruise lines, anyway), the prices may be different, but so are the "terms". Some of that seems to be due to different local regulations, so it might be the same for Hurtigruten.

 

GC

I am able to access all of the non-US Hurtigruten sites... with the glaring exception of NO. I am booked for the 6-day western Svalbard voyage which you will not see on the US site. And I don't believe that it is some kind of Norsk-only trip because it is offered on all of the other European country sites (so the tours will be given in English, German and Norwegian, as usual). And it's not like they are offering special country-specific airplane arrangements because all flights to Svalbard originate or connect through Norway. Also, I don't think local regulations are an excuse. They were certainly willing to take my registration for the cruise booked through the NO site a couple of months ago. In a nutshell, you are subject to the terms and conditions that you agree to at the time of booking (i.e., subject to Norwegian regulations), regardless of your country of origin. A few years ago I booked a flight to Copenhagen on Norwegian Airlines and my checked luggage never arrived (for an 11-day trip!). Needless to say, I spent a lot of money having to buy/wash clothes and toiletries. If this happened in the U.S., by federal regulation, airlines have minimum requirements for compensating passengers in the event of delayed/missing luggage, i.e., covering all reasonable, verifiable expenses. After almost two weeks of shopping daily for inexpensive T-shirts and washing my socks in the sink, I still ended up submitting receipts for over $250 to Norwegian. Under Norwegian law, claimants not only need to submit receipts. They also need to send the actual purchased clothing items too! To Norway! To add insult to injury, any compensation they provide is through wire transfer only, and they impose a $15 fee to do this. Needless to say, after two weeks of suffering and having to buy everything, an international telephone call and some tense emails, I netted $32 in compensation. Anyway... the moral to the story is that if you do business with Norwegian businesses, you are operating under their terms and conditions. Buyer beware!

With no warning, it appears that Hurtigruten.no is redirecting American visitors to the hurtigruten.us site; it is impossible to access hurtigruten.no here. Yet, at the same time, it is still possible to visit other country websites (UK, DE, DK, SE, etc.). Very strange. Shady even. Very, very shady. I can understand slight variations in pricing due to currency fluctuations. But the US website pricing is generally 30%+ higher than the NO website. Also, most importantly, there are some trips that are simply not offered on the U.S. website (such as the Svalbard trip I booked for August). I guess they really don't want Americans on their trips since they are singling out Americans to pay more while offering fewer trips. Well, I guess this will be my last trip on Hurtigruten and I hope other Americans get the word that their money and participation are not welcome. Admittedly, the Hurtigruten itineraries and NOK pricing were wonderful, but they are certainly not the only game in town. There are plenty of other trip organizers willing to take my money without making me feel like I'm being penalized for being American.

BOYCOTT HURTIGRUTEN

To this point, I think it's about context too. I think it's one thing to talk about many countries in the world, 30, 20 or even 10 years ago, where LGBT were second class citizens or, at best, content for whatever scraps they could get from the table. Even the U.S. until recently banned openly LGBT citizens from the military and outlawed same sex marriage. And if we're really being honest, the U.S. still lags far behind much of the Western world in terms of legal protections for LGBT.

Now, all that being said, in today's climate, after LGBT rights have advanced tremendously from what they were, it is especially unacceptable for regimes that not only discriminate against LGBT, but also aggressively single them out for arrest, humiliation incarceration or even worse. We're talking about Jamaica. Russia. And basically all Arab nations, most countries in Africa, parts of Indonesia, Singapore, etc. When there are so many wonderful parts of the world where I and my queer tourist dollars are welcome, why would I spend two seconds thinking about countries that actively seek out the means toward my demise? Would I love to visit the Hermitage? Sure. But I'm not going to trample all over my principles to get there.

Just set up my bank account to allow me to transfer the balance. I've used the IBAN & SWIFT details from the invoice. The IBAN is just another way of identifying the bank account I assume?

 

Also does anyone know if they charge an extra fee on Credit Card transactions? UK site charges 1.5%, but can't find any fees on the Norwegian site. I'm thinking I may still try paying by credit card via the online chat.

Hmm... I'm confused. They state the following on the Norwegian booking site (translated to English):

"If you do not pay by card but wish to send an invoice, NOK 50, - is calculated in the invoice office."

So it seems that they actually charge a penalty if you do not pay by credit card. I just booked a Svalbard trip and I have been getting antsy while I watch the USD get increasingly weaker against the NOK every day. I can't believe it was so much stronger even a month ago. So I am hoping for a rebound before I have to pay off the balance.

I am semi-vegan vegetarian (eggs for breakfast only) and I can say that if you sail on any of the bigger ships, vegans will be fine... in the buffet. It gets trickier if your only dinner options are in the main dining room and you have to order off of the menu. From my experiences, they always have a vegetarian option for each course, but they invariably contain butter/cheese/cream. If you're lucky, the kitchen may be willing to whip up a pasta primavera-type of dish.

Whenever I cruise, I ALWAYS pack protein powder, protein bars, nuts, etc. to compensate for the dearth of plant-based protein options on board. But I have been pleasantly surprised. One time on a Holland America cruise, the breakfast buffet included a station that served congee that could be dressed up with dried laver, scallions and tofu - a wonderful umami bomb of flavor. It's sad how cruise lines basically exploit cheap Asian labor to run their ships, but the upside is that they can add little flourishes of authentic Asian flavors to an otherwise ho-hum array of western food choices.

More...lots of photos and videos of parties...

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5313639/FBI-probes-gay-cruise-Storm-Chasers-star-died.html

Thanks for posting that link. I guess maybe it's because I've never done hardcore drugs... but I just cannot understand how any kind of high justifies this dance with the devil. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Such a waste of a young man's life.

The above notwithstanding, OMG, Olivia Newton John on a gay cruise?! That's seriously some next-level schmidt. Kudos to Atlantis for putting that together. Such a shame that her experience was probably ruined by these moron tina queens.

Thank you for sharing the link - very informative and good documentation for future Hurtigruten cruisers.

Might not be that easy going to Greenland. Only flights from Denmark and Iceland.

 

 

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Oh, I know! And expensive too. I briefly considered waiting for the inaugural Princess cruise to Greenland from NYC in 2019, but I think getting in a proper hiking tour of the ice cap during a port excursion is probably going to be impossible, especially since the ports are all in the extreme southern part of Greenland.

I do not know the answer to your question - but I actually booked and paid in NOK, living in Denmark.

I did a quick check for a trip in May and found an exchange rate of 1NOK = 1.90USD while the official rate is round 0.13USD - I would contact booking@hurtigruten.com and ask if you can book and pay in NOK or alternatively request a quote and ask the question in the comments field.

I actually found this interesting article after I posted the question above:

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2016/09/19/tourists-pay-more-on-hurtigruten/

Lo and behold... I'm not the first person to discover this discrepancy in pricing between Norwegians and the rest of the world. With the money I save, I can also book some time in Greenland!

While pricing out a Svalbard cruise for this summer, I noticed that prices are given in a number of different currencies, i.e., EUR, USD, SEK, NOK, GBP, etc. Going through their Norwegian site, I compared the prices given in NOK vs. what I found on the U.S. site in USD and the difference was literally 30% cheaper in NOK! As an American, can I technically book and pay for a Hurtigruten cruise in NOK? Have any Americans tried this?

This topic definitely strikes a chord with me. Based on a few data points I have observed based on my cruising experiences (mostly gay), the following trends seem to apply... in America, that is:

Unfriendly/Haughty/Boring Gays tend to be:

-younger

-have a lower body fat percentage

-come from NYC and points north and east

Friendly/Outgoing/Fun Gays tend to be:

-older

-less obsessed with body fat/image

-come from the sun belt (FL, TX, CA, etc.)

I once happened to be seated at breakfast with a couple from NYC who literally lived one block from me. Didn't express even a whiff of interest in anything about me. The conversation was all about their fabulous apartment and the fabulous location, fabulous renovation, blah blah blah. And then for the rest of the cruise they didn't even acknowledge my existence. On another cruise, I was seated at the end of a group table (against a wall) next to a couple from NYC, who literally turned their backs away from me. I could postulate on the reasons this happens to me on cruises (ageism, racism, looks-ism, etc.), but this type of NYC gay trash is simply not worth two seconds to ponder over. By stark contrast, I have always had lots of fun with my fellow Palm Springs and Florida cruisers.

Full disclosure: I live in NYC!