Help with Hurtigriten

Hi All,

My husband and I have decided on Norway for our next adventure. I'm leaning towards Hurtigruten; want to get away from the typical cruise ship experience whereas my husband has some worries.

Any insight on the following would be so helpful; do you have enough opportunities to leave the ship and explore? It appears there are excursions in which you leave for extended times and they return you to the ship several ports later. We would like to get in some hiking, explore various ports in depth. We do not mind escorted tours; are these arranged through the ship, I'm assuming fewer people than a regular cruise ship? I'm a little confused about the cabin configurations; bunks, twins?

We are considering the "bridge" seasons; April/May or October 2020. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hurtigruten ships at the Norway Coastal service are working ships with daily departures from Bergen to Kirkeness - they do have 35 stops during the 6 days - most at 15 minutes few at two to three hours - ship is arranging excursions - and many does start in one port and end in the next port - so not really opportunities for 'Do it yourself' excursions.

Ships range from 150 to 900 passengers - the 11 ships in service are all very different. Hurtigruten ships. At this link you can also see the different type of cabins ranging from 'Polar Inside/outside, Arctic Superior and Expedition Suites.

April or October will be good choices - might be a possibility of Northern Light.

Hope the information and links does help - since Hurtigruten is different from the mainstream cruise ships it's important to do your research and ask all you questions - we are a small group of Hurtigrutem cruisers who want to help to get the best Hurtigruten experience.

Here you have some links with more details

Hurtigruten Sailing Plan

ORDER FORM EXCURSIONS

Arrival and Departure Information

Handbook for voyages before 31 March 2018

Handbook for voyages after 31 March 2018

Thank you for your quick response. If I should have to compromise and select a Northbound vs Southbound route instead of the full roundtrip , which would you suggest? I find myself overwhelmed researching the "must see" coastal sites!

I’m doing the North Bound IMO some of the more interesting places to visit is during night or late evening / early morning for the south bound - personally I also find the full 11 days round trip too much of the same. I’ll rather suggest to combine a north bound sailing with some days in Oslo and Bergen - maybe taking the train from Oslo to Bergen and possible doing ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ and stay a night in the Flåm area - might depend on time of the year.

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What great suggestions; love the idea of adding the rail leg to our trip!

I would have a hard time choosing between the northbound and southbound trips. Although the ports are the same, the duration of stay and time of day visited differs. I was definitely not bored on either leg.

I would also endorse flying into Oslo, and taking the train to Bergen (and back at the end of your cruise). I did a mini-Norway in a Nutshell on my own upon my return, taking the train from Myrdal to Flam as a side trip on my train trip back to Oslo (I did not do the fjord cruise and bus trip part). I stayed 2 days in Bergen, and 3 days in Oslo (at the end of my trip). The train trip from Oslo to/from Bergen is one of the most beautiful train rides in the world; definitely do it during daylight hours.

If possible, be in Norway for May 17, which is Norwegian National Day and celebrated all around Norway with parades and parties. I was on the Trollfjord for this day in 2015, and we had our own parade with the Norwegian crew and passengers wearing their beautiful traditional costumes, and the ship all decorated with Norwegian flags and greenery. The parade in Oslo is the largest, with the King and Queen greeting the school children who parade in front of the palace.

I would have a hard time choosing between the northbound and southbound trips. Although the ports are the same, the duration of stay and time of day visited differs. I was definitely not bored on either leg.

 

I would also endorse flying into Oslo, and taking the train to Bergen (and back at the end of your cruise). I did a mini-Norway in a Nutshell on my own upon my return, taking the train from Myrdal to Flam as a side trip on my train trip back to Oslo (I did not do the fjord cruise and bus trip part). I stayed 2 days in Bergen, and 3 days in Oslo (at the end of my trip). The train trip from Oslo to/from Bergen is one of the most beautiful train rides in the world; definitely do it during daylight hours.

 

If possible, be in Norway for May 17, which is Norwegian National Day and celebrated all around Norway with parades and parties. I was on the Trollfjord for this day in 2015, and we had our own parade with the Norwegian crew and passengers wearing their beautiful traditional costumes, and the ship all decorated with Norwegian flags and greenery. The parade in Oslo is the largest, with the King and Queen greeting the school children who parade in front of the palace.

Yes, DO try to take that train ride, and definitely during daylight if time of year makes that at all possible.

We had read so much about that, and we started in Oslo, heading to Bergen.

Okay, "nice countryside", we commented and we moved along away from Oslo. And then the landscape got more varied... hills, etc... "Okay, this is nice", we commented, being more than a bit underwhelmed (only because of the huge build up; it was *all* definitely lovely).

And then... And THEN... :D

WOW.

Then you get to what looks like the "top of the earth", or maybe the moon (if it had snow).

We were there in early March, and I assume the "view" changes with the seasons, but don't know quite how much.

It was breathtaking!

GC

Thank you all so much! Due to time constraints (we have about 14 days to vacation), we'll have to decide the North vs South bound journey. We figure we could either begin in Bergen or fly from Oslo to Kirkenes and end in Bergen; of course working in the train.

We're celebrating our 30th anniversary on October of 2020. So, the question to you Hurtigruten experts is this a good time to travel (doesn't appear this cruises are posted yet) or should we celebrate earlier in the year? Any insight on North vs South will be appreciated!!

Thank you all so much! Due to time constraints (we have about 14 days to vacation), we'll have to decide the North vs South bound journey. We figure we could either begin in Bergen or fly from Oslo to Kirkenes and end in Bergen; of course working in the train.

We're celebrating our 30th anniversary on October of 2020. So, the question to you Hurtigruten experts is this a good time to travel (doesn't appear this cruises are posted yet) or should we celebrate earlier in the year? Any insight on North vs South will be appreciated!!

October should be good, as it will give you some night time (perhaps Northern Lights if lucky) and also daytime to see the glorious landscape (also lovely in the evenings, and with lights at night).

You might want to choose by moon cycle (no moon in the night sky) if you want to try to see the Lights. Hurtigruten also has a monthly Astronomy Package that starts, I think, in October. If you select that (extra cost), then you'd automatically get a dark night sky.

To choose NB or SB, you might want to look at the excursions, and see if there are any that you particular want to see. These can be seasonal, so verify months/dates available. But the same port might have a great excursion in one direction, and nothing in the other.

Any current excursion listing will give you a good overview, although some might change.

GC

Glad to hear another thumbs up for October! Our anniversary is mid-month and the full moon falls at the beginning and end of October!

So, I'll start researching excursions for the North vs South and find out when reservations open up.

I guess we will have a choice of vessels?

Glad to hear another thumbs up for October! Our anniversary is mid-month and the full moon falls at the beginning and end of October!

So, I'll start researching excursions for the North vs South and find out when reservations open up.

I guess we will have a choice of vessels?

Unless you want to have the Astronomy package, you'd have your choice of one of the H ships leaving Bergen (or Kirkenes) every day.

But the ships can be *very* different, so you might want to spend at least a short time figuring out which you want.

Enjoy!

GC

We definitely want an "authentic" Hurtigruten experience! Don't mind the older ships vs newer; add to my research! Thank you all again!

Glad to hear another thumbs up for October! Our anniversary is mid-month and the full moon falls at the beginning and end of October!

 

So, I'll start researching excursions for the North vs South and find out when reservations open up.

 

I guess we will have a choice of vessels?

Yes - 11 different vessels operating the coastal voyage -if you want a specific ship you need to select the departure date for that ship.

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