Hurtigruten - With or without Travel Agent

[jonikal]

We've used the same TA for almost 30 cruises - mostly Princess and Lindblad, and wonder whether there are any advantages going through our TA, such as better pricing, or whether it's not going to make any difference.

[bobbisailsolo]

from what Ive heard, no. doesn't make any difference... but maybe your travel agent will give you a perk or two. Its worth asking! I booked directly with hurtigruten.

[RSF Cruiser]

Didn't make any difference for us, either, so we booked directly with Hurtigruten.

[digitl]

It depends on your travel agent... we book through ours.

[janetcbl]

We book directly with Hurtigruten because we like one special cabin on the Trollfjord/Midnatsol and by booking with them, we can find out when the reservations open for booking, and get that cabin...more than a year ahead! We have always had excellent experiences booking this way.

[Splinter]

I also booked directly with Hurtigruten for my cruise, and booked my airfare separately too (not through Hurtigruten) with Norwegian Air. I saved a lot of money by doing the latter out of LAX direct to Oslo. I also booked my own trains on-line from Oslo to Bergen and back (with a side trip to Flam).

[RMLincoln]

We booked through our "online/call them and talk with them" TA but I don't think they had much advantage for us, maybe a few dollars if that. And I talked directly with a Hurtigruten rep who was very helpful too. I booked everything else myself, hotels, trains etc. and air was by us too but for a complex trip of which the Norway cruise was only one piece.

 

When we booked we choose one cabin, then when we got to the pier Hurtigruten had changed our selection saying this was better... not convinced because it was closer to the cargo door and a bit noisy but I'm not sure that anything on the 4th deck (Midnatsol) is really quiet. It was closer to the atrium than our selection, maybe even a better category but I'm not sure.

 

We had a great cruise and I thought Hurtigruten did much better than I expected. I wouldn't recommend that time of year again, late Oct into Nov, but we did see Northern Lights multiple times so that was very special. And we thought the food was excellent, all the dinners we had were perfectly cooked. The buffets for breakfast and lunch were huge... but now I'm just enjoying my memories... sorry for the diversion from you question :)

 

Enjoy, m--

[jonikal]

We booked through our "online/call them and talk with them" TA but I don't think they had much advantage for us, maybe a few dollars if that. And I talked directly with a Hurtigruten rep who was very helpful too. I booked everything else myself, hotels, trains etc. and air was by us too but for a complex trip of which the Norway cruise was only one piece.

 

When we booked we choose one cabin, then when we got to the pier Hurtigruten had changed our selection saying this was better... not convinced because it was closer to the cargo door and a bit noisy but I'm not sure that anything on the 4th deck (Midnatsol) is really quiet. It was closer to the atrium than our selection, maybe even a better category but I'm not sure.

 

We had a great cruise and I thought Hurtigruten did much better than I expected. I wouldn't recommend that time of year again, late Oct into Nov, but we did see Northern Lights multiple times so that was very special. And we thought the food was excellent, all the dinners we had were perfectly cooked. The buffets for breakfast and lunch were huge... but now I'm just enjoying my memories... sorry for the diversion from you question :)

 

Enjoy, m--

 

Thanks so much for the info! So it's probably best to deal with Hurtigruten directly. We are looking at next year and will definitely take your advice re not going late Oct into Nov. We just received Hurtigruten's flash sale for this year and were surprised to see the significant reductions they offer. We tend not to do last-minute stuff, but in this case it may be worthwhile as long as one is prepared for last minute changes. Which airline did you use? Thanks again!

[digitl]

Interesting that those of you in the US, where travel discounts are relatively easy to obtain, are not taking advantage of your travel agents. It's certainly worth going through ours here.

 

And a reminder: Hurtigruten offer a 5% discount on subsequent trips for anyone who has sailed with them before. Antarctica anyone?

[bobbisailsolo]

Hurtigruten is not big here in the states. Very few agents have any experience with it. If you look at hirtigrutens suggested ta's on their website you won't even find one listed for the states!!!! I was offered an $85 discount thru a TA, (on a 3000 fare) but I didn't feel it was worth going through a middleman for $85...

 

 

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[Cheekyrn1]

We booked ours through our United Cruises travel agent. We are getting a lot of bonus miles which we will turn around and use for free air tickets

[digitl]

Hurtigruten is not big here in the states. Very few agents have any experience with it. If you look at hirtigrutens suggested ta's on their website you won't even find one listed for the states!!!! I was offered an $85 discount thru a TA, (on a 3000 fare) but I didn't feel it was worth going through a middleman for $85...

 

$85 doesn't sound over exciting, but it's $85. I wouldn't regard our travel agent as a 'middleman': we get a lot out of the relationship and the service is second to none (including advance notice of brochure publication)

[bobbisailsolo]

I don't have a good travel agent, I just looked on line .., and that's what they offered. Didn't mean to infer that are all like that!

 

 

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