Which ship for 12 day classic voyage

[kiwigirl]

Thank you again SarniaLo.

 

Yes, we will be going roundtrip from Bergen.

 

Great information about the car deck.

 

 

If you board the ship in Bergen, there is a check-in process a bit like in an airport and your luggage will be delivered to your cabin (maybe in Kirkenes as well, but I'm not sure). If you board in another port you need to carry your bag on board but if you have difficulties with that someone on the ship will help you, just ask.

 

The car deck in itself does not generate a lot of noise, you might hear noise from the cargo door opening (it's on the port side - left-hand side - of the ship, about mid-ship) but I don't think it's really bad. More problematic can be the noise and vibration from the bow thruster (front/back of the ship) and from the engine (back of the ship) when the ship arrives in port and leaves port. During sailing the noise of the engine is subdued, but I would avoid cabins at the back of the ship, and maybe the front in the lower decks. This is less of an issue on the newer ships (Finnmarken, Midnastol, Trollfjord) I think, but I'm not overly sensitive to noise.

 

Most of the beds are single beds that are attached to the wall (in many cabins, one of the beds folds up completely against the wall, and the other folds up as a sofa that you can use during the day) so they cannot be pushed together. To have a real double bed on most ships you need to go in a suite. The cabin descriptions will give an accurate account of how the beds are laid out so study it carefully if that is an issue, there can be slight variation from ship to ship.

 

[kiwigirl]

Thank you Janetcbl - what time of year was this? We are planning on June, July or August.

 

 

Re: Excursions. On the trips we have taken, the only excursion that always seem to sell out was the Sea Eagle Safari. If you plan the take a North Cape excursion, it is better to wait to get a better idea of the weather....it is never 100% accurate, but you want to avoid dense fog.

[kiwigirl]

I agree digitl. My in-laws are in the understanding that they have to book everything on the same day that they make the trip reservation. My understanding is that we have up to 4 weeks prior to departure. Meaning we can book anytime from the date the reservation is made, up to 4 weeks before we leave.

 

What time of year did you do the North Cape excursion? We will be going June, July or August.

 

Thanks!!

 

From memory, the Sea Eagle Safari and Tromso Dog Sledding trip were sold out on our trips.

 

We find it best to book excursions as soon as we are able. There's nothing worse than watching a trip that you wanted to take depart without you.

 

As far as the North Cape excursion is concerned, it was snowing quite heavily (with some brief breaks) when we were there and that only added to our enjoyment of the experience.

[kiwigirl]

Thank you Splinter.

 

Great information about the port side.

 

Sounds like once we book the cruise, I will make a note on my calendar for 90 days and get the train booked.

 

 

I had an inside cabin on deck 4 (just to the stern of reception) on the Trollfjord and had very little noise in ports. Keep in mind that at all ports, the port side it to the pier, so you are likely to have less noise on the starboard side (where I was). See photos for the beds in these cabins (which have since been redecorated).

 

I did not book any excursions until I got onto the ship, but for some of the more popular ones, you may want to book ahead. I got the last spot on the Sea Eagle excursion, for example. A number of the others are on tourist buses, and we were told they just schedule and additional bus for more popular trips if they book up ahead of time.

 

I would second booking your train tickets on-line early. Comfort Cabin (1st class) seats can sell out, and these are much nicer seats (also reserved) than the regular fare.

 

In Bergen you check your bags on the dock when you check in, and they are delivered to your cabin. When arriving back in Bergen, you put your bags outside your door in the morning and then claim them on the dock upon disembarkation (in the afternoon).

[SarniaLo]

Something else to keep in mind : when you buy the excursions on board, you buy them in the local currency (NOK). In my experience, everything booked on board in NOK was always cheaper than buying them in your own currency from your local Hurtigruten agent prior to the trip.

[janetcbl]

Thank you Janetcbl - what time of year was this? We are planning on June, July or August.

 

We have gone from late May to late September. If you are going round trip and plan to visit the North Cape, the Southbound Breakfast at the North Cape, IMO, is the one to take. You will be the only ship excursion there and the sun is up all the time so it is very light. With the Northbound trip you may be "sharing" the area with other ship excursions and it can be crowded at the monument and inside the visitor center.

[kiwigirl]

Something else to keep in mind : when you buy the excursions on board, you buy them in the local currency (NOK). In my experience, everything booked on board in NOK was always cheaper than buying them in your own currency from your local Hurtigruten agent prior to the trip.

 

That's very good to know. Thank you.

[digitl]

What time of year did you do the North Cape excursion? We will be going June, July or August.

 

We were there in October. A reasonable compromise on daylight hours, weather and the chances of seeing the Northern Lights, which we did on four nights.

[kiwigirl]

So we have picked a cruise. We'll be doing the 12 day, Bergen round trip, on the MS Trollfjord at the beginning of August.

 

That's all that's been decided at this time. We'll be looking into flights and pre or post-cruise at Thanksgiving. There are 5 of us going, 3 from the east coast and 2 from the west coast.

[kiwigirl]

I do have another question. We will be on Deck 6. On one side of the ship there are 3 Level O cabins and on the other side there are only 2. Can anyone tell me what's on the other side of the cabin where there are only 2 (cabin 642).

 

Thanks everyone!

 

 

[SarniaLo]

Maybe a technical room? (I'm thinking some place where the cleaning crew stores their gear). The cabins are very well soundproofed so whatever this is it should not be a problem.

[crizzlyhug]

I do have another question. We will be on Deck 6. On one side of the ship there are 3 Level O cabins and on the other side there are only 2. Can anyone tell me what's on the other side of the cabin where there are only 2 (cabin 642).

 

Thanks everyone!

 

 

I don't know about this ship. But on others there is a sliding door wich goes to the crew-only staircase. I saw that on the Nordnorge during the safety-drill at our antarctic cruise.

[Splinter]

So we have picked a cruise. We'll be doing the 12 day, Bergen round trip, on the MS Trollfjord at the beginning of August.

 

That's all that's been decided at this time. We'll be looking into flights and pre or post-cruise at Thanksgiving. There are 5 of us going, 3 from the east coast and 2 from the west coast.

 

Be sure to check into Norwegian Air for your flights. Although I did have to drive up to LAX from San Diego for this, it was a real savings compared to Delta/United/SAS, etc. and it was a direct flight from LAX to Oslo.

[kiwigirl]

Yes, we figured we would drive to LAX...more options from there. What was it like driving home after the long flight? Did you drive and leave your car or did you hire a car?

 

 

Be sure to check into Norwegian Air for your flights. Although I did have to drive up to LAX from San Diego for this, it was a real savings compared to Delta/United/SAS, etc. and it was a direct flight from LAX to Oslo.

[Splinter]

Yes, we figured we would drive to LAX...more options from there. What was it like driving home after the long flight? Did you drive and leave your car or did you hire a car?

 

I drove my own car and parked at a discounted off-site lot near LAX that I have used before. Drove up leaving San Diego at 0430 to miss the worst of the LA traffic (if you are going on a weekday), and upon return I drove straight home after having dinner near LAX. I think I was on the freeway about 2030. I did get sleepy, so pulled over and took a brief nap in San Clemente.

 

I tried to privately e-mail with the address you have on your signature, but it came back as undeliverable. Would love to talk with you privately.

 

Just booked my next cruise...Tulip Time on a 7 day river cruise from Amsterdam. Already excited!

[kiwigirl]

Thank you for the information. :)

 

Maybe a technical room? (I'm thinking some place where the cleaning crew stores their gear). The cabins are very well soundproofed so whatever this is it should not be a problem.

 

I don't know about this ship. But on others there is a sliding door wich goes to the crew-only staircase. I saw that on the Nordnorge during the safety-drill at our antarctic cruise.

[kiwigirl]

It was my old email address and I just figured out how to fix it. It should work now.

 

Thanks!!

 

 

 

I drove my own car and parked at a discounted off-site lot near LAX that I have used before. Drove up leaving San Diego at 0430 to miss the worst of the LA traffic (if you are going on a weekday), and upon return I drove straight home after having dinner near LAX. I think I was on the freeway about 2030. I did get sleepy, so pulled over and took a brief nap in San Clemente.

 

I tried to privately e-mail with the address you have on your signature, but it came back as undeliverable. Would love to talk with you privately.

 

Just booked my next cruise...Tulip Time on a 7 day river cruise from Amsterdam. Already excited!

Edited November 15, 2016 by kiwigirl

[MMDown Under]

I have traveled on MS Lofoten, MS Vesteraalen, MS Nordlys, MS Nordnorge, MS Polarlys (before renovation, but I have visited it post-renovation in 2016), MS Finnmarken and MS Trollfjord. So a good part of the range of the possible ships. Each one has its pros and cons, but as previously said it comes down to what you are looking for in a ship and in this experience. My personal favorite is MS Lofoten, but I would not recommend her to everybody. So if you give us more information about you and your taste it's easier to recommend which ship would be "better" for you.

 

Oh I am so envious. Of all the trips I have done, land and cruise, Norwegian Coastal Voyage was my favourite, until I did Hurtigruten's Fram's cruise to Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica.

 

I would recommend full board as Norway is expensive. We spent all our time on board in the Observation Lounge taking in the spectacular scenery.

[digitl]

Of all the trips I have done, land and cruise, Norwegian Coastal Voyage was my favourite, until I did Hurtigruten's Fram's cruise to Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica.

 

And, of course, having done one cruise with Hurtigruten you are entitled to a 5% discount on later bookings which provides a useful saving on Fram.

[kiwigirl]

We will be meeting with the travel agent on Friday afternoon. We have a couple of more questions I'm hoping someone here will have the answers to.

 

We are going to be on the Trollfjord. Do they have hair dryers in all cabins? I haven't been able to confirm this on their website.

 

Has anyone done the wine package? We are a group of 5 with 2-3 people that drink wine. Would it be worth doing? What is the price?

 

What about the coffee package? Price? I'm not a coffee or tea drinker but I would drink hot chocolate.

 

Thanks to all. Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[Splinter]

I got the coffee/tea package. Would not do it again. You are given an insulated travel mug, which is tiny. Coffee and tea only (no hot chocolate) at the one station on board, and the station was not open 24/7. Very limited hours. I drank as much as I could, but still didn't think it was a bargain. You can take your mug into the dining room though...I took it with just water in it a number of times since at the time of my cruise you could not get water there for dinner without buying it.

 

Did not get the wine package, but I was traveling solo, so most likely would not have been worth it.

[SarniaLo]

There are hair dryers in all cabins (except, I think, on MS Lofoten).

As far as I understand the coffee deal doesn't come with the mug anymore (just the right to have coffee/tea when you want), so even more not worth it as you have free coffee at every meal. I actually quite liked the mugs and they made good souvenirs (I used them extensively at home, at work or while sailing).

[kiwigirl]

For anyone who did excursions, how did you book them?

 

I've made an account on the Hurtigruten website and I have our booking number but I can't figure out how to book the excursions.

 

Also during the summer months did you experience any excursions that got cancelled or changed?

 

Do most of you book your excursions prior to the trip or book on board?

 

Thanks again for all of your help.

[florisdekort]

This thread has been extremely helpful - thanks everyone!

 

I just booked my first Hurtigruten cruise, 7 January 2018, Finnmarken, round trip from/to Bergen. I have been to the North Cape 3x on Azamara during the summer months, but really wanted to do this trip in the darkness of winter for the snow, huskies, snowmobiles and of course the northern lights. I managed to book a 'suite' with a balcony which comes with both the water- and wine package. The Hurtigruten website also allowed me to book all excursions at the same time, which I did. Still 13 months to go, but I'm all set [emoji846]

 

Really looking forward to the husky ride, midnight snowmobile expedition and midnight concert at the Arctic cathedral. Very exciting!

 

Cheers,

Floris

 

 

 

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[rlbeck]

This thread has been extremely helpful - thanks everyone!

 

I just booked my first Hurtigruten cruise, 7 January 2018, Finnmarken, round trip from/to Bergen. I have been to the North Cape 3x on Azamara during the summer months, but really wanted to do this trip in the darkness of winter for the snow, huskies, snowmobiles and of course the northern lights. I managed to book a 'suite' with a balcony which comes with both the water- and wine package. The Hurtigruten website also allowed me to book all excursions at the same time, which I did. Still 13 months to go, but I'm all set [emoji846]

 

Really looking forward to the husky ride, midnight snowmobile expedition and midnight concert at the Arctic cathedral. Very exciting!

 

Cheers,

Floris

 

 

 

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Floris: You will love Hurtigruten! My wife and I did the 12-day R/T on MS Vesteralen from mid to the end of Oct. Kind of a quirky ship, but as SarniaLo has so well described here, there really is no bad ship in their fleet. Scenery is magnificent and the cuisine onboard was superb. We have sailed major cruise lines for the past fifteen years and we would not hesitate to go with Hurtigruten again.....enjoy!!!