Hurtigruten sledding options

[hafenbates]

We're booked on the Polarlys 12-day round trip March 13.  Looking at the excursion options, there's a few options for dog sledding and snowmobiling.  And not a lot of specifics/difference in the descriptions.  Any input/advise/review would be so helpful to us:  Husky sledge (Kirkenes) or Dog sledding (Tromso)?  Snowmobile trip (Kjollefjord) or snowmobile safari (Kirkenes) or snowmobile trip (Mehamn).  Thinking otherwise, most of the exploring we'd do on our own, but any other excursions we shouldn't miss?  Thanks!

 

[hallasm]

Husky and dog sledging is the same. Both the dogs and snowmobile is great options and one of the tours a must. 

the big differences are the smell and noise. Dogs vs motor. I prefer during night/dark. Additional clothing will be provided. Can be extremely cold. 

I have only sailed Hurtigruten during summer. My first winter sailing will be in January 2019 - however I have travelled in North Norway and Finland several times during Winter time.

 I’ll review Hurtigruten winter excursion offerings and provide my recommendations - also my review of the sailing in January will be available before your sailing. 

[hafenbates]

thank you!

I was seeking any advice on WHICH dog sled trip might be best, since there are 2 offered.  Same question on the snowmobiling (3 choices there).  Is one area/operator better to go with that the other(s).  Haven't found many reviews of the Hurtigruten winter trips... 

[hallasm]

I have no experience with Hurtigruten offerings - I would not expect the different offerings to be very different -- dog sledge or snowmobile tours are very similar from all tour providers. 

You will for sure have much more snow and colder weather in Kirkenes.

My recommendation will be to choose the tour based on the description of the tour and how it best fit into your program.

[SarniaLo]

I haven't done those excursions personnaly but I've talked with people who have done one or the other. None were unhappy, so that's a good thing, meaning there is no bad choice, so indeed choose the one that fits your other interest (ie what would you miss if you did one excursion or the other).

From those discussions, I may choose the one in Kirkenes, because the settings are very lovely (around a lake). And as the dogs are linked to the Ice Hotel, you have the opportunity at the end of the trip to have a quick visit of the Ice Hotel (so two excursions in one!). And that would give you time to visit Tromso, which is an enjoyable city.

No idea about the snowmobile trips, note that they are often cancelled because of weather conditions (particularly the ones at night).

[hafenbates]

thank you so much!  just the answer/info I was looking for

 

[aronde]

Be aware dog sledding gets cancelled also. We had it booked for Kirkenes but it was -32 and to cold for the dogs to go for a run! Replaced with snow hotel extended tour and visiting the dogs in their unheated kennels. 

[Bella0714]

Does anyone know if the dog sledding offered by Hurtigruten is the same as the one offered by the Kirkenes Snow Hotel?

[aronde]

Yes the dogs, snow hotel and also reindeer are all in the one spot. 

[hallasm]

13 hours ago, Bella0714 said:

Does anyone know if the dog sledding offered by Hurtigruten is the same as the one offered by the Kirkenes Snow Hotel?

If you are doing the Hurtigruten 12 nights return  you do not have the Snow hotel option - not sufficient time - departure from Kirkenes is 12:30 - also for other tour operators than Hurtigruten you need to organise transfer.

[Bella0714]

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

If you are doing the Hurtigruten 12 nights return  you do not have the Snow hotel option - not sufficient time - departure from Kirkenes is 12:30 - also for other tour operators than Hurtigruten you need to organise transfer.

 

Are you sure about that? The husky sled tour is one of the excursions listed on the northbound portion of the round trip with the tour departing a half hour after port arrival and returning a half hour before. Now that I look closer, it does go to the Snow Hotel, so I’m assuming they run the tour.

[hallasm]

I might have misunderstood your question. When I say ‘Snow Hotel option’ I do mean booking the tour through the Snow Hotel rather than booking through Hurtigruten.

Hurtigruten and The Snow Hotel (and other operators) are offering Husky tours in Kirkenes and you can book these tours either at Hurtigruten or from the Snow Hotel (or others) - difference tours, timing and lengths. 

When sailing Hurtigruten you can only book the excursion offered by Hurtigruten  including visit to the Snow Hotel - you do not have the opportunity to book through other operators due to timing.

Edited November 16, 2018 by hallasm

[Hunding]

And sometimes there are no options!  Ha!

 

Unusual weather in Norway right now - 12 C in Kirkenes yesterday!  Needless to say, no snow...so no sledging!  And "no" a lot of other options, as well.  We were disappointed, but there are many other things on our "menu," so we'll be fine.

 

BTW, Hurtigruten is trying a new meal "system" at dinner:  Seatings at 6, 6:30, 7:30, 8 and 8:30.  They open the dining room in thirds, and then rotate - 6 port, 6:30 stern, 7 starboard, 7:30 port, and so forth.  We'll see.  The hovering waitstaff is offensive, though probably just untrained, but twice I had to tell an inquiring server, "No, I'm NOT finished, there is still food on my plate!"  And then they interrupted our meal to push/sell drinks to accompany your dessert - tonight it was calvados.  Well, I'm sorry, but no - just NO.  Very cheap and cheesy, IMO.  Instead of "art" and photographs, they're pushing after-dinner drinks during dinner!  You are then sent to the bar upstairs for after-dinner coffee or tea - you cannot sit at the table and talk, because they have to set up for the next shift.  And the crowds at breakfast and lunch were, well, really unruly.  Not at all what we expected.  It's like a Carnival cruise at these two meals.  The food is fine - I had a wonderful vegetable mélange at lunch, and am grateful for the abundant lettuce.  DInner - lamb - was okay, but I wouldn't have it again.  But, as my mother used to say, "It is what it is."

 

We'll see.  Looking forward immensely for a long three-hour walk in Trondheim tomorrow.  Hope the weather holds until noon.

 

I'll check in again.

 

 

[hafenbates]

So helpful, thanks!  Right now I'm thinking we'd book excursions for dog sledding in Tromso, arctic ice park in Kirkenes, midnight concert in Tromso, and Lofoten by horse. Otherwise explore on our own.   And if the weather is no good, they'll be more on-our-own exploration.  

 

Please keep sending info, it's so helpful. Last I'd heard there were 2 dinner seatings, so we booked the "first" one.  Sounds like we're 6 PM port-side.

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, Hunding said:

And sometimes there are no options!  Ha!

 

Unusual weather in Norway right now - 12 C in Kirkenes yesterday!  Needless to say, no snow...so no sledging!  And "no" a lot of other options, as well.  We were disappointed, but there are many other things on our "menu," so we'll be fine.

 

BTW, Hurtigruten is trying a new meal "system" at dinner:  Seatings at 6, 6:30, 7:30, 8 and 8:30.  They open the dining room in thirds, and then rotate - 6 port, 6:30 stern, 7 starboard, 7:30 port, and so forth.  We'll see.  The hovering waitstaff is offensive, though probably just untrained, but twice I had to tell an inquiring server, "No, I'm NOT finished, there is still food on my plate!"  And then they interrupted our meal to push/sell drinks to accompany your dessert - tonight it was calvados.  Well, I'm sorry, but no - just NO.  Very cheap and cheesy, IMO.  Instead of "art" and photographs, they're pushing after-dinner drinks during dinner!  You are then sent to the bar upstairs for after-dinner coffee or tea - you cannot sit at the table and talk, because they have to set up for the next shift.  And the crowds at breakfast and lunch were, well, really unruly.  Not at all what we expected.  It's like a Carnival cruise at these two meals.  The food is fine - I had a wonderful vegetable mélange at lunch, and am grateful for the abundant lettuce.  DInner - lamb - was okay, but I wouldn't have it again.  But, as my mother used to say, "It is what it is."

 

We'll see.  Looking forward immensely for a long three-hour walk in Trondheim tomorrow.  Hope the weather holds until noon.

 

I'll check in again.

 

 

 

Thank you for the update - looks like the new seating concept is to the worse. My experience with the Torget restaurant have been much better.

Yes - very hot summer and autumn does impact the the amount of snow - however 12 C in Kirkenes? should be colder? Enjoy an early morning in Trondheim - looking forward to your updates. 

[GeezerCouple]

18 hours ago, Hunding said:

And sometimes there are no options!  Ha!

 

Unusual weather in Norway right now - 12 C in Kirkenes yesterday!  Needless to say, no snow...so no sledging!  And "no" a lot of other options, as well.  We were disappointed, but there are many other things on our "menu," so we'll be fine.

 

BTW, Hurtigruten is trying a new meal "system" at dinner:  Seatings at 6, 6:30, 7:30, 8 and 8:30.  They open the dining room in thirds, and then rotate - 6 port, 6:30 stern, 7 starboard, 7:30 port, and so forth.  We'll see.  The hovering waitstaff is offensive, though probably just untrained, but twice I had to tell an inquiring server, "No, I'm NOT finished, there is still food on my plate!"  And then they interrupted our meal to push/sell drinks to accompany your dessert - tonight it was calvados.  Well, I'm sorry, but no - just NO.  Very cheap and cheesy, IMO.  Instead of "art" and photographs, they're pushing after-dinner drinks during dinner!  You are then sent to the bar upstairs for after-dinner coffee or tea - you cannot sit at the table and talk, because they have to set up for the next shift.  And the crowds at breakfast and lunch were, well, really unruly.  Not at all what we expected.  It's like a Carnival cruise at these two meals.  The food is fine - I had a wonderful vegetable mélange at lunch, and am grateful for the abundant lettuce.  DInner - lamb - was okay, but I wouldn't have it again.  But, as my mother used to say, "It is what it is."

 

We'll see.  Looking forward immensely for a long three-hour walk in Trondheim tomorrow.  Hope the weather holds until noon.

 

I'll check in again.

 

 

 

So sorry you are experiencing that type of "dining" situation.

It's quite different from what we experienced in March.  We still had the "two seating" model.  And although it was buffet and not served for breakfast and lunch, we didn't find it unruly.  It was slightly chaotic (that sounds worse than I intended!), but everyone was polite and well-mannered.  It was just that people were wandering around to see what was laid out so they knew what to choose.  That's more a function of the many choices available, which was a "plus", not a negative.

 

But the description of the waitstaff at dinner...!?  Not at all what we experienced.  In fact, I barely remember being offered any after-dinner drinks.  I'm not remembering any, actually.  Perhaps that was because we were first seating, and they wanted to clear us out so they could set up for second seating?

We ordered wine shortly after we sat down, and there wasn't any pushing of offering "more".  (We got wine by the glass, in which case we would have expected more "pushing" of a second glass.  Usually we get nicer bottles, but on Hurtigruten, as I had mentioned before, we were delighted to see some of those nicer wines available by the glass.  Not inexpensive, but a full bottle would have been even more "not expensive"   But we didn't think they were overpriced, compared with other cruise lines or even restaurants.  It was just *very* nice to see such a selection, especially by the glass.)

 

I would have thought that having mutiple "tiered" seatings, by location, would make it better, not worse.  After all, they don't need to wait for *everyone* to finish before the "next" seating.  And serving *everyone* also takes longer, so that stretches out the length of each of the two seatings before people can even start eating, etc.

And pushing the after-dinner drinks... that should make it harder to turn over the area in a timely fashion.

I wonder if they *just* started this, and either haven't figured out how to handle things?

Too bad.  We found the dinner service to be very nice indeed, even though it was simplified by the pre-planned servings (including those with special dietary preferences).

 

Let us know if things pick up!

 

GC

[Vipa391]

Note this was a 2013 posting. According to season here are 1 or 2 sittings dependant on number of passengers.

[GeezerCouple]

9 minutes ago, Vipa391 said:

Note this was a 2013 posting. According to season here are 1 or 2 sittings dependant on number of passengers.

 

I believe Hunding, who posted about the new "several seatings" is on the cruise right now.

GC

[Vipa391]

Oh Sorry see my mistake now. 

Think the old system worked. However can see that by splitting service times there would be less waiting and food would be hot. Wonder if you are committed to the same dining time each day. Know the queue for each meal seemed to start well in advance to door opening time.

Agree breakfast and lunch servings appear a bit chaotic but good natured on the whole.

[Hunding]

On 11/19/2018 at 2:48 AM, Vipa391 said:

Oh Sorry see my mistake now. 

Think the old system worked. However can see that by splitting service times there would be less waiting and food would be hot. Wonder if you are committed to the same dining time each day. Know the queue for each meal seemed to start well in advance to door opening time.

Agree breakfast and lunch servings appear a bit chaotic but good natured on the whole.

 

Vipa391

At dinner, you are emphatically "committed" to the same time, the same table, and the same company - unless you or they request a different time and table, and are accommodated.  

Queues are SOP for everything. 

BTW, tablecloths are [high-quality] plastic, and napkins are [very good quality] paper.  It makes a lot of sense, especially considering the weather and the - as you point out - "chaotic but good natured" environment of the first two meals of the day.

Though we haven't inquired, I suspect Hurtigruten has initiated a trial with this change - whether just on Trollfjord or on other ships, as well, I don't know.  Must ask.  It certainly would lighten the burden for servers, even though I imagine they work a bit longer in the dining room.  They are not just servers, of course - they also function as cabin attendants, and serve in various other capacities around the ship.  The passenger/crew ratio is VERY high (or low, depending on how you look at it) - the stats on this ship list a crew of 75.  A full ship has over 800 passengers...I will leave the math to you!

We have found on this ship, and in Norway generally, there is an assumption of self-reliance, something untrue in, for instance, the United States.  And there is also - miraculously in 2018 - an assumption that you are honest.  For example, not once have I been asked for any excursion voucher - the guides simply count heads.  This round-trip voyage will not be long enough for me to divine the subtleties and particulars of the way Norwegians think and process...and certainly their value systems are different.  This a work-in-progress for me.

[hallasm]

Hunding - thank you for the update which is generating a number of questions - are your fare SELECT or BASIC? As SELECT you should be able to choose your preferred dining time - maybe changed as well?  Normally MS Trollfjord has a crew of 170 - a reduction to only 75 does sound quite dramatic! Hope Hurtigruten do get dinner under control before my voyage in January 2019.

... and welcome to Scandinavia - the culture here is a bit different from US. Hope you'll be able to pick-up more difference during your voyage.

[Vipa391]

Thank you Hunding for your full reply.

guess the total time spent by the servers is much the same just divided into 4 sessions rather than 2. Agree they work incredibly hard between housekeeping bar duties and in the restaurant. They do it with such good grace and pleasant attitude. 

Planning on booking our 10th trip soon. March 2020. Need the time to save for the bar bill!!

[Elka]

On 11/22/2018 at 12:49 PM, hallasm said:

Hunding - thank you for the update which is generating a number of questions - are your fare SELECT or BASIC? As SELECT you should be able to choose your preferred dining time - maybe changed as well?  Normally MS Trollfjord has a crew of 170 - a reduction to only 75 does sound quite dramatic! Hope Hurtigruten do get dinner under control before my voyage in January 2019.

... and welcome to Scandinavia - the culture here is a bit different from US. Hope you'll be able to pick-up more difference during your voyage.

 

So true! I come from the New York City metro area, and I got culture shock when I was in Helsinki, Finland. I was in a part of Helsinki that had no traffic lights, signs or crosswalks. Every time that I wanted to cross a street I would be looking both ways numerous times while everyone else was just crossing the street without care. I just couldn’t get my ingrained habit to loosen up!