Is anybody there at Hurtigruten?

[GottaKnowWhen]

Are all the employees furloughed? I do continue to get automated offers for future cruises, but their website is totally unresponsive. As are the people who should be reading email. Specifically, for many months now, when I put my reservation number into the web form to "check your reservation", I get a "sorry we are not working now" message. When I look at the website to see my March 2022 cruise, zilch, nada, nothing. Our ship doesn't show up at all, but maybe it is there a week or 10 days earlier and maybe it shows up again the following month. But no indication of our March 2022 Expedition cruise from Bergen. So I sent an email last week asking if our cruise was still scheduled, and what were our options if that cruise was no longer in their plans. No response. None. Total silence. I would just go ahead and cancel and give up on them but I am afraid that I can't even cancel now because they are just going to ignore me... 

Stan

[hallasm]

I checked their Norwegian website and it is somewhat deficient regarding expedition voyages with MS Trollfjord from Bergen.  
Immediately, all expedition voyages from Bergen are canceled until September 21, 2021 but then absolutely no information.  
And there are certainly far fewer employees at work answering emails.

[GottaKnowWhen]

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

I checked their Norwegian website and it is somewhat deficient regarding expedition voyages with MS Trollfjord from Bergen.  
Immediately, all expedition voyages from Bergen are canceled until September 21, 2021 but then absolutely no information.  
And there are certainly far fewer employees at work answering emails.

Thanks for that info. Our booking is supposed to be on MS Otto Sverdrup for 27 March 2022 Bergen-North Cape - Bergen White Winter Expedition. At one point it seemed they were doing a similar itinerary from Hamburg, and if that were the alternative I would definitely cancel. A large part of the attraction of this itinerary was the Bergen departure and the opportunity to visit Norwegian friends before or after. I have seen some Azamara itineraries which go to at least some of the same spots along the Norwegian coast and if I have to depart from someplace other than Bergen I would prefer a more comfortable ship. We'll see...

Stan

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

Our booking is supposed to be on MS Otto Sverdrup for 27 March 2022 Bergen-North Cape - Bergen White Winter Expedition.

in March 2022 MS Otto Sverdrup is scheduled for Norwegian Coast voyages out of Hamburg. Cannot find any of the original planned Expedition voyages out of Bergen

[donaldsc]

I am or was booked on one of the Hurtigrutin AK cruises.  My TA got a call yesterday that the cruise was cancelled.  Not surprising as all the 2021 AK cruises have been cancelled.

 

DON

[tothemall&beyond]

I spoke with my contact person in their office in Norway just last week, and have emailed back and forth with him four times this week. 

[GottaKnowWhen]

Since I mentioned the issue here, I have had 3 different emails saying “we understand you have been trying to reach us and we will respond soon.” Most recently 3 days ago. I guess they have no answer to my questions which are a) is my itinerary in 2022 still going to sail? b) if you switch to a ship with smaller cabins, what compensation might I receive? c) will you please send me a full refund?

 

No answers, no real contact. Except that I keep getting their ads extolling their wonderful itineraries. I would be tempted by some of the options if I had any faith in the company.

Stan

[hallasm]

8 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

my questions which are a) is my itinerary in 2022 still going to sail? b) if you switch to a ship with smaller cabins, what compensation might I receive? c) will you please send me a full refund?

The problem is that they, like other companies in the leisure industry, lack the capacity to answer the many inquiries and that they certainly do not currently know the answers to your questions.

 

Right now,  Hurtigruten sails with 5 out of 11 departures on the coastal route - hardly because there are many guests but because they are obliged to operate the route with local passengers, cars and goods.

Expeditions' voyages from Bergen are primarily targeted at foreign tourists and when Norway will again allow overseas tourists without quarantine is an open question.  The pandemic is under control in Norway but vaccinations are very slow.

 

You were originally booked on MS Otto Svendrup.  It seems that she is now sailing from Hamburg.  The alternative might be MS Trollfjord - the same size ship and in fact larger cabins.  I do not know which cabin category you have ordered - cabins on Hurtigruten's individual ships are generally quite different. 

 

 You can request a refund from this link https://www.hurtigruten.com/contact-us/feedback/

[comcox]

I am surprised the Hurtigruten is still advertising April sailings from Dover, UK as right now the FCO is sailing no sailings except for ferries.  We are booked for UK sailing in early July and are "on the hook" waiting to see if that one will go.  Fred Olsen has cancelled all sailings thru end of June  and P&O thru end of May.

[richws]

On 2/6/2021 at 11:09 AM, comcox said:

I am surprised the Hurtigruten is still advertising April sailings from Dover, UK as right now the FCO is sailing no sailings except for ferries.  We are booked for UK sailing in early July and are "on the hook" waiting to see if that one will go.  Fred Olsen has cancelled all sailings thru end of June  and P&O thru end of May.

 

The UK Hurtigruten website is stating Dover sailings in  March & April are cancelled  https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/practical-information/coronavirus-update/sailings-and-cancellations/

[comcox]

3 hours ago, richws said:

 

The UK Hurtigruten website is stating Dover sailings in  March & April are cancelled  https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/practical-information/coronavirus-update/sailings-and-cancellations/

Looks like U.S. website just caught up and showing unavailable now for those dates.