Hurtigruten vs Havila for Norway Coast in winter?

[CruiseMark]

I’m just starting my research for a winter 2024 Norway coastal cruise to see the northern lights and the arctic. 12-14 nights. 
 

Having a hard time finding a lot of information on either line, especially Havila. Yes, I realize they’re new after a couple years of delays, but they seem to offer much more modern and better furnished ships in addition to a noticeably cheaper price. I could get a beautiful large room with floor to ceiling windows on Havila for much less than an Inside cabin on Hurtigruten.
 

What other differences should I be aware of?

Are there differences in the food? I don’t eat fish or seafood as I don’t want to be eating herring for two weeks 😊

What about times in port or excursions? Are there big differences there?

Do the port to port “ferry passengers” eat in the same dining room as the “cruise” guests? (Forgive the terminology, hopefully you understand what I mean)

What am I missing?

 

Thanks. 

[hallasm]

Hurtigruten and Havila sail exactly the same route - the same ports and the same timetable.  
Food and excursions a comparable.   Norwegian west coast is sea food - but don’t panic - you’ll not get sea food all 11 nights.

Havila are new ships with larger cabins.

North bound is 6 nights - south bound is 5 nights - total of 11 nights for round trip.

The crews on the four Havila ships come from Hurtigruten.  

Passengers sailing from port to port often eat in the café.  

You can safely choose Havila - and fine if their price is lower.

 

You can consider to to do only north bound and then extend your stay in Bergen and Kirkenes - many good winter excursions and more northern lights.
The Railway from Oslo to Bergen is a great option - with one or two nights in the Flåm area. During winter Hurtigruten (or Havila) will not sail the deep fjords.

Personally I do find the 11 night round trip ‘too much of the same’. However, some would disagree with me on that assessment.

Edited February 19, 2023 by hallasm

[airbusdrvr]

We are looking at the 12 day cruise on Havila next February. The only thing that is holding me back from booking is the issue with the still undelivered ships and the sudden 50+% drop in Havila’s stock price over the past few months. Some research indicates Havila may be in financial distress. If I do book, I will make sure my trip insurance covers financial default of the cruise line.

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, airbusdrvr said:

If I do book, I will make sure my trip insurance covers financial default of the cruise line.

Yes, Havila has had major problems with delivery of the ships due to Corona and financing because the ships were originally leased by a Russian-owned company subject to sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.  
But there is no need to worry if you buy the voyage directly from Havila.  You will be fully compensated in the event of bankruptcy.  As a holidaymaker booking a package holiday and/or associated travel arrangements, you benefit from a high level of consumer protection under EU rules.  “Havila Kystruten has provided a statutory guarantee to the Norwegian travel guarantee fund to protect you, the passenger.  For more information see: https://reisegarantifondet.no” link in Norwegian Language- you can use Google translate for translation.

 

More information in terms and conditions. Also read their cancellation policy and make sure you have an appropriate Travel insurance.

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by hallasm

[hallasm]

Latest information regarding delay of Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux 

 

Havila Kystruten has not yet received a response to its application for a license to the Irish central bank, the company has decided to postpone Havila Polaris' start-up on the route until 7 April

 

The Tersan yard announced delayed delivery of Havila Pollux due to force majeure following the earthquake disaster in Turkey.  Havila Kystruten is now planning the first round trip on route for Havila Pollux on 27 May 2023.

 

[airbusdrvr]

Thank you for the above information.

[grayjay]

We're booked on a Havila coastal journey in the fall of 2023 because of the reasons stated by Hallasm: newer ships, much better cabins, lower prices: we got a junior suite with balcony for the same price as Hurtigruten asked for a much smaller outside view cabin. We decided on one of the ships already running, though ( Capella/Castor) because of the delays for the newer ships.

We chose the route Bergen-Kirkenes-Trondheim which is one day less ( a bit cheaper, too) because it covers the most beautiful sights and we'll stay in Trondheim for another day ( beautiful city, but there'
s never enough time during the coastal route journey) and travelling back to Oslo via Dovre train which is another top journey besides the train journey from Oslo to Bergen.

Food on Hurtigruten vs. Havila seems to be very similar and exceptionally good. Lots of seafood but you can always find something different ( meat or vegetarian) or if you notify the ship before you sail ( by e-mail) they'll adjust the meals if necessary. I don't eat any kind of cheese, for example, so I always got something different, for example a different main course etc.

Hurtigruten sometimes offers buffets for lunch or dinner, Havila always serves meals at the table, but you can order as much as you want regarding courses.

If possible stay a day or two in Oslo and/ or Bergen to enjoy these beautiful cities before you board the ship.

One word of warning, though: we love travelling the coastal route because it's near to the coast and there's a lot to see, but one drawback is the darkness in the winter months ( less to watch) and the fact, that most of the port stops are really short - look at the list of port stops on Hurtigruten's or Havila's site so that you can decide more easily. Cities like Alesund, Trondheim, Tromso, Honnigsvag etc. have longer stops, though.

The longer hours of daylight are the reason why we now prefer the fall journeys, more daylight, still good chances for northern lights. During our winter journey in March, we already had longer hours of daylight, but the statistical perfect chances for northern lights fell through during that journey - not a spot... So it's always a gamble - having perfect days with snow, sunshine, northern lights at night or heavy rains, storms or gales, icy streets on which you have to use spikes for walking and clouds at night, too.

Still - it's wonderful to cruise along the coast of Norway, so we're always coming back, and coming back , and coming back...

[airbusdrvr]

I just saw this on a Celebrity Cruise group. I realize Havila ships address some of their concerns, but are we really unwelcome in some ports?

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/norway-anticruise-poster-campaign-b2125605.html

 

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, airbusdrvr said:

I just saw this on a Celebrity Cruise group

Absolutely not. This is a frenzy against the cruise ships because it is assumed that they pollute -  "in an attempt to raise awareness of the environmental and social damage it claims is caused by the cruise industry."  
You cannot compare Havila and Hurtigruten with cruise ships or cruise industry.  Their ships are all small and are part of Norway's infrastructure/public traffic.  In addition, they are powered by electricity when sailing in the deep fjords.

[Homerody]

Want to chime in with our experience on the topic.

 

We had a Hurtigruten trip planned at the begining of the pandemic.  Obviously that was cancellled.  Then there was a ship change with a less desirable cabin and more COVID cancellations.

 

Along came Havila offering some spiffy ships at great prices - in a nice brochure.  No ships yet - at that point - so in a huge leap of faith we took a refund from Hurtigruten and went to Havilla.  Will be taking the voyage this spring - in a much better cabin and newer ship.

 

Working on excursions now.

 

A few related things:

 

Havila is part a bigger shipping conglomorete.  Not really sure about finances and company structure and chances of banckruptcy, and they do have issues of timely delivery of ships (COVID, recent earthquakes, and Russia sanctions) and even fines by Norwegian government for associated delays  - if I were booking today, I would not hesitate booking with travel insurance (as is prudent with any large travel purchase these dsays).

 

Bent Martini, the guy that runs Havila Coastal used to run Hurtigruten Coastal (till he got fired and sat out a few months - quite possibly to let a non compete clause run out and joined the fledgling Havila).

 

And on excursions, they are pretty much simiare as Hallasam noted.  In some cases Havila excursions are a few $$$ cheaper than Hurtigruten - although they dont sail on the same days of the week.

 

As for food - as noted in the thread, no buffet on Havila. Smaller ala carte plates, as much as you want.  I  recently heard a podcats with one of the Havila execs and their stated goal is to limit food waste to 75 grams per person per day.

 

And their customer service from early days - with just a brochure, to  after  booking questions has been very timely and highly responsive.

 

On a tangent - a tip of hat to hallsam - an invaluable resource here on all things Hurtigren Coastal.

[grayjay]

For those planning to travel with Havila in winter: I just read about an excursion Havila offers to those interested to see the Geiranger fjord in winter times - they sail the fjord on a smaller boat ( I think it's out of Alesund) during a day trip with snacks/meal on board. We haven't done it ourselves, yet, but I have heard it's quite costly ( about 330 Euros) but well worth the price if the weather is right.

[Homerody]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:03 PM, grayjay said:

For those planning to travel with Havila in winter: I just read about an excursion Havila offers to those interested to see the Geiranger fjord in winter times - they sail the fjord on a smaller boat ( I think it's out of Alesund) during a day trip with snacks/meal on board. We haven't done it ourselves, yet, but I have heard it's quite costly ( about 330 Euros) but well worth the price if the weather is right.

Greiranger is a sight to behold, as I read and reaseached.  TBH, though, the thought of getting off a ship to go on another for hours is not too appealing to me.  So we put the excursion in the maybe bucket.  So maybe it will be a last minute decision if there is availabilty and the weather is decent.

 

Hard choices, too many places too little time. 

[Homerody]

On 2/19/2023 at 7:35 AM, CruiseMark said:

Are there differences in the food? I don’t eat fish or seafood as I don’t want to be eating herring for two weeks 😊

 

I forgot to mention about food served. 

 

The sample menus show a fish heavy menu in the main dining room and the specialty restauarnt. The main dining room menu rotates every 3 days to highlight local "gastronomy" - 4 regions IIRC.  In either case, there are meat dishes (including reindeer and lamb), and some bean/vegetable/pasta dishes  on the sample menus.So I think you'll have options and some variety.

 

And then there is the cafe with "freshly baked waffles" (not a bad thing, right?) - and lighter meals.

 

Perhaps a board contributor who has recently completed the coastal voyage with Havila can comment about their food experience and menus during the voyage.

[Flyinby]

On 2/27/2023 at 11:03 AM, grayjay said:

For those planning to travel with Havila in winter: I just read about an excursion Havila offers to those interested to see the Geiranger fjord in winter times - they sail the fjord on a smaller boat ( I think it's out of Alesund) during a day trip with snacks/meal on board. We haven't done it ourselves, yet, but I have heard it's quite costly ( about 330 Euros) but well worth the price if the weather is right.

We did this tour on our recently-completed trip, and really enjoyed it. I hesitated to book it after seeing pictures of some of the fjords in fall, rather drab and brown, at least in the photos.  But with the snow, frozen waterfalls, etc. the scenery was really great.

 

The ferry boat is warm and comfortable, with padded seats, not crowded together, windows all around, and a snack bar with free coffee and food/drinks to buy.  The top deck is open for those ready for it in winter (mostly photographers, and good clothing with face covering is absolutely necessary when the winds come up).  2 rangers led the tour, very nice folks and did a good job of explaining things and keeping us fed.

 

After getting to Geiranger, there's a bus ride to Flydalsjuvet (with photo stop) and a video and tour of the Norwegian Fjord Center.  You can then (optional, but worth it) walk down the waterfall path to meet the bus below.  Ferry trip back with snacks.

 

It's a long tour, you won't have a lot of time to do much else in Alesund, despite the 10-hour winter stop.  It's about 8 1/2 hours, so the price is understandable, and I thought reasonable. It was a great first-day tour to get the voyage started, very memorable.  Price listed was NOK 3229.  Pics were late in the day on the return trip.

[Flyinby]

8 hours ago, Homerody said:

I forgot to mention about food served. 

 

The sample menus show a fish heavy menu in the main dining room and the specialty restauarnt. The main dining room menu rotates every 3 days to highlight local "gastronomy" - 4 regions IIRC.  In either case, there are meat dishes (including reindeer and lamb), and some bean/vegetable/pasta dishes  on the sample menus.So I think you'll have options and some variety.

 

And then there is the cafe with "freshly baked waffles" (not a bad thing, right?) - and lighter meals.

 

Perhaps a board contributor who has recently completed the coastal voyage with Havila can comment about their food experience and menus during the voyage.

I found enough variety in the menus, despite being a somewhat picky eater, to keep me well-fed, in fact more so than I wanted at times.  I like some fish, such as halibut and sole, but not interested in salmon or trout.  Tried the skrei, and found it "OK", but didn't go back for more later, it was rather tough.

 

The menu is certainly nothing like you'd get on a large cruise ship...Princess etc., even not considering the buffet, but I thought it was comparable to our recent Viking river trip...perhaps a bit more limited and "fishy".  But there are a couple of everyday choices, one being a "sailor's steak" which is good, I think the other is vegetarian.  There was pasta on some nights.  You choose a starter, a main dish, and a dessert at the start of the meal.  Starters and some main dishes (usually 4 daily choices in 3-day increments) had mysterious names to me, but I tried several starters (reluctantly) and they were either good or pretty good.  Desserts were good...good cheesecake and other items, but not a lot of different choices.  And then of course there was the cafe...

 

The Cafe is not just waffles.  Very good hamburgers with fries, hotdogs, toasties, a special of the day, along with pastries and various snacks, desserts and drinks.  The Gold package came with our junior suite, so I didn't worry about just wanting a hamburger for late lunch and spoiling my dinner 8^).  So, if the dining room doesn't have what you want, the cafe has some basics that may please you.  Coffee is good with different choices.

 

Breakfast was a a bit repetitive, despite the 3-day rotation, but always had oatmeal or porridge, scrambled eggs (semi-runny though), hard or soft boiled eggs, yogurt with granola, toast and breads, meats, cheeses, salmon, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting, but it was adequate.  No out of season fruits such as melon, which was disappointing considering all our hotels had plentiful and tasty fruit at breakfast.  They did have berries.  And limited whole grain breads, despite again, the hotels in Norway having great homemade whole grain breads ready for slicing.  The Gold breakfast menu added eggs benedict, range fed eggs cooked to order, and more, but I didn't use that much.

 

I think the menus could use some work, but I didn't go on the trip for the food, but I did find some new things that were good, and never went hungry, and there was always the cafe...8^)

Edited March 1, 2023 by Flyinby
i

[Homerody]

Thanks @Flyinby for your detailed posts.  Very informative and helpful.

[Homerody]

A quick and very late update.  We were on Havilla Castor in April.  Absolutely loved it.  The ship was very nice, great scenery (including 2 northern lights sightings), and good service.

 

The ship was at roughly 50% capacity with passengers  mostly German, Scandinavian and a few from UK.

 

Excursions were well run and quite good. I would agree with @Hallasm who said (elsewher on CC) Cape North is a great excurion.  (Although we we had strong gusty winds that made the walk around a bit cold and challenging.  But that was part of the charm and memories). We also enjoyed Saltstraumen.

 

We enjoyed the perks of Havilla Gold - especially at breakfast, when we enjoyed  leisurley our morning meal at the small and tranquil Hildring restaurant.

 

All the meals were served by wait staff.  No buffets in order to cut down food waste (and their costs, no doubt).  We quickly got acclimated to the Havila food concept and actually preferred it to buffets on other ships we were on.  So basically, if I wanted ham with breakfast, one order would be 1 slice.  So I can order 1 or 6 or 13.  Same with "small dishes" offered at other meals.  5 starters and no main course, not a problem.  As noted on other posts alcohol is not cheap.So plan accordingly or consider a drinks package.   (Funny thing, we were on another cruise recently with buffets.  I caught  myself thinkin OMG there is so much food being wasted.  I guess I've been Havila-ized. 😀)

 

While all the food was well prepared, well presented and tastey we generally enjoyed the fish/seafood items on the menu much more that meat dishes.

 

On our sailing they had a promotion where food (but not beverages) were complementary.  Bakery items were very good.  We sampled pizza and burger on a day we had an excursion - for a quick meal - and quickly figured out why the pizza was a popular item.  Room service was available by phone and app, but I never got the app to work.  Staff at the cafe advised that the best and easiest way is to order at the counter and either they would bring it up or I could bring it back to cabin.

 

Speaking of cabins, due to a pandemic saga involving cancellations and ship changes with Hurtigruten we decided to take a leap of faith and book with Havila (as I blathered on on other posts, I think).  In any event, we ended up booking a Jr. suite and saved money over a no-balcony cabin with Havila.  We thoroughly enjoyed our cabin and the extra space.  The balcony was nice on the souther part of the round trip saling, but I suspect a balcony would be great in the summer months.

 

All in all a great ship and experience. A couple of really minor first world problems encountered, but in the scheme of things inconsequential.  I would highly recommend Havila.

 

[hallasm]

54 minutes ago, Homerody said:

All in all a great ship and experience. A couple of really minor first world problems encountered, but in the scheme of things inconsequential.  I would highly recommend Havila.

Excellent review - Thank you.

[Homerody]

just a quick clarification on paragraph 7 in my post  (17 above)  - in which I speak about a free food promotion - that was in the Havly Cafe where  they have a quick food menu - pizza, burgers, salads, hot dogs etc and bakery items.

[adonisr]

We've booked the northbound route for the end of next March.  Really hoping to see the northern lights.

[Host Jazzbeau]

So as one who has semi-followed this thread:  is there a consensus about whether Hurtigruten or Havila is better for the Norway coast in winter [or any season] ?

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So as one who has semi-followed this thread:  is there a consensus about whether Hurtigruten or Havila is better for the Norway coast in winter [or any season] ?

Exactly the same route, same arrival and departure times for both shipping companies.

Hurtigruten has 7 ships of different sizes and ages on the route - the cabins are also very different. Havila has four identical and brand new ships - more standardized cabins.

Both have good restaurants where food is served from the areas passed - fresh supplies every day. Hurtigruten has several buffets - Havila doesn't have that.

Excursions are pretty much the same too - probably the same suppliers.

Havila crews are the former Hurtigruten crews from the four ships Havila replaced.

The experience of nature is the same. Personally, I would choose Havila - but look at the price and offer.

 

Hurtigruten is changing their focus towards expedition cruises and are offering Norwegian Coast expedition cruises from Oslo and Bergen.

Edited August 23, 2023 by hallasm

[Homerody]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So as one who has semi-followed this thread:  is there a consensus about whether Hurtigruten or Havila is better for the Norway coast in winter [or any season] ?

Hello @ Host Jazzbeau,

 

We went with a roundtrip Havila in spring of 2023.  And had a great time.  Personally, I think the Havila service and - particularlly - the ship lived up to Havila's marketing hype (produced even before they had a ship in the coastal waters!!!) and the resulting high expectations I developed from said hype🤦‍♂️.  .  

 

I have a brief review of our trip and some of the details of my Nordic "saga" of Hurtigruten, Havila and COVID elsewhere on CC.

 

Bottom line, I would not hesitate going with Havila again.

 

Happy to answer any related and/or specific questions you or others may have about our Havila

experience.

[Homerody]

4 hours ago, hallasm said:

Exactly the same route, same arrival and departure times for both shipping companies.

Hurtigruten has 7 ships of different sizes and ages on the route - the cabins are also very different. Havila has four identical and brand new ships - more standardized cabins.

Both have good restaurants where food is served from the areas passed - fresh supplies every day. Hurtigruten has several buffets - Havila doesn't have that.

Excursions are pretty much the same too - probably the same suppliers.

Havila crews are the former Hurtigruten crews from the four ships Havila replaced.

The experience of nature is the same. Personally, I would choose Havila - but look at the price and offer.

 

Hurtigruten is changing their focus towards expedition cruises and are offering Norwegian Coast expedition cruises from Oslo and Bergen.

Per ususal @hallasm is spot on!

[grayjay]

Just a quick but specific question where I couldn't find an answer, yet.
If you book a suite or mini-suite on Hurtigruten, your laundry is free ( at least on all the expedition ships).I wonder, if that is also true for Havila and the coastal route. I'd really want to pack less! Even with reduced luggage as everyday clothing is sufficient I'd really save on taking too much underwear, t-shirts etc. with me if I could have that washed for free. I'm not keen on doing it myself because I want as much time as possible gazing out to  sea or land!