Hurtigruten vs Havila for Norway Coast in winter?

[hallasm]

14 minutes ago, grayjay said:

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.

Laundry on Hurtigruten and Havila coastal route is self service for a very small fee - do not think it’s free for suites. You cannot compare service provided on expedition ships with the coastal voyage.

The ships has washing machines, dryers and equipment so you can iron clothes. Tokens/ detergents can be purchased at reception.

[Homerody]

1 hour ago, grayjay said:

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!

On our sailing with Havila, I do not recall a laundry bag in cabin or laundry service.  But free self service laundry (machines and detergent in automated dispensing system)  were available on Deck 4.

 

Not a bad chore to complete on a rainy day. Or as an early riser, before first light of day and breakfast.

 

 

[Flyinby]

22 hours ago, grayjay said:

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!

I don't think you even have to book a suite to use the laundromat yourself, which is free.  I don't remember any laundry service where they do it for you, but didn't inquire about it.  It's a simple process with state of the art machines, you don't even have to measure out detergent.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Flyinby

[philbob84]

how do the excursions or time in the city work? as I read through things it does not seem like alot of time in port? 

 

ALso thoughts on doing just segements of the trips? I would be open to summer as well,

[Homerody]

1 hour ago, philbob84 said:

how do the excursions or time in the city work? as I read through things it does not seem like alot of time in port? 

 

ALso thoughts on doing just segements of the trips? I would be open to summer as well,

Yes, some stops are very short, 15 min. And for these one stayed on board and watched the port activities.

 

Some of the excursions start at one port and end at another port where the ship will be  and we just walked on to ship when we were dropped off.

 

The on board briefings discussed the excursions but also gave suggestions for the folks not taking excursions, including accurate average walking times to points of interests in port city.

 

I'm not sure I would be able to recommend or comment on doing just segments.  There are many ship details and logistics for segment to segment  that I don't know about.

 

A suggestion I would offer is considering a northbound or southbound journey as this would be a great opportunity to see a good portion of coastal Norway.

[hallasm]

10 hours ago, philbob84 said:

ALso thoughts on doing just segements of the trips? I would be open to summer as well,

It is possible to book a shorter part of the journey, for example Bergen to Tromsø. Alternatively Port to Port. Personally, I prefer northbound from Bergen to Kirkenes. I have sailed shorter distances several times, but have the advantage that I only have an hour's flight to Bergen.
Summer is great - midnight sun north of Bodø.

[Flyinby]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:36 PM, philbob84 said:

how do the excursions or time in the city work? as I read through things it does not seem like alot of time in port? 

 

ALso thoughts on doing just segements of the trips? I would be open to summer as well,

There are a few longer excursions where you meet the ship at the next port.  With the 'taste of Vesteralen' tour, you're off in Harstad and meet the ship in Sortland.  On that particular one, they arrange to have the bus crossing the bridge as the ship goes under, which was kind of fun, besides it being a good tour. https://pbase.com/roberthouse/image/173488292

 

The winter stop in Alesund is a long 8-hour one (allowing for the Geirangerfjord tour), but there are several other stops around 2 hours or so.  Getting off at these stops is interesting, there's really plenty of time for a short walk, and as Homerody said, the evening informational talks always let you know what is nearby, or will answer your questions if you have specific places you want to walk to during the stop.

 

Nothing wrong with segments, however even when we had friends ending the trip at Kirkenes, I was glad we were staying on...I hadn't had enough yet, though I still hadn't when we arrived back in Bergen 8^).  For a first time, I'd suggest maybe at least a full north or southbound if not round trip.  Or maybe, during summer midnight-sun time, getting off somewhere on the northerly part and spending a night or two, then either flying back or reboarding and continuing the coastal journey a day or two later.  Most of the towns I've seen are not what you'd call "tourist towns" so just a day might be enough.

[philbob84]

silly question but what tea brand do they have? Coffee also? How was the food service. i understand they use small portions to redeuce waste.

 

Was the gym space croweded?

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, philbob84 said:

silly question but what tea brand do they have? Coffee also? How was the food service. i understand they use small portions to redeuce waste.

 

Was the gym space croweded?

Fairly broad questions in a subject that deals with two different cruise lines - Hurtigruten and Havila.

I am not familiar with which brands of coffee and tea - there is not much focus on brands and that can probably change.

 

Food waste programs have been introduced with the aim of reducing food waste, but this does not necessarily mean that you do not get enough to eat. Food is local from the areas passed - with a focus on fish dishes.

 

Gym areas are different from ship to ship - generally small but I have generally not seen many people using the gym. Mostly empty.

[hallasm]

There is some interesting information about Havila in this topic:

 

[inspired2cruise]

We are looking to see the northern lights and would enjoy a cruise paired with a ground adventure to the Tromso Ice Domes Hotel.  Any recommendations on the best cruise itinerary for this?

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, inspired2cruise said:

We are looking to see the northern lights and would enjoy a cruise paired with a ground adventure to the Tromso Ice Domes Hotel.  Any recommendations on the best cruise itinerary for this?

I think you are asking your question in the wrong Forum - Hurtigruten and Havila sail with a fixed schedule along the Norwegian coast with relatively short stops - the stop in Tromsø is too short for a visit to the Tromso Ice Domes Hotel.
Maybe the Hurtigruten Nordkap Expressen with MS Trollfjord has a longer stay in Tromsø, but I'm not sure.

I think you should look for one of the 'ordinary' cruise lines - perhaps Viking Ocean, Fred Olsen, Cunard, or P&O

[Host Jazzbeau]

Couldn't you take the Hurtigruten or Havila voyage from Bergen to Tromsø, spend time at the Ice Domes Hotel, and take the southbound voyage back to Bergen?  [Or better yet for Northern Lights viewing, continue on the Tromsø to Trondheim voyage, then return Trondheim to Bergen]

[grayjay]

Or fly to Tromso, stay a few days then book the route Tromso to Kirkenes ( and stay a night or two, great in winter) and book the southbound route on either Hurtigruten or Havila from Kirkenes back to Bergen.

[Flyinby]

3 hours ago, grayjay said:

Or fly to Tromso, stay a few days then book the route Tromso to Kirkenes ( and stay a night or two, great in winter) and book the southbound route on either Hurtigruten or Havila from Kirkenes back to Bergen.

...or fly to Tromso, then just book the round trip boarding in Tromso, returning to Bergen.  We had a couple on our trip last year that boarded the full RT in Tromso (though I think they got off in Tromso also).  Plenty of options, depending on where you want to stay and how long.

 

As @hallasm mentioned, there are some nice conventional cruise lines like Viking that offer northern lights trips, but I think the glitch may be if you wanted to stay at the Tromso ice hotel. 

 

As to Hurtigruten or Havila, look at the cabins they offer, and compare prices also.  There's a significant difference for both of those factors between the two lines.