Havila Voyages

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Flyinby said:

Who is "they"?  I never heard of such a thing.  Whether to insure or not is your choice.

I think "they" is Havila:

 

When booking a trip with Havila Kystruten, you and your travel group must have valid travel insurance that, at least, covers any cancellation of the trip/travel package contract and medical coverage in the event of illness, accident, personal injury and repatriation as well as damage to property/goods.

https://www.havilavoyages.com/terms

 

Did you read the T&C on your booking?

[oakridger]

I boarded Castor on June 7,2024 and "They" (Havila) did not ask me if I had travel insurance or require any documentation as proof. I do have it and it's my first time purchasing a one-year plan from Allianz.

 

If anyone has questions about my recent BKB experience that haven't been answered on the Havila website or here on Cruise Critic by the other wonderful trip reports, let me know.  I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I think the new open seating breakfast plan is an improvement that apparently started on Castor right after I sailed.

 

~Nancy

 

 

[Flyinby]

19 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I think "they" is Havila:

 

https://www.havilavoyages.com/terms

 

Did you read the T&C on your booking?

Probably not, usually I glance over those overly-long forms and read what concerns me...say the cancellation windows and such, but life is too short to waste reading the multitude of forms that barrage us each day.

 

It also says "You agree and are responsible for ensuring that the insurance covers all your needs, including your existing medical conditions and expenses, cancellation fees and repatriation in the event of an accident or illness. // In the event that it is later discovered that you or anyone in your travel group has chosen to travel without adequate insurance or other equivalent cover, Havila Kystruten is not liable for any expenses and losses that may arise and that would otherwise have been covered by such insurance, including consequential loss associated with this. Contact any insurance company to find an insurance policy that suits you and your needs."

 

Obviously, "you must have this to travel" and "In the event that you chose to travel without a policy that (in your own opinion) suits you and your needs, we're not responsible" etc. are somewhat contradictory.  Since I know from experience they don't check or ask for any proof of insurance, I'll leave it as-is, since I never expected them to be responsible anyway, and can cover my own needs.  We do have good medical insurance, but even if we didn't,  I wouldn't have expected Havila to cover that.  If the whole trip gets cancelled and they go out of business, I'm still eons ahead of what I'd have lost by paying all these years for travel insurance.

 

Quite often, folks that never travel without travel insurance think it's a must-do for everyone, but it's not necessarily so.  If my luggage is lost I'll buy the stuff I need, and probably the airline will cover it, but if not that's OK.  If I get sick and need to cancel the rest of the trip, stay in a hotel, then pay for changing flights etc., I'll take care of it and not expect a refund from the cruise line.  No criticism for those who always choose travel insurance, it's a good and wise option in many situations...but it's also basically a betting game between you and the insurance company. 

 

Anyway, they don't check, so use your own judgment.

Edited Wednesday at 09:48 PM by Flyinby

[Flyinby]

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

I boarded Castor on June 7,2024 and "They" (Havila) did not ask me if I had travel insurance or require any documentation as proof. I do have it and it's my first time purchasing a one-year plan from Allianz.

 

If anyone has questions about my recent BKB experience that haven't been answered on the Havila website or here on Cruise Critic by the other wonderful trip reports, let me know.  I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I think the new open seating breakfast plan is an improvement that apparently started on Castor right after I sailed.

 

~Nancy

 

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip!  The breakfast change sounds like a good idea, guess I'll see what other things they've changed in about six months on the next trip. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

23 minutes ago, Flyinby said:

Obviously, "you must have this to travel" and "In the event that you chose to travel without a policy that (in your own opinion) suits you and your needs, we're not responsible" etc. are somewhat contradictory. 

Perhaps they've been reading the many threads on Cruise Critic started by people who didn't buy travel insurance and are now outraged that the provider won't give them money back or a free change to a different date.  It would be hard to argue with this language, even if you hadn't read it beforehand.  You know what you're doing, but sadly many do not.

[oakridger]

@Flyinby You're going on another winter voyage!  I still like the idea in theory but dang.....cold!!! 🥶

 

I loved the month spent in Norway (train, ferry, Bergen, Balestrand) and just got back two days ago to this 100°F+ heat...shock!!

 

I plan on spending my travel time in new destinations rather than a return to Norway for the foreseeable future, but you never know...........

 

~Nancy

[Flyinby]

4 hours ago, oakridger said:

@Flyinby You're going on another winter voyage!  I still like the idea in theory but dang.....cold!!! 🥶

 

I loved the month spent in Norway (train, ferry, Bergen, Balestrand) and just got back two days ago to this 100°F+ heat...shock!!

 

I plan on spending my travel time in new destinations rather than a return to Norway for the foreseeable future, but you never know...........

 

~Nancy

@oakridgerI usually wouldn't go back to the same place so soon, but we had some unfinished things we hadn't had time for on the last visit, and I saw the six-month gap between a December river trip and a May large-family trip, and it just seemed to fit in nicely.  Spur of the moment, but looking forward to (hopefully) another really enjoyable experience.  After that and the family trip, new destinations await...

 

A month in Norway sounds great, and I imagine the midnight sun was a great experience also.

[Flyinby]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Perhaps they've been reading the many threads on Cruise Critic started by people who didn't buy travel insurance and are now outraged that the provider won't give them money back or a free change to a different date.  It would be hard to argue with this language, even if you hadn't read it beforehand.  You know what you're doing, but sadly many do not.

I think you got exactly right...I've seen those posts, and have wondered why some folks book "no refunds" hotels and fares, and flights that arrive on the day of departure and then expect to get it all refunded when something goes wrong with the trip.  Even with insurance, it can be iffy as to just how much gets covered.

[Kiwi Afloat]

@oakridger just wondering if you did any excursions through Havila and if you did do you have any feedback, good or otherwise? Also if you did, did you book onboard or in advance. Thanks

[doingourthing]

We went in May and did almost an excursion a day. We really enjoyed them all, even though they were expensive but we knew that ahead of time and Norway is expensive anyways. What I really found helpful was the daily talk. The excursion manager would give us some history of the next ports and would tell us about the excursion. As far as booking them, I looked at each one before we left to see if there were limits to how many could go and if it was a low number AND it was one we didn’t want to miss I booked it before we left. The majority of our excursions though were booked on board and I would definitely recommend that. It worked well for us. 

[oakridger]

@Kiwi Afloat I didn't go on any of the excursions but agree with @doingourthing about the value of the talks and my observation is also that booking on board after knowing the weather is a good plan I will follow if going on this route again.

 

I will make note here that it was just announced that starting in May of 2025 the ships will sail into Geirangerfjord starting on May 1st each year. Up until 2024 the Geirangerfjord route has always started on June 1st.  I hope the May fares don't go up because of it though!!

 

This new route change is a good addition!  I loved the silent sail in on battery power!

 

~Nancy

[Kiwi Afloat]

Thank you both for replying. We are not travelling until July 2025 and very excited about Geirangerfjord too!  Great to hear about daily talks too. 

[Brissle]

We depart on April 30th 2025 - I wonder whether we'll get Geirangerfjord.... would be good if we do.

[doingourthing]

Even if the ship doesn’t go into geirangerfjord you may still be able to do the excursion there. We did that in May 2024 and it was excellent

[pasca]

We are very interested in going on a Havila cruise.  I love the idea of hugging the coastline to be able to enjoy views of the entire coast of Norway.  There is something that I don't understand and I was hoping someone here could clarify.  The stops at each village/town range from a few minutes to a few hours, which I understand.  But then, how do the excursions work?  Do you start at one port and return to the ship at another port?  Otherwise, there doesn't seem time for an excursion lasting several hours or many hours.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[Kiwi Afloat]

Yes that is my understanding too. Start your excursion at one port and you’ll end at another and just get back on the ship there. 

[Flyinby]

22 hours ago, pasca said:

We are very interested in going on a Havila cruise.  I love the idea of hugging the coastline to be able to enjoy views of the entire coast of Norway.  There is something that I don't understand and I was hoping someone here could clarify.  The stops at each village/town range from a few minutes to a few hours, which I understand.  But then, how do the excursions work?  Do you start at one port and return to the ship at another port?  Otherwise, there doesn't seem time for an excursion lasting several hours or many hours.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Our trip was in February, so excursions may be a bit different for you.  A majority of the excursions coincide with the longer stops the ship makes each day.  The Geirangerfjord tour (when the ship doesn't go into the fjord) is long but the ship stays in Alesund for about 8 hours so it's no problem.

 

Of the seven excursions we did, only one was a meet-the-ship-later, which was interesting.  The tour was called "A taste of Vesteralen", and they coincided our bus crossing the bridge with the ship coming into Sortland.  As they neared the bridge, many from the crew and a bunch of passengers were outside on front decks as they passed under the bridge, shouting and waving Norwegian flags as a "welcome". 

https://pbase.com/roberthouse/image/173488292

 

But any of the excursions they offer will either fit in with the stop, or meet up in another port, so it's all figured out.  Also, even with the shorter stops of an hour, it's OK to get off the ship and look around or shop for whatever.  The nightly talks will familiarize you with what's nearby on those stops, just keep an eye on the time if you do that.

 

The excursion description will tell you if it's a meet up later tour.