Arctic Circle Cruise

[mahdnc]

We are looking at Apex when the 2026 Norway cruises are released in October which are in pages 3-4 in this flyer: link

[cruisetonowhere10]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

We are looking at Apex when the 2026 Norway cruises are released in October which are in pages 3-4 in this flyer: link

Thank you.  I hadn’t seen that.  Seeing the dates narrows some choices for me.

[cruisetonowhere10]

On 9/22/2024 at 8:03 PM, mahdnc said:

We are looking at Apex when the 2026 Norway cruises are released in October which are in pages 3-4 in this flyer: link

I printed this and went through it…due to dates for me for school we only have a few limited choices.  The solar eclipse would be cool but it makes no mention of the arctic circle.  I also imagine it may be priced high and sell quickly. Leaning toward the July 11th Apex.

[Scottishclover]

Heres my trip report from this year’s Arctic Circle cruise, which might help you decide to book or not. Post 40 is where I start reporting on the actual cruise. We had a great time and were very lucky with weather which I think has a big impact on a cruise like this. There are just 2 ports in the Arctic Circle so keep that in mind. There was no fanfare crossing into the Arctic Circle but there was a party in the Grand Foyer when we crossed back a few days later. Also I should say we are a pretty outdoorsy family but there were lots of other less active things to do in each port. 

[the penguins]

29 minutes ago, Scottishclover said:

Heres my trip report from this year’s Arctic Circle cruise, which might help you decide to book or not. Post 40 is where I start reporting on the actual cruise. We had a great time and were very lucky with weather which I think has a big impact on a cruise like this. There are just 2 ports in the Arctic Circle so keep that in mind. There was no fanfare crossing into the Arctic Circle but there was a party in the Grand Foyer when we crossed back a few days later. Also I should say we are a pretty outdoorsy family but there were lots of other less active things to do in each port. 

Your summary neatly highlights the differences between Hurtigruten and Celebrity:

Ports above the Arctic circle:

Celebrity - 2 

Hurtigruten - over 20.

Time spent scenic cruising:

Celebrity very little  - you are docked early morning and sail late afternoon. Scenic cruising imited to very early or when you are getting ready for dinner.

Hurtigruten: hours and hours most of it in Fjords that the big ships can't even access.

We have done it both ways- Choice is good.

[cruisetonowhere10]

3 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Heres my trip report from this year’s Arctic Circle cruise, which might help you decide to book or not. Post 40 is where I start reporting on the actual cruise. We had a great time and were very lucky with weather which I think has a big impact on a cruise like this. There are just 2 ports in the Arctic Circle so keep that in mind. There was no fanfare crossing into the Arctic Circle but there was a party in the Grand Foyer when we crossed back a few days later. Also I should say we are a pretty outdoorsy family but there were lots of other less active things to do in each port. 

Yes, I followed this as we like to DIY (hiking which I know you enjoy too.) 

[cruisetonowhere10]

I started to look at the Hurtigruten but became overwhelmed trying to find cruises during the very short window I’m available.  I’ll need to pursue this a bit more.  

[the penguins]

6 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

I started to look at the Hurtigruten but became overwhelmed trying to find cruises during the very short window I’m available.  I’ll need to pursue this a bit more.  

look at the Classic 12 nights roundtrip from Bergen. Cruises start almost very other day. In our opinion it is not necessary to pay extra for the Expedition type cruises on this itinerary.

The excursions look complicated but once you have chosen a date they make more sense.

Some tours will be later and some earlier than on a traditional cruise. On some you will leave the ship at one port and reboard at another. Tours sell out fast. 

 

[chisoxfan]

We booked a 14 night HAL in May 2026. Prices were reasonable and their Club Orange allows dining in a designated DR and upgrading cabin (in our case obstructed balcony to aft balcony).

I am concerned about how 'interesting' this cruise will be but this cruise is a follow up from Dover on a 15 night UK cruise. Good luck.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

We booked a 14 night HAL in May 2026. Prices were reasonable and their Club Orange allows dining in a designated DR and upgrading cabin (in our case obstructed balcony to aft balcony).

I am concerned about how 'interesting' this cruise will be but this cruise is a follow up from Dover on a 15 night UK cruise. Good luck.

it has just 3 ports above the Arctic Circle and no opportunity to do an excursion to North Cape.

[chisoxfan]

12 minutes ago, the penguins said:

it has just 3 ports above the Arctic Circle and no opportunity to do an excursion to North Cape.

Not sure what that means (not being argumentative). Apparently there is some fiord cruising which I find interesting. My concern is that none of the ports look that interesting although we will cross Arctic circle. We had planned this as a  follow up cruise on Nieuw Statendam from Dover.  Please feel free to enlighten me regarding any negatives to this itinerary as to me it looks similar to those offered by other mainsteam lines (perhaps better since the HAL cruise we looked at this year had no fiord cruising). Thanks.

[the penguins]

40 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Not sure what that means (not being argumentative). Apparently there is some fiord cruising which I find interesting. My concern is that none of the ports look that interesting although we will cross Arctic circle. We had planned this as a  follow up cruise on Nieuw Statendam from Dover.  Please feel free to enlighten me regarding any negatives to this itinerary as to me it looks similar to those offered by other mainsteam lines (perhaps better since the HAL cruise we looked at this year had no fiord cruising). Thanks.

When looking at the Fjords none of the big ships offer what I consider to be Fjord Cruising. The easy way to see this is to look at the route map on any of the itineraries and you will see the ships go right out into the North Sea between ports. In addition the ships are generally docked most of the day so any scenic cruising is limited to early morning or late afternoon and the ships can only access the largest fjords.

Look at the Hurtigruten route map and you will see you spend much of the time scenic cruising visiting ports that are inaccessible to the bigger ships.

We have done the fjords both ways and for us H offers the true fjord experience.

Choice is good.

[chisoxfan]

46 minutes ago, the penguins said:

When looking at the Fjords none of the big ships offer what I consider to be Fjord Cruising. The easy way to see this is to look at the route map on any of the itineraries and you will see the ships go right out into the North Sea between ports. In addition the ships are generally docked most of the day so any scenic cruising is limited to early morning or late afternoon and the ships can only access the largest fjords.

Look at the Hurtigruten route map and you will see you spend much of the time scenic cruising visiting ports that are inaccessible to the bigger ships.

We have done the fjords both ways and for us H offers the true fjord experience.

Choice is good.

Not interested in 'small ship' cruising but understand while you may like it. Attraction for us is cruise is on Nieuw Statendam relatively new HAL ship and will be 'easy' extension of other cruise from Dover. We did not want to cruise from Bergen or Rotterdam. Some fiord cruising for us is good. We are still ambivalent on this cruise but it makes sense as an 'easy' option.

THX

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

Not interested in 'small ship' cruising but understand while you may like it. Attraction for us is cruise is on Nieuw Statendam relatively new HAL ship and will be 'easy' extension of other cruise from Dover. We did not want to cruise from Bergen or Rotterdam. Some fiord cruising for us is good. We are still ambivalent on this cruise but it makes sense as an 'easy' option.

THX

HAL used to offer a great range of cruises with it's smaller ships and one of our favourites was the Rio Carnival followed by the Amazon on the Maasdam.

The OP who started this thread was primarily interested in the Arctic Circle and with H offering 20 ports above the Circle compared to the 3 or 4 offered by HAL/Celebrity/Princess etc they have a great selection to choose from.

[cruisetonowhere10]

51 minutes ago, the penguins said:

HAL used to offer a great range of cruises with it's smaller ships and one of our favourites was the Rio Carnival followed by the Amazon on the Maasdam.

The OP who started this thread was primarily interested in the Arctic Circle and with H offering 20 ports above the Circle compared to the 3 or 4 offered by HAL/Celebrity/Princess etc they have a great selection to choose from.

Yes, thank you.  I was looking for options and appreciate the input.  I think we are going to go with Celebrity but since nothing has been released I’m keeping my options open until I see pricing.  The “Arctic Circle” crossing part for us is more to say we were there and less about a bunch of ports that fall in that region.  DH wants to cross the Arctic Circle given we are busting the Equator this year.  The Norway ports, plus others offered by Celebrity seem to fit our style, but it’s cool to see what else is out there.  After the Galapagos we may change our minds given the small ship, more expedition style, but I don’t want to wait that long to book for 2026. 

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Yes, thank you.  I was looking for options and appreciate the input.  I think we are going to go with Celebrity but since nothing has been released I’m keeping my options open until I see pricing.  The “Arctic Circle” crossing part for us is more to say we were there and less about a bunch of ports that fall in that region.  DH wants to cross the Arctic Circle given we are busting the Equator this year.  The Norway ports, plus others offered by Celebrity seem to fit our style, but it’s cool to see what else is out there.  After the Galapagos we may change our minds given the small ship, more expedition style, but I don’t want to wait that long to book for 2026. 

whatever you choose have a great trip. Choice is good