Hurtigruten May 21, 2008

[Mary'sCruise]

Thanks for all the great info. I have one more question. We are going on the round trip tour with Vantage Travel. On some of the paperwork we got from Vantage it mentioned that the Hurtigruten ships have a non-tipping policy....and then in another part they recommend $12. US per person per day for the combined crew/dining staff/cabin steward etc. We like to have our tip envelopes prepared before we leave and just want to make sure we tip appropriately and not be considered cheap or give a lot more than expected.

[glgolfer]

Here's the tipping policy from their website:

 

What is the cruise tipping policy?

There is a non-tipping policy on the Norwegian Coastal Voyage ships. However, if you feel that individual crew or staff members should be rewarded for providing exceptional service, tipping is at your discretion. A tipping policy exists on other voyages to Antarctica, Greenland and World cruises.

 

You will not have the same wait staff every night and there isn't anything extra they can do as it's a set 3 course meal. One night the young lady that cleaned our cabin that day was our waitress.

We did "tip" some of the staff when we made special requests. The bartender got some as he took the time to explain the differences among the various aquavits and which ones he recommended.

Basically, if someone goes beyond what would be considered normal service, we tried to give them some cash immediately.

Don't tip a lot as they don't really expect it. They get a decent salary and you have paid them up front with the cost of the cruise.

I think there was a place you could put an "overall" tip at the end of the voyage that would go into a pot to be divided among the staff. But, I might be confusing that with our river cruise later that same year.

[gaelsail]

I want to combine this with a stop in Iceland. I received a brochure from Iceland Air and it looks really interesting. I was thinking 2 nights in Iceland, 2 nights in Bergen and the Northbound trip..

 

There is also a ferry that goes from Iceland to Bergen

http://www.smyril-line.com

[Jade13]

There is also a ferry that goes from Iceland to Bergen

http://www.smyril-line.com

 

Thanks for the info!

[bluesea777]

You can bring booze aboard the Hurtigruten ships - for consumption in own cabin only.

 

Mother Nature is the only entertainment aboard the ships during the summer. There are no other activities except for the Arctic Crossing ceremony where King Neptune makes his appearance and you receive the certificate.

 

They provide blankets in cabin for you to use on the decks - sit in chair and wrap yourself with blanket to keep warm and enjoy the 24 hour scenery.

 

We loved the round trip cruises and want to go back but the US dollar gotta get a lot stronger first!!

[glgolfer]

We did have a keyboard player/singer on our cruise that started in mid May. We also had Troll soup on deck in Trollsfjord and a BBQ on deck one other night. This was all northbound. There was very little going on southbound.

[gaelsail]

We did have a keyboard player/singer on our cruise that started in mid May. We also had Troll soup on deck in Trollsfjord and a BBQ on deck one other night. This was all northbound. There was very little going on southbound.

 

We had a singer/musician on board for most of the round voyage in February on MS Nordlys

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks Gaelsail' date='

Does anyone know if their coffee is (good) drinkable? .[/quote']

 

Not sure if anybody answered--I haven't done the Hurtigruten, but my memory of Norway is that they have the best coffee I have ever tasted. You must be packing by now--have a wonderful time!

[glgolfer]

The hot chocolate at the visitors centor at Northcape is the best I've ever had.

Don't drink enough coffee to tell you if it's good or not. Drank a lot out of a machine on the midnight shift at an Air Force base. Anything tasted good after that.

[Ask4Jay]

bluesea777 -

Thanks for the link (NCL Board).

If you were to do it again, would you go in summer or winter?

[MMDown Under]

My daughter and I did the Norwegian Coastal Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, one May, in glorious weather. This was my favourite cruise.

 

I always dreamed of doing a return voyage with my husband.

 

Thanks Gailsail for the ferry link. I've just enjoyed the Faroe and Shetland Islands, which are on my "wish list". A return visit to Iceland wouldn't be half bad either, as well as Norway.

[Jade13]

My daughter and I did the Norwegian Coastal Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, one May, in glorious weather. This was my favourite cruise.

 

I always dreamed of doing a return voyage with my husband.

 

Thanks Gailsail for the ferry link. I've just enjoyed the Faroe and Shetland Islands, which are on my "wish list". A return visit to Iceland wouldn't be half bad either, as well as Norway.

 

What is the smoking policy? We do not smoke, but I was wondering about the policy.

[glgolfer]

Jade: I think smoking is only allowed in one area on deck. I'm reasonably sure there's no smoking anywhere inside the ship.

[bluesea777]

bluesea777 -

Thanks for the link (NCL Board).

If you were to do it again, would you go in summer or winter?

 

Summer. Husband wants to go on the one of Hurtigruten's oldest ships, Lofoten (we have visited aboard it when it and our ships docked at same port for 30 mins and we were allowed to visit the other ship for a look around!) but I'm not so sure. Our cruise director on the winter cruise nicknamed it the "Submarine" - that sure livens to that nickname for there were sickness bag holders all over the ship and the dining tables and chairs are chain-tied to the floor!

 

However, the Nordnorge's Antarctica cruise is still on our agenda .... ONE year .....

[Bruton Branch]

Blueseas

 

Yes, we can understand why the Lofoten was nicknamed "submarine" as it is the second smallest ship in the Hurtigruten fleet and was built in 1964 and refurbished in 2003. Would tend to think that the barfbags would be everywhere with the width of this ship at only 13.5 meter.

 

We have just completed our reservations on the Finnmarken for the Nov. 9,2008 thru Nov. 20, 2008 roundtrip. Hope to see sessions of the northern lights on this journey. We will post a seperate heading under this vessel and date soon.

 

Everybody have a good and safe week, must go and coverup our tomatoe plants as we are suppose to have a hard freeze tonight.

 

Bruton Branch

[bluesea777]

Blueseas

 

Yes, we can understand why the Lofoten was nicknamed "submarine" as it is the second smallest ship in the Hurtigruten fleet and was built in 1964 and refurbished in 2003. Would tend to think that the barfbags would be everywhere with the width of this ship at only 13.5 meter.

 

We have just completed our reservations on the Finnmarken for the Nov. 9,2008 thru Nov. 20, 2008 roundtrip. Hope to see sessions of the northern lights on this journey. We will post a seperate heading under this vessel and date soon.

 

Everybody have a good and safe week, must go and coverup our tomatoe plants as we are suppose to have a hard freeze tonight.

 

Bruton Branch

 

Forgot to say that Lofoten doesn't have stabilizers!! In rough seas it virtually goes underwater hence the nickname! It's a very sturdy ship though!

 

Finnmarken is a lovely ship. Do not expect for it (or any of the other Hurtigruten ships) to be anywhere like the large Caribbean cruise ships.

 

Have a great voyage!

[Bruton Branch]

Thanks Blueseas, we know that Norway has 220 volt electric-so we guess that the Hurtigruten ships also have the same-break out the converter.

 

As you mentioned this is not a cruise as most people would think. We are looking at it as a voyage to places only a few hundred thousand have seen. Yes, we are going to pack our peanut butter and substitute that for formal wear and bring a couple of clothing items that will be layered on as needed. Any suggestions - we already pack light and they do have a small laundry on board- will be used during the 12 days. See post on Finnmarken Nov 9-20, 2008.

 

Thanks again

Bruton Branch:)

Paula and Bobby

[glgolfer]

Make sure you have good comfortable waterproof walking shoes. Even in May, the weather at Northcape was extremely cold and windy. I layered golf windshirts under a good insulated jacket and was comfortable.

While the ships are small, they are very well designed.

[bluesea777]

Thanks Blueseas, we know that Norway has 220 volt electric-so we guess that the Hurtigruten ships also have the same-break out the converter.

 

We never needed the converter. Take a look at the a/c adaptors for your camera, cell phones, shaver, CPAP, etc. If they say 110-240V, they are fine and you do not need convertor, but you still need to get plug adaptors - from North America to Northern Europe. The ship's bathroom has own hairdryer but I brought my own dual voltage one.

 

Another thing, you are allowed to take your own booze - for consumption in your cabin only (not in dining room or lounges).

 

Out of curiousity, which cabin did you book? we had cabin on Deck 3 for the 3 of us for our summer one and had a mini-suite and a double berth room next door on deck 5 for our winter one.

 

Just tonight my husband has said he'd like us to return to Hurtigruten and Norway in 4 years' time ....

[glgolfer]

AAA, Walmart and other stores have sets of plugs for the various countries. I agree with Bluesea that you shouldn't need a converter as all your electronics should be capable of handling both 110 and 220/240.

 

We were in a Cat U on deck 7 of the Midnatsol and it was fine. it was interesting that the inside cabins and suites had TVs, but the porthole cabins didn't. There is a TV in the library that is very seldom used if you really need one.

[Bruton Branch]

To Bluesea and PaulWn - thanks for the electrical information, yes we have enough connection cords etc from all the stuff we do not use much since we joined the retirement world several years ago.

 

We are on the Finnmarken in cat. U on deck 7 both cabins. The outside cabins on this ship have T.V., but don't see a real need for it, but maybe a late nite movie in Norwegin. With the U.S. dollar continuing to tank -:mad: - guess we will go ahead and pay now for our hotel before and after the voyage.

 

Bruton Branch

Paula and Bobby:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If TV is anything like it was in the mid-70's, some of the content is in English, including shows from Sweden.

[glgolfer]

Same in 2005.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We are sailing on the round trip voyage of the Trollfjord on May 21. Anyone else going?

 

Karen and Bob

 

To the original poster, you must be very excited by now. Have a great trip, and please tell us how your trip was afterwards, I'm sure everybody would love to hear.

[Bruton Branch]

Greetings to all:

Friends of ours just got back from a cruise or voyage on the Trollfjord loved every moment of the trip. They did the n/b and rode the train back. Stated the views were better than some of National Geographic photo shoots...wow. Wild life was better than an Alaska cruise-the four legged kind...

They advised us to take many extra gb of camera memory and plenty of money and warm clothing. Only repeating what they told us about money exchange - some banks had smaller fees on large currency U.S. bills ($100). Snow was still on the ground in Kirknese (sp). The post card they mailed only took a week to arrive. Some things still get thur...

Sail with Me have a great trip and look forward to your post(s).

Bruton Branch

Bobby and Paula:)