We hope to go to Norway in June '18 and take the Hurt. one way between Bergen & Kirkenes. Is one way better than the other? How do you choose a ship? How do you buy tickets? Thanks for any and all suggestions. Julia
Posted by
11569 posts
There are a variety of sizes of ships and amenities, from simple cabins to more luxurious ones.
They are all on the website. We sailed on the Trollfjord which was very nice.
We sailed Bergen to Kirkenes and then flew to Stockholm via Oslo. When we booked our trip , we called an 800# in the USA on their website and booked with their agent.
We flew to Oslo, stayed there, and then flew to Bergen. We loved Oslo.
Our favorites stops on the ship were Trondheim, Alesund, Bodo and Tromso. We explored them all independently which was very easy as the ship docks in town.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
In addition to any replies you get here, be sure to look at the Hurtigruten Forum on Cruise Critic: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=821
Posted by
OP
43 posts
Thank you both for your helpful replies. As I go along with research and plans will probably have more questions! Julia in Vermont
Posted by
7 posts
Hello...we did the Hurtigruten this past June. Kirkenes to Trondheim. The other people have answered the key questions. We intend another trip. Next time we will get off for a couple days at the Lofotens and Trondheim, then reboard the next daily ship to continue the voyage. Also, Tromso, Bodo, Alesund, or other stops would be fine. The ships do vary in amenities, but all meet a high service standard.
Posted by
West Coast
302 posts
After massive research I booked the Finnmarken ship Bergen- Kirkenes early July; I wanted to spend time in Northern Finland for some research, the make the huge circle back to the US via Helsinki and Copenhagen. Reading the reviews on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor it's amazing to me that the round trip is so popular- and going in winter! A point to consider is the Midnight Sun and watching the scenery in the middle of the night is going to be an option. I think you need to carefully read the port schedules each way, and the excursions Hurtigruten offers are sometimes different north or south? The US office I contacted is in Seattle, the agent was always helpful and responsive. She assisted with price and cabin location, etc. Hope this helps! I would love to know about how cold it actually is in late June from the previous post?
Posted by
Milford, CT, USA
10 posts
Karen: I did the Bergen to Kirkenes trip this past June (ending on the 22nd). Unfortunately, we hit almost two weeks of nothing but rain during the trip. It was chilly (quite chilly at some points). Layering is your best coping strategy. I always had a long-sleeved shirt and some kind of mid-to-heavy weight sweater, mostly a sweater fleece. I also wore a lightweight down jacket. If it got warm enough, I could take off either the sweater or the jacket. Many times, I was very happy with both. Don’t forget gloves, too. A few of the places we stopped long enough to get off were later in the evening, so it was colder because of that, too. All in all, we had a great time (had only ever done a Rhine River Cruise previously). Hope that helps a bit!