I've been getting some great advice under 'Travel to Norway', but come back to my first idea which was to take the round trip cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen again. Problem: cost. Hurtigruten quoted me about $8200 for the round trip cruise in May, outside cabin, with them making air (from US) and 2 nights hotel reservation. Add shore excursions, gifts, etc and the cost is over $9,000- --
However, I find that if I can put up with an inside cabin, make my own hotel and air reservations, and skip Oslo and the train trip to Bergen, I can bring it down by about $2000 (still a lot of money). Would the cruise be worth it or am I giving up too much. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
I'll confess, I have never taken any portion of the Hurtigruten cruise. But I am leery of it for several reasons;
1) Expensive tends to equate to a ship full of well-to-do people which is a very different and decidedly NOT "back door" type of travel experience.
2) Norway is more than just the coast. Seeing the coast is not seeing Norway.
3) The ship does not spend much, if any time IN the fjords. Being IN them is a much different experience than passing by the mouth of one.
4) Picture a lovely scene....stare at it.... keep staring at it...keep staring at it for six more days....keep staring at it....get my point?
5) Never been to Kirkenes. I'm sure the process of getting there would be interesting as all oddities are. But I'm not generally in search of oddities when traveling. I'm more interested in what the "normal" local life is like.
6) Money isn't everything in life, but our family of 5 spent three weeks seeing six scandinavian countries (including Estonia), went above the arctic circle, took two fjord cruises and a cruise ship to Helsinki, all for $13,500 (including airfare from the central US in summer) just a couple years ago (when the exchange rate was much worse). It boggles the mind that one person would spend almost as much for half the time and see so little, in comparison.
I'm sure the cruise is great, but not THAT great.
Posted by
Tumwater, WA, United States
118 posts
My wife and I did the Hurtigruten trip a couple years ago but just from Bergan to Kerkenes and then flying to Oslo. The trip is beautiful, but for us the seven day leg, was enough as the weather was a little strong. I bought the tickets myself and saved money as you have found out in your searches. We had an outside cabin but with the good seating on the upper decks for viewing the fantastic scenery, the only time in our room was for sleep. It is a beautiful trip and if you choose to go I hope you have a wonderful time. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2804 posts
I never did the cruise, but have spent a week in Kirkenes which is fantastic. One post said that getting to Kirkenes would be hard, you could fly to Kirkenes from Oslo. Kirkenes is on the Russian border and has a fantastic restaurant on the border. We were there in June, the midnight sun was so beautiful. While in Kirkenes we went to North Cape which is so beautiful, eveyone should see it. On the way to North Cape we visited a Lapp Village.
Posted by
Derry
175 posts
Hi Salinas, WOW - all the way up and all the way back - that's a lot of fjord. I took the Hurtigruten cruise from Bergen to Bodo and felt more than comfortable that I had seen my share of the beautiful seascape. At most I would only travel from Bergen to Kirkenes then jump ship and see more of the Country.
Posted by
dayton, ohio, usa
4 posts
the train trip from Oslo to Bergen is beautiful. I did a Norway in a nutshell tour[INVALID]3 trains, bus and boat. The cost of your trip seems really high to me but remember Norway is a very expensive country compared to the United States. I remember paying $45.00 for a hamburger, fries, and 12 oz coke. I would check out some of these ideas from other posters before i shelled out that much money for a cruise
Posted by
Sugar Grove, Il, USA
1 posts
My husband and I just returned from a seven day Hurtigruten cruise north from Bergen to Kirkenes. Our friends who accompanied us and we enjoyed every minute and seven days was enough. We paid about 3000 each and had a class "P" cabin. Twin beds but that was fine. We found the cabins generous enough for a shop and our "outside" view was great since you travel through the islets and the boat turns (sometimes 180 degrees!)in ports and fjords. Be aware that the majority of travelers are Norwegian, but everyone speaks English and all the ship announcements are in 5 different languages. Everyone very friendly and there to see and experience the rough beauty of Norway's western coastline. You can add on excursions: be sure and do "Northcape" and a few others. This is not a "Princess" cruise with musical entertainment and food every minute; although it is available. Hope you can do it. We want to go back in the winter to experience the dark time and see the Northern Light display.