The dining room seated about 200 and there were about 380 people on board and so for subsequent evening meals you are allocated a start time and table. The first night was a bit of a bun fight as the allocation system was not in use, but we didn't have to wait long. There are other eating places, but these are all chargeable and prices are not great. Beer is 10GBP for a 330ml bottle... The prices we paid includes coffee & tea but you can only get these free of charge in the dining room so it pays to have a coffee there and take another out to drink in the lounge areas. We left port during dinner.
The free wifi is pretty good and there is generally a good mobile signal - EE has a roaming deal and so we could
use our phone and data without additional charges.
Day 2
We arrived at Alesund early morning, just after breakfast. The weather was pretty grey, miserable and wet at times.
The breakfast buffet was pretty good and there was a wide choice of cereal, bread, meats, cheese and some cooked food.
After breakfast we had a walk in the centre and climbed the steps (418) to the viewpoint over the city. There was a
bit of ice in places, but the temperature was about 8 DegC so there was little snow. It was a pretty dismal day and
the city seemed to be very quiet with few people about. The city was rebuilt after a fire and there are a lot of art
deco buildings. We had a bit of a wander around, took a few photos (not really very inspiring weather for photography)
and headed back to boat and had a nice buffet lunch and then slobbed out.
There were some organised tours which are pretty pricey - e.g. you could go on an organised walkabout tour of the city for about 100 GPB each. The whole Hurtigruten experience seems to be geared to extracting as much money as possible - most activities start at 850 NKr (~70 GBP) and go up to 3800 NKr!
There are quite a few organised talks and video presentations which are free. The boat does call in to different
ports throughout the day and night, some of the stops are very short (15 min) - just enough to unload/load goods or
vehicles and passengers. The stay in Alesund was about 10 hours and we left at 8pm, most of the other stops were
4 hours or less. We called at a few other ports on route to pick up/drop off goods and passengers - often this happened
overnight.
The boat only has loading ramps on one side only on the port side, so this is always against the quay. They only use the stern
ropes if mooring for a long time, generally the crew hold the boat on two ropes at the bow and use the bow/stern thrusters to
hold it in position. This means that the engine noise from the voyage is quiet, but it gets a bit noisy as they manoeuevre in
ports and this can wake you up at night.
Day 3
We arrived at Trondheim just after breakfast. The weather was considerably better with quite a bit of sun and a cold breeze. We
opted to do a bit of a tour of the city which was about 1km from the port. It was icy underfoot and so shoe spikes were needed.
We only had 3 hours, but managed to get to the start of a walk which started by the bicycle lift and crossed over the old bridge
and on to the cathedral. We didn't go inside (too little time) and just had a wander arounnd the courtyard where the archbishop's
palace is. There are more museums here, but with time pressing we headed back to the boat for lunch. The rest of the afternoon
was spent looking at the scenery as the weather improved even more. There were a few talks after dinner.
First stop was the 'interesting' bicycle lift, which sadly wasn't working due to winter conditions. It consists of a sunken track
with a cable which carries a metal foot post. You sit on your bike at the bottom, parallel to the track and put your left foot on your
pedal and your right foot in front of the post. Pressing the start button causes the metal post to ascend the hill taking you with it
assuming you don't fall off...
Day 4
Day 4 started rather dull and ended with better weather. The views were fantastic and we called into two small ports
Nesna and Ornes for brief stops and then tied up at Bodo. Quite icy underfoot at the stop and we didn't walk
around the town too much, but did find the liquor store to buy a couple of bottles of wine. Prices were OK,
maybe about 50% more then the UK, but we only spend about 22 GBP on two nice bottles.
We sailed on, it was very clear and cold and we headed to look at a narrow fjord at about midnight. Strangely the boat had laid on some fishcakes to try and these were FREE. There was a very faint green glow which could have been the aurora or it could just be imagination. But I am absolutely sure Hurtigruten will claim it was the aurora so they are off the hook for a free trip.
Day 5
We arrived at Tromso early afternoon after sailing in glorious sunny weather. It was very cold and we planned
to walk to the arctic cathedral and then visit the Polar museum. It was very icy underfoot with little in the
way of gravel and so spikes were essential. It's quite a tedious walk to the cathedral, along the harbour and
part of the town then over a long bridge which also takes a main road. The cathedral is spectacular and the
admission fee was acceptable. Nice stained glass window and an airy feel with glass windows in the structure so
you can see the mountains.
Leaving Tromso in the evening we were delayed by one of the organised trips getting back late...
Day 6
The weather has deteriorated and the seas are a bit rougher with a fresher breeze as we headed to Honningsvag. We
managed to dock, the organised trips were cancelled due to the weather. Because the stay was over lunch we decided
to stay on board and I spent the time doing this page... Wind/sea state about Beaufort scale 4-5 as we plod on to
Kirkenes. Not confident about the aurora, but a canadian girl we met reckoned 4am tomorrow there might be a display...
Later that evening (~10pm) there were reports of the aurora being visible so I dragged the camera and tripod out onto
deck 6. It was bloody freezing and blowing a hooley. There was some aurora visible, it came and went, and was really
quite difficult to photograph due to the movement of the ship and the need to hold the tripod steady. But at least we
saw it and after about 40 minutes it faded and did not return.
Day 7
We docked at Kirkenes, quite a few people headed off for organised tours and a fair number departed the boat
for the airport. A few hardy individuals including us walked into the town and had a look at the church and
a monument to a local woman who used photography, articles in newspapers and poetry to highlight the poor conditions
of the local people. There was a display of some of her black & white photos taken on glass plates which
she developed herself.
The weather brightened as we left and the Barents sea was very calm. We called into Vardo for an hour and
braved the 1.5 Km walk on solid ice to the fort. It was getting dark and so photography was awkward...
After dinner the skies were clear
and a PA announcement mentioned the north lights were visible. A dash out with the camera showed only thin
high cloud - I suspect the announcement was for the benefit on the new passengers who embarked at Kirkenes
so Hurtigurtan could claim the northern lights were visible. Speaking to other passengers who went up at the
same time confirmed my suspicions...
Day 8
After a few short stops on route we docked in Hammerfest for 1 hour. We stopped at a temporary mooring about
3km from the centre as the central docking area was being rebuilt. A bus (100 NKr) took us in, but time was
quite limited so we brought essentials (wine!) and had a quick look at the church.
The weather deteriorated and we just occupied ourselves playing dominos. Another excellent meal followed
by a couple of glasses of wine in cabin. Ship docked in Tromso near midnight for a concert in the cathedral
but we were sound asleep...
Day 9
A bit dull at first, but weather improved. We sailed through the channel dug 100 years ago to allow the
passage of ships to Risoyhamn. The channel is 7m deep so there is 2m clearence for the Polarlys and
we docked briefy at Risoyhamn.
We called into Stokmarknes for 1 hour - we were running late but the time was extended so that people could
visit the Hurtigruten museum. This was very good, with one of their older retired ships on display together
with a load of memorabilia. Sadly the time available (about 45 minutes) wasn't sufficient to see everything...
This was the last long stop of the day and so it was down to playing games and eating/drinking. The passage
over the open sea was quite rough with a fair amount of pitching and rolling. No problems with sea sickness.
Day 10
A bit dull at first and then the weather brightened. Not many stops where we could get off till the afternoon -
definately feels like the holiday is winding down... We stopped for a couple of hours in Bronnoysund, weather wet at
first, but then dried up. Pretty dull and not much to do. Picked up some wine and visited the church, which sadly, was
locked. There is a walk to a mountain with a natural hole through it which might have been possible with a bit more time,
but the short stay and weather precluded it.
Back onboard there was a champagne reception followed by a 5 course meal as some people were departing next day. Food
still very good and sufficient!
Day 11
After breakfast there was a talk on departure arrangements for tomorrow and then it was a wait till we get to the final
port of call in the evening. We didn't bother going into Trondheim as the time slot was 06.30 - 09.30 which didn't appeal
and so spent the day playing games or looking at the view. Towards evening we docked at Kristiansund and had a wander around.
There were lots of people about, the town is built over 4 islands and there are bridges and ferries linking them.
On the way back to the boat there was a big engineering shop with some impressive tools on offer...
We had our evening meal and started to pack for tomorrows departure. Helen seemed to have caught a cold...
Day 12
The weather turned rougher overnight with quite swell, but we managed to sleep OK. It was dull and after lunch
it started to rain and so views were subdued. There were a couple of pods of whales seen, but these were too far
away to get good photos. We arrived in rainy Bergen and caught the bus to the airport and headed home. Flight into
Manachester was delayed by problems on the taxiway and KLM failed to load our luggage at Amsterdam so we got home
without it. They promise to deliver it it Saturday...
Some thoughts about the holiday
The northbound trip was better as the stops at towns were longer and so you could see more. It really isn't worth
bothering with the southbound trip - it would be better and cheaper to fly back home from Kirkenes via Oslo or Bergen.
The packaged activities were expensive and if you are prepared to wander around you can probably cover most of the
sights - obviously some activities like dog sledding would be more difficult to organise yourself and you probably
wouldn't save anything. Salaries are high in Norway and that raises costs for visitors. Alcohol in the government
shops isn't too bad - maybe 50% more than the UK. In winter it is very icy and so take shoe spikes with you as these
are cheap in the UK (ebay or amazon) and rather pricier on the boat!
Norwegian food involves a lot of fish and potatoes as well as lamb and reindeer. They don't really do rice, but pasta
is served on the boat and there is no problem for vegetarians and vegans. Most of the puddings are cream based.
The food onboard was excellent and I had meant to take a few more pictures of the meals. These are some from the
last night.
Closing comments
The trip was really to see the Northern Lights, which we did, but I had hoped for a better display and photography on
a boat is difficult. It's a little too inacive a holiday for me, but I think Helen enjoyed it. I would have liked more
time ashore which a cruise isn't designed for!
Dave
