Hurtigruten Reviews 426

DON'T book the Northern Lights cruise, We were told that we should leave our cabin phone on and then they would advise us when the Northern Lights appeared, they did appear one night at 1.30 am, unfortunately we weren't told. Hot food was luke warm, cold food was good. Walking excursion were very expensive and a waist of money,
Unless you have a good camera you wont be able to catch the NL even when they appear.Customer service is poor, I have sent two e-mails with only an automatic computer generated reply.

My wife and I completed the northern lights guarantee cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes to Bergen.
We arrived back in Bergen on December 4th
Our ship, Richard With, was caught in a Arctic Low , which is a hurricane , this was on the way south.
So we missed out On a number of smaller ports, but we also missed out on Tromso and our midnight concert in Tromso cathedral was cancelled, they told us we would be reimbursed for the cancelled excursion when we arrived home.
We where also given a letter stating we would be reimbursed each for one-days sailing due to cancelled ports and horrendous weather.
On return to Sydney I applied for the rebates of cancelled excursion tickets and a day each cruise costs.
I had booked through imagine cruising , they have sent emails back and forth to hurtigruten, with no success, hurtigruten have copies of the letter stating a days cruising would be reimbursed and also copies of the excursion tickets not used due to cancellation.
They have had 8 weeks now and still no reimbursement.
Think twice about booking with hurtigruten, they do not do what they promise.
I have always thought of this company as upfront and trustworthy. I now have my doubts.
Sydney, Australia

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! Totally and completely unethical. We booked a cruise last March and paid a 20% required deposit of $4200. Within just 3 days we decided to change the cruise and the new cruise only needed $1760 (the 20% deposit). They asked if rather than refund me the difference, they could apply the entire $4200 to the new cruise and since I made the change within just a few days it would be like the original booking never happened. Unfortunately, I agreed. Now for medical reasons I have had to cancel the 2nd booking. Per their own policy, they can keep the 20% deposit or $1760 but they said NO and that they get to keep the original 20% deposit. That is stealing where I come from. This company deserves every single bad review they have received and continue to receive. My father-in-law took a cruise with them last June and also had financial issues with them overcharging and then refunding a lesser amount. Thieves!

We have been on several cruises with Hurtigruten and once we’ve been on the ship have generally been happy and have been to some wonderful places. Despite several problems in the past- we had 2 cruises cancelled at the last minute, because of ship problems- we stuck with them as “these things happen”. Having to pay for water on coastal cruises is unsatisfactory but fortunately you don’t have this issue on an expedition cruise where there is ready access to water and hot drinks.
My reason for the poor rating is that customer service prior to travel is lacking and any complaint is blatantly ignored. So if everything goes to plan, you will no doubt have a wonderful time, However beware that if you have questions or concerns prior to travel they may well go unanswered and I don’t think I will be travelling with them again when they treat customers so badly, let alone a previously loyal one.

I have recently returned from a cruise on the MS Nordkapp from Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen.

The Nordkapp is very clean with hand sanitisers everywhere. The staff, all of them, cleaners, reception, expedition team, waiters, waitresses, were all friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Only 4* for the excursions because they are expensive and over-rated. However, 5* for the service. I did get a full refund on one I had pre-booked and wanted to switch it to a similar one which was shorter and cheaper. We also got a partial refund on a tour which had to be curtailed because the coach was involved in an accident on the way to the ship and the replacement was 30 minutes later in arriving.

Food, whist of good quality, and professionally presented, was nothing special, and there were alternatives to fish for breakfast and lunch, but not always for dinner. Buffet lunches and dinners were a scrum when the ship was almost full.

Based on this, and given the opportunity, I would certainly travel with them again.

Avoid Hurtigruten. We booked our first Hurtigruten cruise from the Hurtigruten's official global www-page. Pricy indeed. Visited their page a couple of hours latter (to find more details about upgrade to full board) just to find that all their cruises are at a half a price in their official Norwegian pages. There are no restrictions to order cruises from their Norwegian page, but you naturally have to be able to read Swedish/Norwegian while filling the form. I personally find it outrages that English speakers are charge twice more and wonder how fair this is. Truly dishonest company.

We are presently on a cruise with Hurtigruten in northern Norway. Our experience is that the service personnel (including wait staff and bartenders) are extremely rude and unaccommodating. They walk away from you in the restaurant rather than serve water. They’re not interested unless you order an expensive drink. They say that sparkling water is available free in the brochure, but they charge for it in the restaurant and give you a hassle when you protest. The only friendly staff members we have found are the cleaners. Oh, and the food is only ok. They should think about updating their dietary options. Nice scenery though, but of course, that’s not Hurtigruten’s doing.

Brilliant 12 day cruise up the Fjords, superb scenery, northern lights and excellent food.

We particularly liked the fact that the cruise ship was also a working ship and enjoyed the many stops to pick up passengers and cargo. We also liked the informal, no tipping, no fancy dressing policy.

We could not fault it in any way and think £1500 each for flight, cruise and three meals per day for 12 days was incredible value.

Went in February so lots of snow and very pretty.

Yes the excursions are a bit pricey and so are the drinks so we just cut down on those. We will be going with them again somewhere!

There is no doubt that cruise excursions can be expensive, but I have never come across any as costly as with Hurtigruten. To give just a couple of examples – a 2 hour walk around Alesund or a 2 hour visit to Trondheim Cathedral (which is within easy walking distance of the port) at £80 pp, a 3 hour farm visit at £140 and a 24 hour wilderness trek at over £650 pp (this of course is on top of what one has already paid for the boat trip).

We only took a short trip with Hurtigruten from Bergen to Trondheim and am afraid that we were quite disappointed with the voyage which was for two nights and one full day.

If one chooses to fly with a budget airline then it is not surprising if one has a constant battle with them to avoid being charged more. However, we got the same sort of conflict on the cruise and Hurtigruten is certainly not cheap in the first place! Some staff were quite helpful, but too many seemed only concerned with ensuring that you got no more than you were entitled to – if that. When we went to get ourselves a coffee, which we were entitled to, and found no one there, we went to make it ourselves only to complained at by the member of staff when they finally returned for having done so.

Despite booking the second most expensive cabin available, which was adequate in size but no more, we still had people walking past our cabin window. We also had to go to reception to get the domestic staff to return and make up our room after they had missed it out.

We liked the dining room which was well laid out and we did not have to sit next to people we did not know. The drinks were expensive, but no more so than the rest of Norway. The meals were mixed in quality. The first evening was a buffet and the cold first course was excellent as were the selection of cheeses for the end of the meal. However, the ‘hot’ food was lukewarm, and we were one of the first to dine, and the deserts looked better than they tasted. The same applied to the buffet lunch. The dinner on the second night was a three course meal and was adequate, although the portions were quite small. The breakfasts were good.

I would not recommend Hurtigruten and if one was wishing to sail the southern fjords then, given that Hurtigruten only sail one of them, one would be better off to get a cruise from Britain that spend more time cruising them.

Northerlights 12 day Promis Hurtigruten. Never book this trip. Hurtigruten Trollfjord has a 90% garantie that you see the NortherLights. If you don't you get a week free next year.
After being on the boat for 9 days and havent seen anything. What can happen. It's nature. We where called on deck. The Northerlights could be seen. They had us looking at a clouded sky with the moon behind it. Nobody on deck had seen it. I filled a complaint. The reaction was: One person had seen it and had a photo it. I talked to about 30 people, on deck the same night and the next day. Nobody had seen anything.
This is the reason not to give a week next year. Very convenient for them.
BIG SCAM. Never ever for me on the Hurtigruten.
So be aware before you take on this trip and this offer.
I have done this before. Next time on land again for me.
The activities offert off board are very much overpriced.
Food was very nice and there was enough diversity true the day on board.
Fitness room is there but the size of a cabin. # hurtigruten #norway #fjord #northerlight #northerligts #travel #cruise #northernligthspromise #bergen-kirkenes-Bergen

You are welcomed to Kong Harald by some hours delay in the terminal while the ship is cleaned. Then another while they batch load passengers for the safety video conducted on the ship. Could it not be done during the ship cleaning period? Finally ate at 20.30.
Cabin is really designed for short stays. This is a ferry not a cruise ship.

Fixed dining time changed twice. It took three days to get them to make the cabin tv work. The cabin thermostat was faulty and replaced. Even so the cabin temperature was erratic. We offered to pay for a better cabin and this was ignored. Though we did get free internet in compensation.

There are constant reminders that you are visiting one of the most expensive countries in the world. Allowing three times the UK price is a guide. Drinks on board start at about £40 a bottle of wine, instant coffee or tea £3.50. Local beer £10.

34 port stops on the 10 day return voyage often for short periods allowing little shore time for private landing. Ship excursions are horrifying in cost and catered to a captive audience.

BUT the food is good and the views in good weather stupendous. I did venture feedback to head office on the points raised above and this was bounced straight back to the ship and this was not taken kindly on board. The many hardy German passengers seemed content with price of everything.

We did a norweigean coast trip with Hurtigruten and it was generally okay but I did have a few issues with them:
1) the hikes were a joke. 25 pounds for a 20 mins walk around a park and they call it a hike.
2) the itineraries on their website are a lie. We did not go by some of the mentioned stops. They said that was only for the northbound trip but the website clearly had it for the southbound too. Of course they did not recognize the mistake
3) many areas of the boat stink of fish
4) their public announcments on the boat are really hard to understand and easy to miss. This is 2018, please use a better system

On the good side
1) really good internet speed and wifi coverage
2) good and varied food
3) good scenery and saw the northern lights!

This is a review of the booking procedure. My trip on Roald Amundsen has been cancelled as the ship is not ready. But worse still is that it has been IMPOSSIBLE for me or my agent in London to get hold of anyone at Hurtigruten to reschedule my booking. I am fearing I may not get booked on the next available sailing in December 2019 some 22 months away. Please pick up the phones and deal with my agent.

The safest way to explore the Antarctic and the Arctic must be on board one of their vessels. Excellent presentations, food and cabins at very reasonable prices.

My family and I had our first voyage with Hurtigruten on MS Finnmarken from Sandnessjøen to Kirkenes about 4 years ago, our first voyage with Hurtigruten was fantastic!

*** PLEASE READ UPDATE TO THIS REVIEW BELOW.
Last year (Feb 2016) we booked another voyage from Trondheim to Kirkenes as a graduation present for our daughter.
We lived in the UK and we contacted Hurtigruten 2 days prior to the voyage for bit and piece. We were advised everything are in order and the crew are looking forward to welcoming us on board.

Due to complex & limited flight connection to Trondheim from the UK, we left the UK a day before, spend the night in Trondheim and make our way to the port the following morning.

We arrived at Trondheim Port around 8.30 am, it was extremely cold and there was no sighting of our ship.

After an enquiry, we were advised that our voyage was cancelled about 4 days ago. We were stunned by this news as we contacted Hurtigruten prior to leaving the UK and we weren’t advised of the cancellation. It was a total blow to our entire holiday plan; our return flight to the UK, our hotel booking at the destination (Kirkenes), work annual leave arrangement and other personal plans were all set and in sequence with this cruise.

Under extremely cold conditions & huge pressure we make quick arrangement and travel back to the UK via Bergen at a huge cost. On our return to the UK, we contacted Hurtigruten and request reimbursement for cost incurred following the cancellation of the voyage and for their failure to adequately notify us. They declined.

Hurtigruten enjoys an enormous monopoly as the only Norwegian coastal cruise operator. Whilst I love to travel the Norwegian coast again, definitely not with Hurtigruten.

*** UPDATE SINCE THE ABOVE REVIEW; We have been fully refunded, reimbursed for additional cost incurred and compensated. Nevertheless, I wish we were notified of the cancellation beforehand. Hurtigruten Norwegian coastal Cruise especially during the Aurora Borealis is great and most recommended.

I had really looked forward for the one day journey between Tromsø to Honningsvåg, but the staff was so busy and rude and i was asked to show by travelcard twice when omboard even in the restaurant in the morning while i was eating breakfast. So i did not feel welcome as a passenger.
Will not use hurtigruten again ever.

Hurtigruten is a cruise company operating in Norway, Greenland, Arctic and Antarctic. I booked a cruise in Greenland last june 2015 and i never had such a bad experience for an exploration cruise :
- i booked thru email and when they sent me the rate : there was no mention of the paying excursions (most of the excursions in fact) - when all their competitors included 2 excursions per day when possible. So i can't really compare the rates between cruises companies and i was trapped. For excursions, you can add 2000 euros for 10 days, so it's significant.
- cabin was very small with 2 tiny beds and a small bathroom. One of their towels had a huge hole and for such expensive cruise : it's unacceptable
- The boat was too big for exploration and i have few experiences in Artic and Antartica (4) with 100 passegers boat and with a smaller boat, it was more convenient for sighting and pictures. Hurtigruten Fram ship was too big with limited access to outside views despite its size (5th floor only for the front view, 7th floor for rear view and it's too high and far for good pictures on whales for instance).
- The cruise was supposed to be an exploration cruise and everybody was expecting to see wildlife : we didn't see much. The ship was cruising at night and was anchored all day in a harbour - so in fact, we visited only the cities and i was really bored
- this company was pushing a lot to buy excursions, to visit their shop and also was pushing a lot to buy alcohol with specials offers by 11 bottles - and for me it was annoying and shocking for alcohol because some people were drinking more than reasonnable on that boat.
So i don't recommend that company and there is more serious companies, with all excursions included with a normal attitude : no push to buy or drink.