Norwegian Coastal Cruise June 2018
Graham & Elaine
Last updated 20th October 2018
Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Voyage - 6th to 19th October 2018.
Okay, so we’re off again but on a rather different trip this time. The Hurtigruten shipping line run a daily service from Bergen heading north all the way up to (almost) the Russian border; they have a number of ships ranging in size and age and they offer a variety of services including freight, postal service, car/passenger ferry as well as a form of casual cruising. We will be staying on board the MS Nordkapp for its 12 day round trip to the north and back to Bergen. All together there are around 40 stops (some for just 15 minutes to drop passengers and post) and at of them we will be disembarking to take tours and at others we won’t.
Saturday 6th October 2018 – Home to Bergen, Norway.
Today provided us with definite first, we flew from Humberside on a KLM city hopper to Amsterdam and then after a fairly short layover, on to Bergen with KLM. It only took us around 40 minutes to drive to Humberside and after parking almost outside the door we sat for a while waiting for the check in to open. It seems there were only two flights scheduled all day today so it was a bit of a ‘one man and his dog’ sort of operation but it worked really well for us. As we had booked assistance on board for Graham they made sure we boarded first and, as boarding involved a set of steps to climb, the staff very kindly carried our hand baggage to the aircraft for us.
The flight to Amsterdam took less than an hour and we were provided with a drink and a small snack which we hadn’t really expected. Whilst on board the crew sought us out and told us that we should stay seated once we arrived at Amsterdam as there would be special transport waiting for us and there was. We two and another couple were transported to the terminal by minibus and then onward to a ‘special assistance lounge’ which was close to a number of shops and cafes so I was able to get us a more substantial snack. Around an hour before our flight we were, as promised, collected by a very pleasant young lady with a wheelchair and we were safely and speedily delivered to our boarding gate (why can’t more airlines manage such a good service?). The second flight only lasted an hour and forty minutes and, once again we were provided with a drink and snack.
After arriving in Bergen we were met, once again, with wheelchair and after a short delay whilst they manually lifted a very large lady off of the aircraft we were pushed through to pick up our luggage and our transfer.
Our hotel is very well positioned just a short walk from the fish market area, it’s okay although in many ways a typical city hotel with fairly tiny rooms. Once we’d settled in we took a walk in to the old town which was really quite lively on a Saturday evening. We found our way to a restaurant I’d seen very good reviews for on-line and it seems the reviews were justified, we had a very good meal sharing mussels to start and then doing a mix and match with one reindeer and one venison dish both of which were very good. The only drawback with eating anywhere here is the price, the dishes mentioned above plus one small glass of house wine and one small (0.4l) beer cost just under £100 – ouch!
Sunday 7th October 2018 – Bergen.
Although our hotel room is small it proved to be pretty comfortable so after a good night’s sleep we had breakfast (a very good buffet) and then headed back out to explore Bergen. Unfortunately, it hadn’t occurred to us when we booked this trip that the vast majority of shops in town are closed on a Sunday as are quite a few restaurants (including the restaurant at our hotel which definitely seems odd). Never the less we had good walk around before making our way to the Funicular railway where we took a ride up to see the views over the city (expensive but worth the trip). After investing a small fortune in a cup of coffee each at the café at the top we made our way back down and walked around the old town Bryggen.
Next on our agenda was lunch which we decided we’d take at the “Rock & Roll diner” I’d seen advertised on-line. Once again the food was really expensive but the diner itself is really well done, they even have a car converted into seating in one area so it was definitely worth a brief visit.
From there we made our way back past the hotel and on to the Aquarium. It’s not a particularly big aquarium but a reasonable visit despite the extortionate entry fee (It cost us £40 for the two of us and that was senior rate!). As, by now, Graham’s foot was starting to give out (he’s done really, really well bearing in mind there are all sorts of cobbles and dodgy slopes about) we’ve made our way back to the hotel for a rest before we head out to eat. Not sure where we’re going to go tonight, we’ll just have to see what’s open.
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Monday 8th October 2018 – Bergen to Hurtigruten’s MS Nordkapp.
As it turns out there were quite a few restaurants open last night but, unfortunately, a number of them were showing live football so we naturally avoided those. In the end we ate at a very pleasant Italian where the food was plentiful and the prices marginally better (two pasta dishes, one side salad, one 0.6l of beer and a glass of wine came to £66). We didn’t stay out long after we’d eaten as although the weather had been kind to us during the day it bucketed with rain all evening so we were back at the hotel relatively early.
As our transfer to the ship wasn’t due to pick us up until 15:15 today we took another walk into Bergen but this time to the main shopping area and the city park. Unfortunately it was still bucketing with rain for the first hour or so but it did brighten considerably after that. One slight mistake we made today was to assume that our hotel’s restaurant would be open for lunch, it wasn’t, a fact we only discovered after we’d walked all the way back there so after a short rest it was back once again to the waterfront where we had a very nice if rather large Vietnamese noodle dish each before heading back to pick up our transfer.
The transfer and check in process turned out to be pretty painless and we were on board by just after 16:00 although the cabins weren’t available until 18:00. We hadn’t been expecting much from the cabin and were we’re right in our assumption that it would be on the cosy side. If anything the cabin is actually a bit smaller than we expected, there is sufficient room at the sides of the bed but there is literally only a matter of about 9 or 10 inches between the end of the bed and the wall so we’ve had to make a few adjustments to our usual sleeping arrangements as Graham simply can’t get around the bed on crutches. The shower room is also very small but just about usable for him so this may not be one of our more comfortable trips but manageable.
As this is the first night on board dinner was a buffet with open seating (i.e. sit where you like at whatever time you like) and the food was very good and certainly plentiful. We decided to stay off of the alcohol this evening and we’re going to have to think seriously about what we have for the rest of the trip as the wine packages are seriously expensive. There are three packages on offer, house wines, premium wines and superior wines each of which provides you with one bottle of wine per evening with dinner. The cheapest of the packages costs over £500 and the most expensive is a little over £1000 for 11 bottles !!
Now I know they say it’s a small world but we were still very surprised when we were approached by a fellow passenger yesterday afternoon, it turns out she recognised us from the cruise we took this time last year on the other side of the world and she comes from Australia. Who would have guessed it could happen.
Tuesday 9th October 2018 – Bergen to Molde,
The ship sailed overnight from Bergen towards Alesund and there was a surprising amount of movement at times so we didn’t have the most restful night. This morning dawned (eventually) grey and very wet with the rain forecast to stay with us all day which is a shame as the first of the excursions take place today. We have opted to take a trip by bus and boat which takes in Hjorundfjord, Geirangerfjord and the town of Alesund. Whilst we’re on this trip the ship sails into Geirangerfjord to deliver cargo before turning around and picking us up again at Alesund.
Unfortunately today’s weather has lived up to the forecast, it’s been absolutely pouring non-stop all day which meant that many of the views were almost non-existent. That said it was still, in our opinion, worth the effort as the waterfalls and rivers were in full flow. This trip included one long and one short ferry ride and a bus trip with lots of stops for ‘photos some of which were a bit of a damp squib because of the weather but, as they say, that’s the way it goes.
We’re now back in our cabin catching up with some admin before heading for dinner in an hour or so. We have another tour booked tomorrow morning so we’re keeping our fingers crossed for better weather.
Wednesday 10th October 2018 – Molde to Rorvik.
Last night’s dinner was the first at our allocated table and it turned out that we had been allocated seats on a table for four (we’d said we were happy to share) and we were eventually joined by a very nice couple from Perth Australia (there was some slight confusion with who should be on our table and the one next to it). The meal itself was very pleasant but it’s fair to say that the portion sizes were on the petite side.
We were up early this morning as the tour we had chosen was one of the first to leave after we docked at Trondheim at 08:30. We had chosen a tour which included a short bus tour of Trondheim as well as a ride on what is said to be the most northerly tram service in the world. The entire tour only lasted around 2 ½ hours so we were back on board in plenty of time before the ship sailed again at noon. The weather has been way better today; it was actually sunny during our tour!
Lunch followed and we’re now sitting in the panorama lounge watching the islands (and the occasional dolphin) slide by as we head back out of this particular fjord ready to head further north, unfortunately it’s just started to rain again but we’re crossing our fingers for tomorrow as it’s supposed to be better again.
Thursday 11th October 2018 – Rorvik to Svolvaer.
The passenger announcement system in our cabin was tested for the first time at just before 07:00 this morning as the crew made an announcement as we were crossing the Arctic Circle. There was some sort of presentation/ceremony on the outside deck as we crossed but as we’ve been across before we decided to stay put and stay warm (it’s actually not been cold yet, very unseasonal apparently).
We had a slightly later start this morning as the ship wasn’t docking for any length of time until 12:30 this afternoon when we arrived at Bodo where we docked for 2 ½ hours. As none of the tours from here took our fancy we decided to do our own thing and walked into the town to take a look. It is a modern town with a small shopping centre and lots of cafes/restaurants and there was also a very large marina with a variety of pleasure and working boats, nothing special but worth a brief visit.
The walk there and back took around an hour meaning that Graham was pretty knackered by the time we got back so he is currently resting in the cabin whilst I sit and look out over the dock area where everyone is re-boarding before our 15:00 departure.
Friday 12th October 2018 – Svolvaer to Skjervoy.
Well that’s another one ticked off of our list. One of the things that attracted us to this voyage was the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights. Hurtigruten give a guarantee that if the lights don’t appear during your 12 day sailing you get another 6 or 7 day sailing for free so we were hopeful when we joined the trip. It was 01:40 this morning that the in-cabin tannoy chirped up and told us that the Northern Lights were now visible. After throwing on some clothes and a heavy jacket we joined quite a few other passengers on the outside deck to see just what would unfold.
We didn’t get the amazing multi-coloured displays that you sometimes see on the T.V. but we did see a huge, very obvious ark of constantly moving and changing green lights which was fascinating to see. We stood out on deck for around 40 minutes before the ship closed in on the town of Storland where we were due to dock and where the light pollution killed any chance of seeing more. We have also been told that there is a reasonable chance of seeing another display tonight so here’s hoping (and hoping that it’s a little earlier too!).
Today dawned bright and sunny and we’ve been treated to some superb views as we’ve continued north towards the Russian Border (which we should reach on Sunday). We also caught sight of an Eagle and a sea lion (or similar). After making a few short stops along the way we arrived in Tromso at 14:15 and, as there were no tours we wanted to take, we stopped off at the tourist information office where a very helpful young lady marked out a good, not too long, walking tour for us. We’re now back on board with a couple of hours to spare before we’re due to leave this time heading for Nordkapp and the mostly northerly point of our trip which we should reach tomorrow morning.
Saturday 13th October 2018 – Oksfjord to Berlevag.
The Northern Lights did provide another display last night and much earlier this time. In fact the first time they appeared was a little too early for us as we were still eating dinner ! I gather that particular display didn’t amount to much but at around 21:50 they appeared again in a very similar fashion to last night i.e. lots of constantly changing green lights. This time we watched the display for around 40 minutes before they were pretty much lost to view and we decided at that point to call it a night. We also chose to turn off the in-cabin notifications as we figured we’d stood outside in the cold and wind for long enough for one night.
Unfortunately when I woke this morning I had a very unpleasant headache (there is absolutely no fresh air in the cabins which I think was the problem) so I sent Graham for breakfast on his own whilst I tried to get shot of it. I finally dragged myself out of bed and was with him in the lounge by 10:00 I was still feeling a bit ropey but not too bad.
Today we have reached the most northerly point of the journey (71 degrees North) passing very close to the North Cape. The longest stop of the day took place at Honningsvag where a lot of people took a tour to the North Cape visitors centre. As we had been there before we chose to take a trip to visit two small fishing villages, one which is said to be the most northerly in the world.
En-route to the first village we made a brief stop to take pictures of the Fjord and the North Cape, now we had been warned it was windy but we hadn’t realised that we wouldn’t be able to stand still in it, windy wasn’t the word. Graham did venture out of the bus but as the wind was trying to blow his prosthetic leg from under him he stayed almost glued to the side of the bus – very sensible.
At the first village we were introduced to Heidi a very friendly lady who served us coffee and cake (a really, really nice traditional Norwegian Christmas cake) and told us what it was like to live on the cape. She also showed us a short film of her husband at work on the fishing boats when he had been fishing for both King Crab and Cod. As well as running a café Heidi also runs a small Christmas shop selling mostly locally produced goods. For once the prices weren’t too silly so we’ve treated ourselves to a small souvenir.
At the second village we met an artist of German extraction who is married to man from the village. Her artwork is definitely different; she first sketches local scenes and then fills them in using scraps of paper from old magazines to achieve the colours. It sounds very odd but really works well. Next we took a short walk to the small harbour to see the fishing boats, where they dry and smoke the fish etc. all very interesting. Lastly we were driven around the town so we could take a brief look around before returning to the ship.
It’s now 15:30 and as it’s clouded over it’s almost dark outside so were sitting looking out at the last vestiges of daylight whilst we can. With this much cloud it seems unlikely we’ll see the Northern Lights again tonight but I suppose you never know.
Sunday 14th October 2018 – Batsfjord to Kirkenes to Berlevag.
It was still grey when we woke this morning and there was a little more activity on board than usual as this is the turning point where our north bound journey ends and our southbound starts. There were also around 100 passengers finishing their journey in Kirkenes including Sri and Anadee who we had been sitting with at dinner this last week. As far as we can tell these 100 will be replaced by around 45 so there should be just a little more room on board this week.
The longest stop of the day was in Kirkenes (3 ½ hours) which is just a few miles from the Russian border so we decide to take the optional trip to see the border and a little of the surrounding countryside. Not surprisingly there wasn’t all that much to see at the border itself just lots of signs advising you couldn’t pass without a visa and one very small souvenir shop which was “guarded” by a very large Malamute dog.
Once we’d seen the border we were driven back to the town whilst the guide told us something of the history in particular around the Second World War period. It seems that Kirkenes was one of the most bombed cities because of its strategic location just 200km from the port of Murmansk. As part of the tour we were taken to a war time underground bunker/shelter where we were shown a short film showing, amongst other things, before and after pictures of the town. It was both sobering and interesting.
Once back on board we had a (fairly) light lunch before finding ourselves some comfy chairs on which to relax for the afternoon before we go and meet our new dinner companions this evening (assuming there are some).
Monday 15th October 2018 – Mehamn to Tromso.
We knew when we booked this trip that we would be on a working vessel and, as such, might suffer some noise at the various overnight stops but we had expected this to be from the process of loading/unloading the cargo. As it is it has, on occasion, been that the ship itself has been very noisy and the vibrations have been particularly bad when the ship is docking. It may be in part because our cabin is right at the back of the ship but either way it has been very disturbing at times; last night for example we docked three times over night and each time it was pretty uncomfortable in regards noisy and vibration so neither of us had a very good night.
Our first lengthy stop this morning was at Hammerfest which we were told is the most northerly town in the world. As we were docked for two hours we disembarked and took a walk around the town just to stretch our legs. There wasn’t a great deal to see so we took the opportunity to visit a supermarket to see how the prices compared to home and, as we expected, most things were much more expensive. We did discover though that the wine in the shop is about half the price of the wine on board!
After a spot of lunch we returned to our usual haunt, the panorama lounge, where we’ve been watching the scenery slip by and occasionally dozing off after last night’s poor sleep and in preparation for a late night tonight. We have booked seats on a trip to the midnight concert at the Artic Cathedral in Tromso, we’ve no idea what sort of concert but it should be interesting whatever it is.
Tuesday 16th October 2018 – Tromso to Stamsund.
It turns out that it was well worth staying up late for last night’s concert. We were taken the short distance to the Cathedral by bus (actually three buses) where we were handed a programme showing that we would be hearing 12 pieces made up of a mixture of instrumental and vocal pieces. All were Norwegian in origin and ranged from a wedding march to a folk song from medieval times and a contemporary piece.
The Cathedral itself wasn’t, in my mind, particularly attractive being one of the very modern triangular buildings they seems to favour over here but one thing it did have was superb acoustics. The performance was given by just three people; a guy who played organ and piano, a young lady who played the trumpet and also a birch trumpet (made of birch and shaped rather like a very large bugle) and lastly a young lady soprano with an absolutely beautiful voice. After the concert we were transported back to the ship in time for sailing at 01:30.
There have been quite a few new passengers collected during the last few stops, many of them locals on shorter hops presumably between work, home and family so the ship feels a bit more crowded and comfy seating is a bit harder to find which is a pain. Having found ourselves a seat we’re currently sitting here watching out of the windows as we pass through the Trolljfjord which really doesn’t leave much room for manoeuvre on either side.
Unfortunately, for some reason they’ve made tonight’s dinner a buffet with open seating and slightly shorter opening hours so with the additional numbers on board it seems likely that’s going to turn into something of a bun fight too.
Wednesday 17th October 2018 – Bodo to Rorvik.
I made a slight mistake in yesterday’s blog. At the timing of writing it we hadn’t, in fact, reached Trollfjord we did reach it fairly soon afterwards though and the ship took a very interesting detour in to it. The entrance/exit to this fjord is very tight indeed, in places it looked as though there were only a few feet to spare on either side and watching as they turned the ship around at the end was interesting too.
Today we have made a few stops along the way but the vast majority were very short stops which didn’t allow any time to disembark. At around 09:30 this morning we crossed back over the Arctic Circle and there was another ceremony of sorts on the outside deck (which we chose not to go to) so it is, as they say, all downhill from here.
This afternoon at Bronneysund, a stop of 1 ¼ hours provided the only opportunity of the day to get off so we took a brief walk into the town to have a look around and stretch our legs. Shortly after that the ship took another slight detour to pass a mountain which has a very large a hole in it which was interesting to see.
This year is the 125th anniversary of the Hurtigruten Company so once during each 12 day voyage they are celebrating by providing a free glass of champagne for each guest whilst a senior member of the crew gives a short speech and proposes a toast. Fortunately for us this took place in the lounge we just happened to be seated in. We are also being provided with a special 5 course dinner this evening which should be good.
Thursday 18th October 2018 – Trondheim to Alesund.
Last night’s dinner which was made up entirely of locally sourced produce, was pretty good. We left the restaurant at around 21:40 and after a quick coffee we made our way back to our cabin just as we reached a stretch of open water where it got pretty bumpy (apparently a Force 8). We managed to get in to bed without any issues but the light went on and off a few times as we checked which of our bits and pieces had landed on the floor; consequently we didn’t sleep too well which was a bit of a pest as we had to be up early this morning.
We set our alarm early and were at breakfast by 07:00 as we had booked a tour which left at 07:45. This time we’d chosen to take a city tour of Trondheim which included a visit to the Nidaros Cathedral which we had seen from the outside on the way up. It’s fair to say that some parts of the tour overlapped with the one we took on our last stop here but we both felt it was still worth doing despite the early start.
We were back on board just before the ship set sail again at 10:00 and spent a relaxing few hours sitting watching the world go by before heading off for lunch (more food!). All that is left for us now (apart from yet more food) is to get packed up ready for our departure tomorrow; I’ll leave that excitement for a little later this afternoon!
Friday 19th October 2018 – Alesund to Bergen to Home.
I managed to get most of our packing done yesterday afternoon just before we reached an area of open water which was decidedly rough and the ship was still bucking and weaving as it got to 20:00 when we were due to have dinner. Getting to the dining room safely was difficult enough for anyone but particularly for Graham, it was a case of working our way along the walls and available handrails and we finally made it safely just before they served the soup (yes, it had to be soup didn’t it).
Once in the dining room we had the fun of trying to keep our cutlery and glasses on the table, every time we took our hands away from them they started to slide across the table and the crew lost an entire tray of glasses to the floor. It ended up with us and the four on the neighbouring table having a race to see whose glasses could reach the edge of the table soonest. Fortunately by the time we’d eaten we’d entered a much more sheltered area and were able to make it back to the lounge unhampered.
Today has seemed like a very long day. We had breakfast at around 08:00 and we had to be out of our cabin by 10:00 this meant that, as everyone was in the same boat (no pun intended) seating was at a premium. We were fortunate enough to find somewhere comfortable to sit until it was time for lunch after which we found somewhere else to sit out the remainder of the journey.
The ship docked at Bergen at 14:30 and we had collected our luggage and taken the bus transfer to the airport all by 15:30. Once checked in we were provided with a wheelchair and pusher who delivered us safely to our departure gate.
Our first flight to Amsterdam left on time and we were met by the Schipol airport assistance team who were, once again, very efficient. We were taken straight to our gate and offered the loan of a wheelchair so that we could look around, we politely declined the offer as moving both of us and our bags around would have been almost impossible. As our flight to Humberside wasn’t departing from an air bridge we were picked up at boarding time by two guys who transported us to the back door of the aircraft by a rather nifty cross between a greenhouse on wheels and a fork lift truck, very efficient.
Once on board the KLM flight we were asked if we needed assistance at Humberside as they weren’t sure if we would be using an air bridge or not. They obviously hadn’t been to Humberside before as there is no air bridge at Humberside and the aircraft stops within around 20 feet of the airport door so, once again, we politely declined. Even though we had declined a wheelchair we were still met by a very helpful lady who took us through to the front of the Immigration queue and found us a trolley for our luggage which arrived almost as soon as we had, very impressive.
Another thing that impressed us with KLM was the delivery received by a guy sitting across the aisle from us. It was, apparently, his birthday and he was provided with two mini bottles of champagne and some other goodies. He chose to open his bottles during the flight and very kindly shared the contents with us.
From there it was just a short drive home. Our flight had landed at Humberside at 21:30 and we were indoors by 22:22 ! This is the first time we’ve flown via Humberside but I don’t think it will be the last, with the airport being so small flying from there is a real doddle and both KLM & Schipol airport seem to have things really well organised for disabled passengers so I’m sure we’ll be using this route again.