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Scandinavians sure love their cruise ships, and Hurtigruten is one of Norway's largest lines. On a previous vacation, our trip organizer had Jamie W. and me boarding cruise ships to get from Stockholm to Helsinki to Tallinn and back to Stockholm. So we shouldn't have been surprised that the same company booked us on the MS Polarlys, a 400-foot-long cruise liner, to get from Alesund to Bergen. What did surprise us was the departure time of 1:20AM. Yes, I said AM, and trust me, we ain't night people. The other unexpected revelation was the duration of the journey which turned out to be a mind-numbing thirteen hours. That meant we were on the boat to Bergen until about 2:30PM. My guess is that the timing has to do with when passengers can reasonably check into their hotels in Bergen. It would've been more forgivable if it was more of a pleasure boat with social activities, but it was more like being on the Carpathia after the Titanic sank. OK, it wasn't quite that spartan.. or wet, but there just weren't many distractions for the long voyage. On the upside, our cabin was of decent size, and based on the late night check-in, we thought there was just a handful of us onboard. Boy, were we wrong. When we made our was way to the breakfast buffet the following morning, it was a complete zoo. Where did everyone come from? Certainly not our stop. When we finished, our only activity was walking in circles on the one available deck and enjoying the somewhat redundant sight of islands and villages on our route. It was challenging to find a couple of chairs just to relax. We started to realize that space was at a premium because the ship appeared to be doubling as a cargo freighter. We were so relieved when we came upon Bergen and so was everyone else as were all congregating around the exit passage for disembarkation. Forget social distancing, it was every suitcase for itself. No Julie. No Doc. No Gopher. No one to wave goodbye to us. How do you say, "Don't let the gangplank hit you on the way out!" in Norwegian? RELATED - Exploring Norway? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3PEL4Fe
Find a real cruise: Where to start... One pillow, a small comforter, no sheets? No extra blanket? No tv channels in anything but Norwegian or dubbed Norwegian even if it's labeled in French, English, or German? Random holes and screws in walls all over the Polarys in rooms and common areas like bathrooms and dining areas. If you have a drink package and someone else doesn't the other person can't get your coffee or tea for you or else you will be visited by a crew member. If you get a package, they want everyone in the cabin to buy it. What do you do if one person is sober and the other isn't? Not a lot of hot food options that aren't high-priced. Great if you like cold sandwiches or traditional and overpriced Norwegian dishes (minimum $51 for lunch). Skip food on the boat and grab groceries and meals in town where you can because they are 1000% better. The rooms are EXTREMELY noisy. When they dock around 2 am, you will now be awake because the whole room will shake for about 20 minutes. If you are hard of hearing, sleep like the dead, enjoy the challenge of finding the newest hole in the wall, fancy the allure of 1980s pink toilets and tile, have money to burn on subpar food, and like being mean-mugged by 80% of staff, this is place is for you.
Hurtigruten MS Finnmarken The ship was very clean and healthy. The cabins are small but sufficient, because you will spend most of your time on deck of the cruiser. On Deck 5 there is a way outside around the ship where you can sit down on all sites. On back of ship you can go upstairs outside until the sun deck on deck 7. There is a small swimming pool with salty water and two whirlpools with normal water. The food in the restaurant is very delicious and fresh, there is a big buffet in the morning and at lunch, in the evening menu will be served. The shop on Deck 4 has all you need for a trip and of course many souvenirs. The crew was very friendly.
This company has some housekeeping to take care of. I booked a 12 day cruise and have really mixed feelings. First of all travel in this part of the world is very expensive and I was hoping for better service. Parts of the crew like the expedition team, and most of the serving staff in the dining room were fantastic. But the reception team and housekeeping were not always pleasant. Heading north the reception team was excellent, but on the way back towards Bergen, not so much. They have an intern Sammy, who yelled at me for a solid five minutes because I was late boarding even after I apologized. I don't like spotlighting people, but I contacted the company with a complaint and so far no response. In the words of a crew member's toast,"Hurigruten is not a cruise, but a connection for the Norwegian people" I must agree. It is better to think of this boat line as a ferry and not so much a cruise expedition. They do not stop at ports for long so another reason why it's more like a ferry because you don't have much time to explore the different stops. Once I almost missed the ferry because it docked 15 minutes late which I didn't factor into the departure. time. Use it to get from point a to point B with a possible one or two night stay in the cabins, or if you want to be thrifty, just sleep in one of the lounges, but you have to expect there might be noise. Also, they need to do a better job cleaning the bathrooms in between trips because there was some mold at the base. read more
8 months ago
Reservations people are surly. No one inquired if they could help with flights, hotels or transfers when I initially booked. When I called back to sign up for transfers, they were grumpy that I hadn't booked hotel through them, but "allowed me" to book transfers. Two days before departure they called to cancel my first transfer because they didn't have my flight arrival info (which they should have gathered when I booked the transfer). I told her Hurtigruten's travel info says both flights into Kirkenes are met by the transfer bus, so why was I being cancelled? She didn't have an answer and I was issued a refund. Ironically the bus did meet my flight, I boarded and was the sole passenger and rode for free. Onboard I had to request a hair dryer and was told my fare didn't include an in-room kettle, something this tea drinker would have enjoyed. There are no water refill stations, so rely on your bathroom tap to stay hydrated or purchase bottles of water from them, which isn't very eco-friendly. Food/dining was quite good and the dining staff were very friendly and helped make up for the above shortcomings. Coffee cups are very small for the mediocre coffee offered. Excursion staff and guides were very good, although one of my pre-paid excursions was cancelled. The highlight was a midnight concert featuring flute, soprano and keyboard. The Coastal Express is a quite scenic journey, but Hurtigruten could do better pre-departure, live up to the sustainability they preach by providing water stations, and stop nickel and diming for expensive onboard wine, souvenir mugs, lanyard for cabin card etc. It is not truly all-inclusive as advertised. read more
Scandinavians sure love their cruise ships, and Hurtigruten is one of Norway's largest lines. On a previous vacation, our trip organizer had Jamie W. and me boarding cruise ships to get from Stockholm to Helsinki to Tallinn and back to Stockholm. So we shouldn't have been surprised that the same company booked us on the MS Polarlys, a 400-foot-long cruise liner, to get from Alesund to Bergen. What did surprise us was the departure time of 1:20AM. Yes, I said AM, and trust me, we ain't night people. The other unexpected revelation was the duration of the journey which turned out to be a mind-numbing thirteen hours. That meant we were on the boat to Bergen until about 2:30PM. My guess is that the timing has to do with when passengers can reasonably check into their hotels in Bergen. It would've been more forgivable if it was more of a pleasure boat with social activities, but it was more like being on the Carpathia after the Titanic sank. OK, it wasn't quite that spartan.. or wet, but there just weren't many distractions for the long voyage. On the upside, our cabin was of decent size, and based on the late night check-in, we thought there was just a handful of us onboard. Boy, were we wrong. When we made our was way to the breakfast buffet the following morning, it was a complete zoo. Where did everyone come from? Certainly not our stop. When we finished, our only activity was walking in circles on the one available deck and enjoying the somewhat redundant sight of islands and villages on our route. It was challenging to find a couple of chairs just to relax. We started to realize that space was at a premium because the ship appeared to be doubling as a cargo freighter. We were so relieved when we came upon Bergen and so was everyone else as were all congregating around the exit passage for disembarkation. Forget social distancing, it was every suitcase for itself. No Julie. No Doc. No Gopher. No one to wave goodbye to us. How do you say, "Don't let the gangplank hit you on the way out!" in Norwegian? RELATED - Exploring Norway? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3PEL4Fe read more
1 year ago
Find a real cruise: Where to start... One pillow, a small comforter, no sheets? No extra blanket? No tv channels in anything but Norwegian or dubbed Norwegian even if it's labeled in French, English, or German? Random holes and screws in walls all over the Polarys in rooms and common areas like bathrooms and dining areas. If you have a drink package and someone else doesn't the other person can't get your coffee or tea for you or else you will be visited by a crew member. If you get a package, they want everyone in the cabin to buy it. What do you do if one person is sober and the other isn't? Not a lot of hot food options that aren't high-priced. Great if you like cold sandwiches or traditional and overpriced Norwegian dishes (minimum $51 for lunch). Skip food on the boat and grab groceries and meals in town where you can because they are 1000% better. The rooms are EXTREMELY noisy. When they dock around 2 am, you will now be awake because the whole room will shake for about 20 minutes. If you are hard of hearing, sleep like the dead, enjoy the challenge of finding the newest hole in the wall, fancy the allure of 1980s pink toilets and tile, have money to burn on subpar food, and like being mean-mugged by 80% of staff, this is place is for you. read more
2 years ago
12 years ago
Hurtigruten MS Finnmarken The ship was very clean and healthy. The cabins are small but sufficient, because you will spend most of your time on deck of the cruiser. On Deck 5 there is a way outside around the ship where you can sit down on all sites. On back of ship you can go upstairs outside until the sun deck on deck 7. There is a small swimming pool with salty water and two whirlpools with normal water. The food in the restaurant is very delicious and fresh, there is a big buffet in the morning and at lunch, in the evening menu will be served. The shop on Deck 4 has all you need for a trip and of course many souvenirs. The crew was very friendly. read more
7 years ago
Classic ship on iconic route - what could be better? A lot, as it turns out: The route does not offer much fjord experience, mostly you trundle coast-wise behind the outlying islands. Most places the time in port is too short for sightseeing. Once in open seas, this little ships rocks. And rolls. Keep your seasickness pills handy. The company has a museum at its place of origin. Don't expect to get in there for free as a passenger. Or to have time for a visit if you bought the ticket onboard and the schedule changes. Or get a refund. Revenue matters. A Lot. The Hurtigruten company is now owned by a US-based investment fund, and it shows. Sign up for Ambassador programme to get a 5% discount and other perks? Sorry, that will take some time, and not apply to your booking unless you do it well in advance. Shore excursions rhyme with extortion. Hint from passengers who did buy some: Don't go on those. Or expect to get hints to attractions if they don't sell them, such as the magnificent Vardoe memorial. Or the tram service from airport, involving a 10min walk. Because their own bus service is sold at eight times the fare, at par with the price for a taxi. Maybe that's the reason for them not arranging a taxi for you in Bergen? Economy abounded also in the restaurant: There was free water to be had with the meals - if you were patient and insistent, you even got a second glass. Everything else costs - a lot. This would have been OK if the quality was the same. Which it wasn't: 11 days of the same buffet food of mediocre quality, despite some high-quality ingredients. Little fresh fruit or salad, bakery items running out half way through breakfast service. Single menu "choice" for dinners, prepared to minimise any sensory impact or desire for more-which there wasn't any available of, anyway. Attitudes towards passengers varied between indifference, hostility or occasional friendliness, especially if you spend up large. Hygiene is taken seriously when it comes to making you to disinfect your hands. But changing bed sheets in between the 11 nights? - not happening. As for the vintage vessel: Ear plugs are a must. If you're lucky, the engine noise is droning out the talking and snoring from adjoining cabins, slamming doors or worse. Qeueing for the single shower per gender and 2 toilets, shared between 20 or so cabins. Standing room only: The narrow bunk taking up 50% of the entire cabin, sink and a bare rack for clothing being the other features. No room to hide: Lounge spaces too confined to accommodate all passengers when the weather is too cold or wet outside. In this instance, "classic" associates with uncomfortable and stinginess, not with class. read more
12 years ago
