Hurtigruten Experiences - Hurtigruten FAQ

A FAQ, or list of Frequently Asked Questions, is a list of often asked questions and their answers. If they do not fit into the material in the picture threads, it is put here. If you have a question and possibly also the answer, please tell us and it will be added, with our thanks.

What to bring

• Waterproof clothes
• Binoculars
• Camera - a waterproof one is a plus
• Good walking shoes for excursions, not many paved surfaces
• Sunglasses
• Books - or gamble on the onboard library being extensive
• Windbreaker - preferably a waterproof one
• Clothes you can use in multiple layers
• Pills to handle seasickness if you have problems with motion sickness
• Gloves and something warm for your head
• A GPS
• Waterproof clothes

The myth of the blue sky

Most advertising photos of and from the Hurtigruten experience show the surroundings in sunshine and with a blue sky as background. This is not the reality experienced by the majority of Hurtigruten travelers. The weather and climate is rough and relatively wild year round, and as a guide taking a group of visitors to the North Cape once said, seeing a Norwegian sight in sunshine is like winning the lottery. This faq is based on 3 full 11-day tours with Hurtigruten in 1996, 2004 and 2006. The weather was wet and wild in 1996 and 2006, and mild and sunny in 2004.

The Cruise Card - your onboard credit card

When sailing with Hurtigruten you will receive 2 items when embarking - a key card to the cabin door and a credit card size ID card with a magnetic stripe and a bar code, which identifies you when you leave the boat and when you get back aboard. This card can be turned into a credit card, which you use to pay for everything onboard - what you drink with your meals, what you buy in the shop, what you get at the bars and the excursions you buy. This is called a Cruise Card. You are encouraged to get a cruise card - they are uncomfortable handling cash. At the beginning of the cruise you go to the reception with the ID card and a credit card of your choice. The ID card is then connected with the credit card, and is activated to serve as a means of payment aboard. With every purchase you make you sign a receipt and get a receipt yourself. At the end of the cruise you go to the reception and look through the receipts they have there, agree that they've done the adding up correctly and sign a credit card slip, and you've handled your monetary obligations onboard.

Don't bring clothes for every day - wash underway

There is a washing room on each ship, where you can wash your clothes. You use a NOK10 coin for a washing machine including detergent, and another NOK10 coin if you want to centrifuge the clothes afterwards. There is no need to bring enough clothes for every single day of the cruise. The Hurtigruten ships are cargo ships, but there is no reason why you should be bringing extra cargo.

Booking seats for dinner

When you get onboard, you should make sure you book seats for your dinner quickly. If you begin your cruise in Bergen then the booking begins at 17.00. The seats you get will be the seats and the table you will be seated at every dinner during your cruise. There are 2 sittings, first sitting 18.30 and second sitting 20.30, and you have to choose what sitting you want.

Where are the Hurtigruten-ships right now?

Map of Norway showing Hurtigruten ports of call and the current location of each of the 11 ships on the Hurtigruten website. Click on a ship for details about its location and course. The picture shown is either from the ship's webcam or a picture of the ship. Note that the speed shown is in nautical knots.

Keeping a chair in the panorama lounge by putting clothes on it is not allowed

If you get in doubt as to whether a chair in the panorama lounge is available because somebody left clothes on it, then don't be. It is policy that this is not allowed, and clothes left in an attempt to reserve a chair may be removed by ship staff to be reclaimed by the offenders at the reception.

Cabins for exhibitionists

You need to be aware of a problem related to the cabins on the deck on which people walk around on the outside of the ship. Stays these cabins can be unpleasant experiences, as you are under close scrutiny from people walking past the windows. You would think that the views away from the ship would be more interesting than what goes on inside the cabins, but no. If you have a cabin with the passenger deck outside then you live in a fish tank. And in Summer you're even more exposed as the midnight sun keeps a lot of people up most of the night who walk the deck instead of sleeping. You pay extra for an outside cabin, but if you want any kind of privacy then you need to keep the curtains drawn, and then what is the point of an outside cabin? The Hurtigruten people could handle this easily by putting film on the windows that make them work like one-way mirrors so you can look out, but nobody can look in, but they haven't gotten around to it.