Booking on hurtigruten.no

[Homerody]

8 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Which of the ports would have the longer stay?  And did you pre book excursions with local companies?

I think the price difference is substantial.

I had done so much research and paid for excursions but since I am thinking of Hirtigruten instead now, its back to the drawing board.

Am hoping for vaacine by mid 2021,  and our borders will be shut until at least the end of 2020 I hear,

.

By longer stays I meant 3 hours or more.  (The are plenty of quick port stops - 30 min etc...)  For port duration I used timetable on Hurtigruten website and their 2020 promotional brochure. 

 

Had planned on mostly DIY sight seeing (maybe an excursion or two). It was going to be mostly on our own - armed with maps, guide books, research materials  then pick and choose which attractions in a given port we wanted to visit and linger in.  Before a mad run back to departing ship.... (Kidding about the last part).

 

 

 

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Which of the ports would have the longer stay?  And did you pre book

Did not know if you question was related to the coastal voyage or the expedition cruise.

The itinerary I posted above is the expedition cruise. The Coastal Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes has 35 stops (the same when going back) - most stops only 15 minutes - longer stops (3 hours) in Trondheim, Ålesund, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg (North Cape) - few stops a 1 to 2 hours.

[Sallyandtex]

19 hours ago, hallasm said:

Did not know if you question was related to the coastal voyage or the expedition cruise.

The itinerary I posted above is the expedition cruise. The Coastal Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes has 35 stops (the same when going back) - most stops only 15 minutes - longer stops (3 hours) in Trondheim, Ålesund, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg (North Cape) - few stops a 1 to 2 hours.

Sorry, it was directed at Homerody, for the coast to coast. I really wanted longer in port.

I imagine the Expedition itinerary would have longer stops. 

Will have to research more, but a bit early probably.

We are hoping for money back from HAL except for deposit for a cruise we cancelled for June 2020, but have credit with Trafalgar too so hoping to book something for 2021.

 

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

I imagine the Expedition itinerary would have longer stops.

Yes, While the coastal voyage has stops at a max of three hours and the majority 15 or 30 minutes - also many stops during night (working ship) the expedition voyage has full day stops and some half day. Many stops are remote location without any local tour companies - see list of expedition ports in post #50. (assuming summer May to September)

Link to expedition voyage from Bergen and from Hamburg.

Also expedition voyages during winter including some from Dover.

[Sallyandtex]

On 4/15/2020 at 11:09 PM, hallasm said:

Yes, While the coastal voyage has stops at a max of three hours and the majority 15 or 30 minutes - also many stops during night (working ship) the expedition voyage has full day stops and some half day. Many stops are remote location without any local tour companies - see list of expedition ports in post #50. (assuming summer May to September)

Link to expedition voyage from Bergen and from Hamburg.

Also expedition voyages during winter including some from Dover.

Thanks so much for the links.

I will try to investigate if there is a worthwhile saving on the Norway website.

I am wondering if there are ever any deals and promotions for paying early, and also if they have a peace of mind cancellation policy due to the Covid .

I had a budget of $4200 Aus . Each. That's Around 28000 NOK (that has been madly fluctuating) so will have to try stretch it a bit more.

At least I have another 12 months to save up!

[hallasm]

7 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

I will try to investigate if there is a worthwhile saving on the Norway website.

I did check the price for Fjords and Midnight Sun Expedition, MS Eirik Raude. 19. juni 2021. Arctic superior cabin  from NOK 43,336 (AU$ 6,526) or AU$7,739 at the au web - saving is AU$1,213 at the no Webb’s today but the NOK is fluctuating.

Note that terms and conditions can be different for various countries.

The classic 12 day coastal voyage will be in the order of NOK 31 889 also in June 2021.

I would wait and book later - I do not believe they will sell out. Also look for offers - next year Hurtigruten will have competition at the Coastal voyage from Havila Kystruten, then there might be some good offers.

Also if classic coastal voyage you can consider one way from Bergen to Kirkenes and spend some days in Oslo and Bergen - possible combined with Norway in Nutshell with train from Oslo to Bergen.

personally I do find the 12 days return trip ‘too much of the same’  when going back (might only be me) - I have only sailed one way or shorter partial trips - but for me it’s only an hour flight to Bergen.

 

[Sallyandtex]

16 hours ago, hallasm said:

I did check the price for Fjords and Midnight Sun Expedition, MS Eirik Raude. 19. juni 2021. Arctic superior cabin  from NOK 43,336 (AU$ 6,526) or AU$7,739 at the au web - saving is AU$1,213 at the no Webb’s today but the NOK is fluctuating.

Note that terms and conditions can be different for various countries.

The classic 12 day coastal voyage will be in the order of NOK 31 889 also in June 2021.

I would wait and book later - I do not believe they will sell out. Also look for offers - next year Hurtigruten will have competition at the Coastal voyage from Havila Kystruten, then there might be some good offers.

Also if classic coastal voyage you can consider one way from Bergen to Kirkenes and spend some days in Oslo and Bergen - possible combined with Norway in Nutshell with train from Oslo to Bergen.

personally I do find the 12 days return trip ‘too much of the same’  when going back (might only be me) - I have only sailed one way or shorter partial trips - but for me it’s only an hour flight to Bergen.

 

Thanks so much for your information and tips.

Yes , I will wait for a while maybe new prices.

Do you have a link to more information on the other company? Or any experience with them?

I googled them but only saw limited information.

One way might be a good option, Norway is expensive though! One of the reasons we were going to cruise it. 😁

Thanks again,

So much 

 

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Do you have a link to more information on the other company?

You cannot find a lot about a Havila yet - new in cruise business and limited information at havilakystruten.no - Havila is part of the Havila Shipping company based in Norway that’s long been active in the offshore industry.
The Norwegian coastal route Is an important part of the country’s transport network in remote northern areas. Eleven vessels are sailing north from Bergen towards Kirkenes every day of the year and obligated to stop at 34 ports along the coast carrying both passengers, vehicles and goods. Many short stops also during night.
The route involves state licensing and subsidy, with the state essentially buying shipping service to ensure that the small ports along Norway’s long coastline receive transport service. 
Hurtigruten has long had the concession to operate all the ships serving the entire route but in 2018 The Norwegian state transport ministry decided to split up the 11 daily routes so that other players could also participate. Three contracts were put up for bid and in the end, two were granted to Hurtigruten and one to Havila - starting January 2021. Ships should also meet very strict environmental requirements.
Havila with four ships and Hurtigruten with seven ships will now alternate departure days for the entire route from Bergen to Kirkenes. As part of the agreement the entire crew from four Hurtigruten ships will be moved to the new Havila ships. Experienced crew but new ships. 
Havila has ordered four new ships designed for the route, however delivery for two of the ships will be delayed and now Havila need to find two suitable ships for the route before January 2021.
Hurtigruten will from 2021 use the four available ships for 12 days expedition voyages along the Norwegian Coast from Bergen to Honningsvåg (North Cape). Also some departures from Hamburg and Dover. Only one or two longer stops each day.

Edited April 18, 2020 by hallasm

[vtgumby]

I must join the others that have booked on the NO site and rave about it. We saved over $4000 and got a better cabin then if we had booked on the US site so it’s worth it, an exact duplicate of the global site (and I believe the US site too) so it’s truly not a problem booking even if it’s in Norwegian.

Btw, the global sIte came in 2k less then US site and based in euros but then NO was the true winner with another 2k sheared off!
It will be nice to put the savings into some excursions!

Happy and grateful for this advice, Cruise Critic bloggers saved us a chunk of change!

Edited May 16, 2020 by vtgumby

[hallasm]

10 hours ago, vtgumby said:

Happy and grateful for this advice, Cruise Critic bloggers saved us a chunk of change!

@vtgumby thank you for your update as inspiration for others - wonder why those big differences. I have always booked at the .no site.

A bit easier for me since I do understand Norwegian language - but all sites are similar.

[GottaKnowWhen]

On 5/17/2020 at 4:12 AM, hallasm said:

@vtgumby thank you for your update as inspiration for others - wonder why those big differences. I have always booked at the .no site.

A bit easier for me since I do understand Norwegian language - but all sites are similar.

@vtgumby reminded me of the difference; for me it was about a 40% savings to use the .NO site.

 

Thanks!

 

And as a side note, @vtgumby I have tried to reply to your question, but your email is blocked. I get this message: " Please contact your Internet service provider since part of their network is on our block list (S3150)."

Short answer to the question: wait 7-10 days to see what happens...

Stan

[hvbaskey]

Thank you to all for the incredible wealth of information.   I did a mock booking on the .no site and if I book through that site, I would save $10K CAD for the very same cabin.   I would have never even thought of this without reading this message thread forum.

 

Appreciation to all who have shared their experiences!

[hallasm]

41 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

I would save $10K CAD for the very same cabin

Yes, usually savings when booking at the .no web - but please also note possible differences in terms and conditions. 

[karen11g]

Just booked an Antarctica excursion thru the .no site for a savings of $6,000.

 

We'd actually booked the trip in late December, but had to cancel a few days later for long-story reasons. Dealt with the Norwegian office by email and they immediately issued a refund for the deposit (under the safe sail program), but also waived the $400 fee, which they didn't have to do. Communications were easy, and re-booking was also easy.

 

I called the U.S. office first when re-booking and asked them to price match, which some on CC have had success with. The very nice agent said they've changed the policy and he couldn't do it because terms, conditions, taxes & fees are different between the two countries. I Google translated terms & conditions and they looked fine, saw very few differences. I suspect the real reason is US customers will pay more.

 

Fingers crossed there are no problems, but very much doubt there will be $6,000 worth of them.