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Horrible Hurtigruten!
24 of 44 people found this review informative
 
Reviewed By: Coxhill, Reading on 22nd Feb 2012
Cruise Line: Hurtigruten Cruises Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: ms Nordkapp Sailed: February, 2012
Destination: Norwegian Fjords Age: 56-65
Cabin: Inside
Hurtigruten run their ships for Hurtigruten and not their passengers.
The ridiculous and totally stupid embarkation at Tromso, waiting out in the bitter cold for 30 mins to shuffle up the gangway was the first major irritation. No consideration for the elderly whatsoever. A disgrace. Cabin was only ok, very basic and 2 could not move around at the same time, so that's how limiting it was. God knows what we would have done if the call had gone out that THE LIGHTS were putting on a show with both trying to haul warm clothing and boots on quickly in the middle of the night. Food at dinner was nothing more than adequate - no choice and either way too salty or tasteless. Breakfast was okay. Paid £30 one lunch time at the cafe for one bowl of salty soup, one small prawn baguette, one bowl of fries and 2 coffees. Prices are outrageous. Wine was Euro 205 for the 'special package' of 4 different bottles - one for each evening. Wine we buy for £4 a bottle in UK. They didn't even allow you a free cup of tea or coffee outside of dining hours but very generously allowed you to have an eggcup amount of 'unlimited tea or coffee' in a ghastly plastic mug with the ship logo, for which you were expected to pay £25. We did not bother but when I asked a few other passengers who had, was it worth it, the answer was a resounding NO. It was unbelievably boring onboard and there were many hours to kill each day (go well armed with a pile of books), the ports of call when there was enough time to go ashore were so dead and dull, you could walk round them in 30 mins and there was a distinct lack of cafes/restaurants, so the Norweigians obviously don't bother to capitalise on all the visitors.

The husky dog sled ride was not much fun at all. Very uncomfortable sitting on two planks of wood and if you do it, take some ski goggles as you may well be wrapped up but I forgot about the eye area and my eyelashes froze and you found it more bearable to keep your eyes closed which rather defeats the object of the husky ride. For a 20 min ride £109 per person is an awful lot. Other passengers who had paid to do some of the other 'excursions' did not consider them of any great interest and certainly not value for money, particularly the night time snowmobile ride which was boring.

Worked out that the cost per day was almost the same as my favourite cruise line, Crystal, and it wasn't even a third as good. A very expensive 4 day trip at £1,000 each.

Couldn't wait to get off - and the worst bit was not seeing the lights!!!

Will maybe try Alaska next year - certainly not Scandinavia.
Quality of Food2
The most awful chewy cod fish that was impossible to eat. Refused the reindeer steak as it was the colour of beetroot and in fact my friend was ill all night after eating it. Terrible lack of decent vegetables and what there was were overcooked.
Entertainment2
Some Italian pianist/singer who was okay but no-one paid much attention to him poor man.
Shore Excursions1
Short husky ride. See above
Staff2
None of them impressed in the reception area - a fairly taciturn bunch who seem bored rigid by their jobs. Also very understaffed in the main dining room, but the younger staff who probably work on the ships during the college vacation, were pleasant.
Children's Facilitiesn/a
Onboard Activities1
Nothing to do.
Cabins2
Overall Rating1
24 of 44 people found this review informative
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Comment by Jackson, Scarborough (03 Apr 12 16:43) about this REVIEW
Totally agree with all you said. I have written to Hurtigruten to get their response to my issues, it's been 12 days and I still havent had a response - this says it all. Customers come last in their world. I shall be writing my own review shortly.
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Comment by Barber, Stockport (15 Mar 12 11:11) about this REVIEW
Oh Dear!. We sailed on the 27th Feb 2012 on MS Finnmarken for the full round trip and had a brilliant time with Hurtigruten. The wine IS expensive, the cabins smaller than many and some of the stops too short, BUT if you did your research before going you would have got so much more from the experience. We did the husky trip - BRILLIANT! We made our minds up to enjoy the experience even if we didn't see the Northern Lights, so seeing them three times was a fantastic bonus. The staff were wonderful and overall we loved it. We will be going with Hurtigruten again in the future. This trip needs thorough research!!!
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Comment by Hodge, Telford (03 Mar 12 16:27) about this REVIEW
I totally agree with you. We recently travelled on Richard With on a Christmas break and had the worst holiday I have EVER had. We were stuck in a hurricane for 2 days then the ship broke down & we were marooned in a small port for a further 2 days whilst a part was sent from Denmark! The food was so awful we were both ill (me twice!) & we went to supermarkets after that. We never finished the trip & didn't see the Northern Lights. (We went back to Tromso for a long weekend 2 weeks ago & saw them twice!!) Got a measly amount of compensation from Hurtigruten accompanied by a smug dismissive letter... And, yes I feel able to comment on this cruise as we did a summer trip 5 years ago which was great! but NEVER AGAIN
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Comment by KERRIEN, Quimper (24 Feb 12 16:15) about this REVIEW
Just, have a look to this recent video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYdX5ZUITWE
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Comment by Brown, Edinburgh (22 Feb 12 22:02) about this REVIEW
We have done this trip twice,first time for the Midnight sun,second for the Northern Lights.Both were a very enjoyable experience.The trip last January was magical.All the ports of call were covered in snow,well lit,lights on in all the houses plus Christmas decorations staying up until the return of the sun. I have dietary requirements which they knew about,I was well looked after always given the next days menus so I was able to say what i could eat and what wasn't suitable.The fish dishes were excellent. The coffee mug I thought was well worth the money. The scenery was beautiful.Would love to repeat the trip in the Autumn for the colours. We were on the Midnastol.
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Comment by Stone, Oxford (22 Feb 12 20:52) about this REVIEW
With all due respect you definitely didn't do adequate research before you embarked on this trip. Hurtigruten ships are not luxury cruise liners and if you expected it to be on a par with a Crystal cruise it's no wonder you were disappointed. I have sailed twice with Hurtigruten and had a wonderful holiday on both occasions. You state that there was no choice at dinner, but you are given the option to request an alternative meal, or the vegetarian option, if you order earlier in the day. Most experienced cruisers know how expensive everything is in Scandinavian countries. As you have cruised 6-10 times, it should not have come as a surprise that food and wine were expensive. I found the staff and officers on board Hurtigruten ships to be some of the most pleasant I've met on any ship. I'm sorry you didn't get to see the Northern Lights, but whenever you go you're never guaranteed to see them. May your next cruise be more to your liking.
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Comment by PERKINS, COMBE (22 Feb 12 18:29) about this REVIEW
I am sorry you did not enjoy your trip, but I do not think you did your research for this, we are due to go in the next couple of weeks, but by reading the reviews, asking questions of the Q and A page, reading write ups of the company, checking food and wine prices and the best clothing to take, we are fully aware of what to expect, and have been lucky that Lidles has had ski gear etc on offer
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Comment by Thompson, Pickering (22 Feb 12 20:11) about a COMMENT by PERKINS (22 Feb 12 18:29)
We were on Hurtigruten in December and had absolutely the best time, despite the fact that the snow hadnt yet arrived so husky trips etc were not on. We found the food to be absolutely wonderful, took books and things to do, (didnt read a page!!!) got off at every port, even only for 15 minutes. Got caught in a storm at Hammerfest and couldnt go up to Kirkenes, very disappointing for a while, however we ended up in Alta for an overnight stay, Hurtigruten put on free trips for us and we were lucky enough to see the lights on all 5 nights above the arctic circle. We did two trips, the midnight concert at the arctic cathedral, which at £40 was thinking it was very expensive, however it was one of the best things i had ever done and will go again on my next Hurtigruten cruise. The other trip was the one in the Lofoten islands, again a wonderful trip. Please do your research on this cruise, it is in fact a ferry, serving Norway, and that is its primary aim but you will have such a wonderful time on here, i just cant wait to go again but this time will go in jan, feb or march to be sure of the snow!!
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