Looking for something different …………..

When you work in travel sometimes it is easy to become complacent with the fantastic countries and ports that the cruise lines travel to. It’s very exciting when companies bring out new ships that are all singing and dancing with zip lines, trampolining, ice skating, robot cocktail making etc …….. you get my point, but sometimes you are left aching for more – for something different.

Then one day, when you are having a nosy through some of the cruise line news, something pops up and you would literally catch your breath. For me that was reading an article on the new Hurtigruten ship Roald Amundsen and it’s sailing to Antartica, the Polar Circle and Beyond.

Now granted for some people when you talk about a Bucketlist of all the places in the world you want to go before you go you know where, the most popular answers of Australia, Las Vegas, New York, Asia etc pop out. For me, yes they all sound lovely, but I have a real yearning to travel literally to the end of the earth and experience it in all it’s glory, Antartica! For a fake tan loving, gel nail wearing gal you may think this is very unusual, but I am just at awe sometimes at the beauty of nature in its simplest form and Antarctica, in it’s most raw naturalness, is basically as good as it gets.

Today I am going to tell you a bit of history on Hurtigruten and give you a sneak peak at their new ship, which will honestly be one of a kind in the world when complete – and not a single robotic bar man in sight – sounds perfect!!

Hurtigruten literally means Express Route in Norwegian. It was founded in 1893 to operate voyages on Norway’s Western and Northern coasts between Bergen and Kirkeness. In 1936 they had more than 14 ships and carried in excess of 230,000 passengers each year. The company was badly affected by the Second World War and lost ships and many many lives in the conflict. By 1952 seven new ships had been added to their fleet to replace lost and damaged vessels and they saw their passenger numbers increase to carry over 500,000 passengers. In the 80’s and 90’s more modern vessels entered the fleet and with the launch of MS Roald Amundsen, their fleet stands at 16 vessels.

Traditionally people travel with Hurtigruten solely for the beauty of the voyage and understand that the ship and its facilities come second to the views. The ships are not traditional cruise ships and will not have a lot of the facilities that they have so if you love using the casino, spa, rock climbing wall, ice skating rink etc on board then this cruise line is not for you.

Having said that they have now upped their game drastically with the launch of the MS Roald Amundsen in 2018. This state of the art vessel is taking environmentally friendly travel to a new level and is going to be the world’s first hybrid ship sailing at sea. Imagine gliding through the scenic waters of the Chilean Fjords and not hearing the rumbling noise of the ships engines or seeing the emissions shooting towards the unpolluted skies.

(Photo Courtesy of Hurtigruten)

Internally and on the pool deck MS Roald Amundsen is beautifully and elegantly designed. The Scandanavian materials blend so well into the back ground that they take nothing away from the awe-inspiring views only compliment it. (Photo Courtesy of Hurtigruten)

The cabins themselves keep in line with this high level of comfort and beauty. Every single cabin has a view and with 50% of them having a private balcony, what more can you ask for? The Expedition Suites answer that question as some of them feature their own private jacuzzi on the balcony. Just imagine lying in your jacuzzi watching an ice berg float by – literally nowhere else in the world will you find that

(Photos Courtesy of Tillberg Design/Hurtigruten)

The pool deck also brings a touch of, I dare to say it, ‘normal’ cruise ship to Hurtigruten with its loungers, Jacuzzis and infinity pool all there to encourage you to interact with your fellow travellers and share stories of your expedition so far. You can also meet up with them in the Wellness Centre, Gym and the Panoramic Sauna – which I am very sure the views are spectacular!

(Photo Courtesy of Hurtigruten)

The dining on board has also been taken up a notch with three restaurants with plenty to satisfy the guests on board:

• auno – main dining
• Fredheim – international kitchen
• Lindstrom – fine premium dining

Below is a fantastic quick video which will really bring the ship and its facilities to life and show what it is the perfect vessel to sail Antartica on.

Next time I will share the wonderful voyages that you will experience on this fab ship and why it will soon be on everyone’s bucket list…………………