This trip on the Finnmarken was a re-run of a similar cruise we had made several years ago on the M/S Lofoten. Onboard entertainment was limited mainly to port lectures but as we had travelled this way previously and also matured in age we were happy to relax with a book or watch the scenery drift by. The cabin on Deck 3 (N4) was larger than many others on the higher decks as the outside decks reduced the length of the cabin. It was on the same deck as the shore gangplank and one deck up to the dining room. The food was acceptable and the staff very helpful. When you have to join a queue to thank your waiter at the end of the trip you have some idea of how attentive the staff were. This is not a cruise ship but a working ship that makes several stops up and down the coast. Some port calls are long enough to go ashore and although we only did one excursion (ice hotel) we did go ashore whenever possible and enjoyed the local scenery.

We were well aware what to expect from this trip and and overall enjoyed the experience. Sadly we made the mistake of taking the transfer package, London/Bergen /ship at £660 for the two of us. Checking the Norwegian Air Shuttle web site against our tickets we discovered that the top airfare on those dates meant the coach element of this package was going to be very expensive to make up the difference. The figures went even further adrift we discovered that transfer coach tickets, port to airport, were being sold onboard at £15 each sector.

On our return I took this up with Hurtigruten, supported by a copy of the airline quote from their web site. The answer I received back the company was that they work on a contract price. Read more