Polarlys Review

Hurtigruten knows how to take every extra kroner.

Review for Norwegian Fjords Cruise on Polarlys
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sbookshester
2-5 Cruises • Age 80s

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Sail Date: Sep 2015

Hurtigruten started out as a shipping company that took passengers along, but over the years the passenger business has expanded to become a more important source of business. Nonetheless, Hurtigruten still operates as a shipping company when it comes to scheduling, selection and length of stops. Charming towns without much trade get stops too short to get off the ship, and even the big ones, like Trondheim, are rushed. Our guide was very upset that two of us were a few minutes "late" getting back to the bus because we were stuck in the cash register line at Trondheim Cathedral. Taking the bus ride, by the way, means no time for independent walking in town. You either walk or you ride, but not both.

The most annoying part of the operation, however, is that Hurtigruten's business model means they charge extra for everything but the air you breathe. Want a lanyard to hang your id card on? It's the equivalent of $3.50 US. A coffee cup to use during non-restaurant hours? The equivalent of $30 US. A glass of house wine? $11 US. Water bottle? $3.00 US. No onboard lectures, no explanations of the formation of the fjords, no "free" excursions of any sort, no touor of the ship, officers sit at a separate table from the masses, extra charge to go from the ship to your hotel. Our trip, FYI, went south, from Kirkenes to Bergen. (Kirkenes and the other towns in Finnmark, the far north of Norway, were burned to the ground by the retreating German Army in 1945, which accounts for their somewhat bleak post-war architectural style.)

Food was good and ample, cabin was small but adequate, staff was generally friendly but for a few in the dining room who had clearly been on board too long. Hurtigruten has been trying a new "a la carte" dining alternative, at extra cost, since April of this year, but does little promotion of and seems ambivalent about it. The Polarlys goes into drydock in January, 2016. We will see what emerges in this vein.

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Port Reviews

Bergen

Bergen is a beautiful town, especially if you are there when it's not raining. We paid Hurtigruten for tickets from the dock to our hotel, then touristed on our own. They offer a tour from the ship, ending at your hotel, good for folks leaving Bergen the next morning.

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