Hurtigruten

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Trollfjord

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Vesteralen

Lofoten

Halifax

I chose this for the country (Norway) plus the adventurous aspect of the excursions. I read that this year is the ship’s last year of sailing and it was the last time to experience a different type of cruise. The ship is stylish and whilst old still offers a comfortable, low key holiday. 

The staff were second to none, especially as they were dealing with the ever-changing unprecedented situation with C-19 virus. We really were in uncharted waters!!! They were calm, unflustered and dealt with the whole spectrum of reactions from passengers. They helped with arranging flights taxis etc when many of us chose to cut our cruise short )in my case from 11to 3). 

They changed tack from buffet style food service to silver service with aplomb and good humour. They were outstanding and I am sure they were equally as worried as we passengers were. The level of service from everyone was amazing

Service in a time of dufficulties

Already the third winter trip with one of the old, small, listed ship of the Hurtigrute. The mood on the Norwegian coast is particularly romantic at this time: every day is like Christmas day.

However, violent storms and hurricanes must be expected in winter. The MS Lofoten has no stabilizers, so the ship can have violent movement. But it is very safe!

Living together on board is very familiar. The staff was always friendly and courteous even in heavy weather.

Since this ship was built in 1964, the cabins are usually relatively small. Many cabins with their own bathroom with shower and toilet. The cleaning perfectly.

The excellent cuisine is particularly positive. Breakfast and lunch as a self-service buffet. Dinner as a four-course menu is served at the table.

The Hurtigruten shipping company offers a large number of shore excursions.

A trip with the MS Lofoten is especially for people who want to take a "real" boat trip, not in a "skyscraper on water". The MS Lofoten is especially recommended for this group!

Eventful, adventurous, atmospheric sea voyage through the Norwegian archipelago

I planned his travel with this old, but excellent Lady and her friendly and competent crew along Norway's coasts and the cities, to see the Northern Light an have fantastic meals an dinners, to meet new freinds on board. For deseased people this ship isn't a good idea: no lifts and many stairs! The whole crew incl. the captain and the officers are friendly an help to made all my wishes becomes true - and the weather was with us too! I planned my excursion by myself, but there are enough to book on board too. Maybe they could be less expensive sometimes for passengers with less money. The dining was excellent with a wide chooce meals and allways excellent and enough. There are many ports on the long coast of Norway we landed, but by all bigger cities we have a lot of time to explore the cities by ourselfes or with booked excursions. Thank you Hurtigruten!

It couldn't be better!

The Ship is wonderful. The cabins are small but enough. The dining was extremely good. I can't say something about the excursions, because i was on tour with a broken arm and it was to dangerous for me to make excursions. So I was only on the ship. The excursions were to expensive for my opinion because they are short. The service was really good. I think I will do this tour again next year. The crew was very friendly and helpful. The cleaning was very good. The tour manager gave very interesting informations. The daily information about the tour is excellent. The landscape is wonderful, the weather was extremely good for November and the sea was not raff. I enyoued the tour very much and would do it again. I bought a very good book on bord about the tour. It was expensive but this is ok. So I can read all about the history of Norway and the tour. Sorry, my englisch is not so good. I hope you know what I mean.

Wonderful days on a wonderful ship.

Classic ship on iconic route - what could be better? A lot, as it turns out: The route does not offer much fjord experience, mostly you trundle coast-wise behind the outlying islands. Most places the time in port is too short for sightseeing. Once in open seas, this little ships rocks. And rolls. Keep your seasickness pills handy. The company has a museum at its place of origin. Don't expect to get in there for free as a passenger. Or to have time for a visit if you bought the ticket onboard and the schedule changes. Or get a refund. Revenue matters. A Lot. The Hurtigruten company is now owned by a US-based investment fund, and it shows. Sign up for Ambassador programme to get a 5% discount and other perks? Sorry, that will take some time, and not apply to your booking unless you do it well in advance. Shore excursions rhyme with extortion. Hint from passengers who did buy some: Don't go on those. Or expect to get hints to attractions if they don't sell them, such as the magnificent Vardoe memorial. Or the tram service from airport, involving a 10min walk. Because their own bus service is sold at eight times the fare, at par with the price for a taxi. Maybe that's the reason for them not arranging a taxi for you in Bergen? Economy abounded also in the restaurant: There was free water to be had with the meals - if you were patient and insistent, you even got a second glass. Everything else costs - a lot. This would have been OK if the quality was the same. Which it wasn't: 11 days of the same buffet food of mediocre quality, despite some high-quality ingredients. Little fresh fruit or salad, bakery items running out half way through breakfast service. Single menu "choice" for dinners, prepared to minimise any sensory impact or desire for more-which there wasn't any available of, anyway. Attitudes towards passengers varied between indifference, hostility or occasional friendliness, especially if you spend up large. Hygiene is taken seriously when it comes to making you to disinfect your hands. But changing bed sheets in between the 11 nights?  - not happening. As for the vintage vessel: Ear plugs are a must. If you're lucky, the engine noise is droning out the talking and snoring from adjoining cabins, slamming doors or worse. Qeueing for the single shower per gender and 2 toilets, shared between 20 or so cabins. Standing room only: The narrow bunk taking up 50% of the entire cabin, sink and a bare rack for clothing being the other features. No room to hide: Lounge spaces too confined to accommodate all passengers when the weather is too cold or wet outside. In this instance, "classic" associates with uncomfortable and stinginess, not with class.

Backpacker experience at premium price

Starting in Kirkenes on the lovely MS Lofoten. Wonderfull euthentic ship! 

Beautifull cabin and friendly (hard working) staff.

Breakfast, lunch and diner where also good and tasty. 

I did the excursions: breakfast at the Artic Circle, horseriding at the Lofoten and the RIB boat with the midnightson :-) Very nice!!!

Also I was very lucky with the wether. 6 days, beautiful, most of the time blue sky.

I definitely come back again and do this trip in winter. It's such a shame that this boat is only sailing for 1,5 year......... 

Most of the passengers selected this euthentic ship, the same for me!

And.... I was a single traveler => I met so many other people (different ages).

And have wonderfull evenings with them! 

So book this trip when it's possible. I'm very happy I make this trip and want to do it again.

ps. I have more photo's  if you want :-)

What a wonderfull journey!!!

Cabin/ship

I was very disappointed with the standard of this ship. I appreciate it is the oldest in the fleet but it look tired and our cabin was cramped and basic, especially the shower. 

Having previously sailed on the Midnastol there is no comparison with the Lofoten but the price was the same without the facilities.

The public rooms appear tired and with a full ship there is very limited seating, the deck chairs on deck were old, sagging and uncomfortable to sit in and limited in number. 

Catering 

I ordered the Vegan menu, unfortunately this only applied to the evening meal, for breakfast and lunch I struggled as a vegan to find anything to eat. On Seafood buffet evening I had to ask for something to eat. 

Excursion,

 I was encouraged to prebook excursion before travelling, I am sure you will appreciate my annoyance when the same excursions were 10% cheaper if booked onboard the ship. 

All the excursions we were on were expensive, over priced and are basically a guided coach to the destination then you wander off on your own. This was especially annoying when we had the 2 hour wait for the cablecar ride. This could have been avoided if the tour guides had planned the tours for all the visiting ship that had arrived at the same time. Hurtigruten might not organise the tours but you sell them and they are very expensive, not value for money, poorly run and equally poorly attended by your passengers. 

The Crew.

The crew are a credit to the company, friendly and helpful. Taking time to talk to passengers making them feel comfortable and helping to enjoy the trip.

A special mention for the Reception Manager Harald Weinreich. He made the trip, regular updates, information, entertaining and informative. I consider him to be an asset to the company, he is your link to passenger who have spent a lot of money to enjoy your cruises he works incredibly hard to ensure that  passengers are fully informed.

Overview

I was  disappointed with this cruise, the cabin, catering, public facilities for me were not up to The Hurtigruten standard.  I fully appreciate that your ships are working, delivering supplies and enabling people to access remote areas of Norway. I would ask you to think more for the passengers that go on all your cruises and want to enjoy your beautiful country. Having spent a lot of money we want to feel like it was worth every penny.

Amazing crew

The MS Lofoten crew were brilliantly friendly and helpful and several passengers were so fond of the ship and crew that they were on a repeat voyage.  Unfortunately, I was not to become so endeared to the ship.

MS Lofoten is a 55 year old Ferry. It was designed as a Ferry. It was built as a Ferry. It is operated as a Ferry.  Many people (and cargo) use it as a Ferry. It is not a “cruise” ship.  It is an old Ferry.  In my opinion, trying to combine the two roles does not work.  It’s a Ferry. A Ferry without stabilisers. It doesn’t take much of a sea state to get it rocking and rolling.  On a relatively calm sea, I was sitting in the restaurant watching the water in my glass tilt 15deg to 20deg each way while the horizon disappeared above and below the top and bottom of the restaurant window frames.

Everything vibrates. Constantly, 24/7. It goes right through your body.  If I stood in my cabin and held my mouth loosely together, my teeth would chatter.  Amusing initially, but somewhat wearing after a couple of days.

In the restaurant, there were no tea spoons with the cups and saucers. I soon discovered that standing the cup on the vibrating table stirs the contents.  The food served in the restaurant looked great.  And the roast reindeer, served only once, was excellent.  There’s a lot of fish.  It appears the Norwegians like their fish salty. Very salty.  So salty that I found it difficult to eat.  Beautifully cooked cod, salmon (my favourite) and other varieties were so over salted I found they were unpleasant unless drowned in lemon juice.  It was so frustrating.  It may be my palate but anyone who doesn’t like fish or has low salt diet, may have a problem, particularly at the evening dinner because there is no choice for the set meal.

Norwegian prices for drinks are very high.  It’s not Hurtigruten monopolising, it’s everywhere in Norway.  A beer costs over £10 and a bottle of wine is upwards of £50.  If you intend to use the ship’s bar, I’d suggest you register your credit card against your boarding card when you collect it before boarding.  Otherwise you will need a lot of cash on board.

The ship tended to run constantly behind schedule.  All too often, precious time ashore (walking on stable land that doesn’t vibrate) was either cancelled or curtailed to a quick walk up the dock and back. So although the brochure shows calling at several ports, in many cases we didn’t see much of them.

Wifi internet connection was better than we get at home.  For device charging: electrics in the cabin and in the lounge are 220v European 2-pin.

I hope you enjoy your voyage, but for me it’s one I’ll not remember with fondness.

Classic Voyage Bergen-Bergen

The MS Lofoten is definitely not your normal cruise ship and very much all the better for it in my view. It is probably the only ship on the seas running year round for those who would not want to be on or seen on a cruise ship and is probably unsuitable for those who want all the conveniences on a modern cruise liner. It cannot carry passengers with mobility issues as there no lifts and a rudimentary metal loading ramp at each port to get on/off the ship.  There are no fitness centres, jacuzzis, pools etc The cabins reflect a bygone era so are basic and small but they are perfectly suitable for this voyage where you really are there to spend as much time as possible on deck viewing the scenery.  Showers and toilets are generally shared facilities so you must be happy to accept that and wander the corridors in towels or nightgowns. 

in the lounges at night you will find the day travellers, mainly locals, travelling between centres, sleeping on the couches.  This is a true working ship serving a function for the locals as well as tourists on a trip. 

The ship does not have stabilisers due to its age and it is small, around 2,650 tonnes, so on the open sea crossings it moves a lot in both roll and pitch so if you are prone to seasickness it is likely these parts of the voyage will see you in your cabin unwell.  For those without such problems it is all part of the experience of being on such a wonderful old ship. The chairs in the lounges and dining area are chained down to ensure they do not send you flying.  The brass and wood panelling echo the classic nature of this ship.

The low number of cabin passengers means everyone gets to know one another within a day or so and with the intimate lounges and bar there is a wonderful atmosphere. The crew is also small and get to know everyone and their likes and dislikes.  They absolutely love the ship and that is very apparent in their attitude.   

This ship does not carry cars unlike the other Hurtigruten ships and cargo is loaded by a ship to shore crane from a hold at the front. I doubt there is another regular passenger ship in Europe that still operates this way.   

Finally, you will find numerous passengers are repeat customers who will only sail on  this ship in the fleet and who have been on it tens of time.  You are likely to get hooked in it as well. BEWARE. Due to its lack of disability facilities it will not run on this route after 2020.

A classic boat on a classic voyage - a trip to the almost forgotten past

Everything was perfect... The staff was really nice, the food is so good (eat king crab !), the trip (south to north) was perfect and so beautiful (even if there was lot of cloud and didn’t see northern light..), they keep some tradition and this is so important and so nice. The excursions was perfect with a good organisation. I did  the nordkapp and sled dog at kirkenes. It was so funny and perfect !

The ship is a beautiful and authentic old boat. He is small so this is more friendly. Be careful if you have seasick !

My cabine was a little one but just perfect for one person. Every day we can choose if we want clean up or not. For this room, I share toilet and bathroom but it was always clean. Not a problem.

One word for the staff, especially for bar and kitchen staff : thank you. You were so perfect and so nice. Takk for your smile !!! 

Thank you very much MS Lofoten ! Never forget this trip !

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