Richard With Review
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Firstly, I would be careful to describe this as a Coastal Voyage rather than a traditional cruise. We absolutely loved it but it is not like the P&O ships we have been on previously and we knew this before we went. Hurtigruten offer excursions but we didn't participate in these as we prefer to do our own thing. However, do not expect a full programme of entertainment as you get on a "standard cruise ship".
We booked a package with flights from the UK and this part of the journey went very smoothly. You are met at the airport and taken to the ship by coach with a guide. There was a short queue to embark as a coachful of passengers all arrived at once of course, but it didn't take very long to get on board. Luggage was taken from the coach directly to your cabin. You arrive on board in time for a buffet dinner and your cases will be waiting for you after dinner (if not before).
I believe that all ships will have an Expedition Team on board from April and this is to be recommended. Our team were fantastic, giving information about excursions together with several lectures during the voyage and a meeting most days to tell people what was on the agenda the next day together with weather forecasts, Northern Lights forecasts etc. There was some live music a few nights on our ship but I think that was mainly because our Expedition Team leader enjoyed playing the guitar and singing. He was very good but I doubt that this occurs on all ships! There were also a few things out on deck some days to tell us about points of interest along the way and sometimes to give us a sample of Norwegian food. If the Northern Lights are seen, this is also announced to give everyone the chance to get outside and see them.
Cabin Review
The cabins on Hurtigruten ships are smaller than you would have on a standard cruise ship. However, ours was quite satisfactory. It had two single beds, one of which converted to a sofa during the day. You can easily do this yourself, there is no evening service provided to put the bed down for you. I found the bed very comfortable.
There is plenty of hot water and the shower is good though the shower tray is quite shallow. The bathroom is a wet-room so if/when the floor gets wet after a shower, the underfloor heating will soon dry it off - or you can simply be careful in the shower, so you don't wet the entire floor!
Higher grade cabins have tea/coffee, but ours didn't. That was fine for us.
I chose a cabin on a higher deck to avoid the possibility of noise from the freight deck during the night. Our cabin had a view but most on deck 6 in the mid-ships section had lifeboats outside the window - however many were slightly larger than ours.
Deck 5 is the promenade deck so be aware that if you book those cabins, you will have people walking past your window.