Jeanette & Terry's Northern Lights Cruise on Hurtigruten's 'MS Nordkapp' - Kirkenes to Bergen
Thon Hotel is in great location on the waterfront. Comfy room, great breakfast, nice bar area and a restaurant, too. We liked the complimentary ‘help yourself to tea and coffee’ on ground floor, nice touch!
We chose the Ritz Restaurant, a couple of minutes’ walk away, for our dinner. Nice atmosphere, with giant pizzas. We enjoyed a lovely view of the Christmas lights of Kirkenes.
The next morning our Norway adventure began. The efficient Hurtigruten bus took us to the port. What an embarkation process: roll case from the bus to the ship, ticked off passenger list and up the ramp to the Nordkapp. Luggage, labelled with cabin number, is delivery to your cabin.
Lunch buffet was ready as we boarded with huge choice; hot dishes, cold meats/fish, salads, soup, cheeseboard, rolls, desserts, tea and coffee.
We booked an Artic Superior cabin on deck 6. Lovely comfy double bed with loads of pillows, lots of storage, tea/coffee making facilities, small but adequate shower room with toiletries. No hairdryer - can be hired from reception. I would definitely recommend staying on deck 6 with excellent ocean view window and no-one was walking past. We walked around deck 5 and had a glimpse into an inside cabin. It had 2 fold-down bunk beds, which may be okay if you don’t spend much time in your stateroom and use it solely for sleeping after exploring and enjoying stunning views.
Our cabin was lovely to relax in, read/watch TV/relax. When it was a bit rocky we spent this time napping in our cabin.
Dinner: 3-course evening meal with waiter service. Menu is displayed outside the restaurant in the afternoon. There is always a veggie option. Food was fantastic and it was great to try new things e.g. reindeer which was lush. One weekly five–course-gourmet dinner - we had 2 as we were there for New Years Eve gala dinner too!
Breakfast: buffet with huge choice, hot cooked breakfast, oatmeal, boiled eggs, toast, fruit, yoghurts, cold meats, tea/coffee, juices. They had thought of everything!
Loved the bar with amazing panoramic views at front (bow) of deck 7. Comfy seating. Great bartender. Drinks are expensive, which is to be expected in Scandinavia. Pint of beer/glass of house wine £10. Musician/singer every evening which was nice. Charge points for phones. Well stocked bar, special coffees, cocktails and snacks were available.
Bakery/Ice cream Parlour: Located on deck 7. Snacks, cakes, sandwiches, ice cream - if you had space left!
Outside decks: Deck 7 offers access to the back (aft) of the ship with covered seating area, heaters and wind shield panels. On the other side is the outdoors smoking area. On deck 5 we walked all the way round the ship with snow underfoot and lots of fresh air! We also found a Jacuzzi at the back.
Cruise Card: You can hook up a credit card to your room key and this then acts as a payment card for anything that you purchase on board. This way you only have one card transaction. Or you can pay off the cruise card in cash on the night before you leave. Statements can be obtained from reception.
Tea & Coffee package: This was definitely worth it -Thanks for the suggestion, Uli! Our 'Select' package also includes free wi-fi. There are tea/coffee urns at the panoramic bar and the bakery on deck 7, where we spent most of our time - great to grab a cuppa and sit outside in the fresh air. I seem to recall a cup of tea was approx £4, so if you drink a lot of tea like me, the package is worthwhile.
Short Stop offs: Most of the stops are between 15 - 30 minutes so you cannot get off the ship, however you can watch the interesting port manoeuvres as well as hustle and bustling of loading/unloading. There were a few 2 hour stops so we did have a wander round - it was nice to hear the crunchy snow underfoot on terra firma and take some photos. I would recommend to book some excursions.
Expedition team: There are daily presentations, films and talks in the conference room. The expedition team give advice on the excursions and work very hard to make every passenger happy. Excursions are weather permitting.
Sea sickness: We bought seasickness patches and despite the occasional rocking motion we only had one little bout of sickness between us. Another hot tip is to eat plenty of Ginger biscuits …
Disembark: We had to leave our cabin by 10am. We left our luggage on our deck by the lift. After exiting from deck 5 we walked straight into the Hurtigruten terminal where our luggage was delivered to. Waiting buses took you to your airport or hotel. Bus tickets were pre-purchased from ship reception (£20 each) to Bergen airport.
Dress code: We packed too many clothes. The dress code on the ship is very casual. There is no need for smart clothes at all. The temperature inside the ship is the same as in your house. You need a warm coat/gloves/hat/scarf and (wellington) boots with some grip for out on deck. Layering is essential. If you are doing any outdoor excursions you may need thermals,waterproof trousers and clip-on grips for your footwear.
Weather: In the Arctic months there is not much daylight. In fact, on our first day in Kirkenes there was only one hour between sunrise and sunset. When it is ‘daylight’ it’s more like dusk. Bearing that in mind, we spent our time out on deck whenever there was light. The rest of the time you have no idea what the time is. However, it’s really rather nice not to have any deadlines and relax.
Northern Lights: Sadly we did not have this experience. The conditions were not right for us. The team announce all over the ship when there is a possibility to see them. One night they announced that there was a clear sky so we stayed on deck from 10pm to 1am eagerly waiting to experience this stunning, elusive phenomenon – but it was not to be! Two days later friends saw the Northern Lights in Tromsøe.
Facebook group: ‘Hurtigruten Insiders’ This is definitely worth joining before you go. There is no official trip advisor page for the ships, so the FB group is brilliant. It is a very friendly group of Hurtigruten fans who are happy to answer your questions and share their experiences. I found it really helpful.
All in all a very relaxing week and something different, so very happy we went. Could not have achieved it without you Uli. Your service surpassed our expectations!