Hurtigruten Reviews 426

This is the third time I have been on the Hurtigruten coastal voyage.
The booking is quite simple through Hurtigruten though I have heard of great experience through Trailfinders.
I was on the Nordalys, a ship that has been upgraded and is shortly to be upgraded again to a green ship!
The staff were excellent, apparently all so happy in their jobs with plenty of time for travellers. They seem to have a permanent smile, one member of staff said it was because they enjoyed their jobs.
I would especially like to recommend the expedition team, Marta for her Very interesting and illuminating lectures. For Tarjei for his information presentations always with a little humour and some great music. For Oyvind for his helpful nature and organisation.
I did not go on any expeditions this time but there is plenty do when you stop on the longer stops. This is a boat that is for the locals as transport, for goods to be transported and for tourists. It is not formal and dress indicates this informality! This time we had less snow and it was not so cold, however I would always suggest warm clothes at this time of the year. It can be cold on deck when viewing the Northern Lights we experienced at least twice on this voyage.
This is a good holiday for couples, friends and single people. With the advantage of no single supplement on certain sailings.
The food is good and varied, with a mix of buffet and and meal service at the table.
It is worth having a least a day in Bergen before travelling, but also considering the train from Bergen to Oslo or vice versa at start or end of holiday.

Tried to book a trip and spoke to multiple “booking experts” planned the whole itinerary and was told when just about to book that my youngest doesn’t meet the age cutoff. SUCH A WASTE OF TIME and unclear how when the age was known from the beginning this couldn’t be stated from the get go

Am just about to complete a 18 Expedition Deep South Antartica, it is not only one day in fact the rest is a agenda Hurtigruton follow that is 10 days north section of peninsula nothing like there pre-holiday marketing.
Very poor effort of what’s being sold to there costumer’s.

Terrible voyage and much as I admire Joanna Lumley she would be ashamed to be associated with this company. I somehow think she was treated in a different way to myself!

Yes indeed they really are the true dregs of how a company should treat its customers. But they don't care as making money is of paramount importance to them. What a sad world we live in.

Prior to getting a covid test taken before embarkation in Lingyearbyen Svarsbard Hurtigruten in their non sensical management manner decided to herd 170+ passengers into a moderate sized restaurant for a meal, we were sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers.
The next day we were tested at an extortionate cost of £30 per passenger( average cost about £2), they then told us that 2 groups if passengers had tested positive and sent home. Sounds good except of course they would have been in the same confined room so infected many other people.
The obvious happened and our party of 4 all caught covid, we estimated that over 70% of other passengers also were infected many people looked ill
We decided to sue them at the small claims court in the UK and won, if you had same problems suggest you follow this route as well.

Superb crew on Ms With. A few niggles on the cruise - especially them not being told I could not take gluten. End of cruise we had booked and paid for three extra nights in Bergen. Unfortunately Hurtigruten failed to book this even though it was in our paperwork! The Hotel found us a poor room but said we might have to pay. Last day there they said that Hurtigruten would pay - BUT no contact from H during those three worrying days - AND none since regardless of our E mails or raising a complaint. First trip we had with them three years ago was wonderful - After our experience this time will be our last

I wanted to book the trip to Antartica but the customer service was so bad that I will go elsewhere. Wrong figures on the invoice, twice. They didn't ring back when they said they would. I had to ask about the status of a follow on trip to Easter Island 3 times over 10 days. I spoke to a different rep and told her that I didn't want to deal with the original rep. She said she'd find out the status of the Easter Island trip and get back to me. An hour later, the first rep rang me, implying that it was my fault the Easter Island trip wasn't booked because I hadn't "committed". I have travelled all over the world and used many different companies. I've never experienced such incompetence and poor customer service. RUN!

This is not a review of Hurtigruten. It may, however, provide information to anyone interested in sailing on Hurtigruten ships, specifically the costal ships. Whilst arranging travel insurance I enquired about cover for the Hurtigruten Costal Express. The response was unexpected. The ships were classed as 'working boats' i.e. neither ferries or cruise ships and no insurance could be provided. Whilst this was a well known company, who specialise in pre-existing health conditions, there is a possibility that other insurance companies use the same exclusion. Had I not asked a specific question I would not have expected or been aware of this exclusion. The consequences of loss, accident or illness on board could be dire. It might be prudent to check that you have appropriate cover.

I was on the Iceland trip recently. I have no problems with the cruise. My complaint is with the pre & post tours. I am an Australian & my agent dealt with the Australian branch of Hurtigruten. Although I was told i would have credits when I boarded the ship no credits were ever forthcoming. I was charged twice as much the pre & post tours as I spoke to other nationalities on board the ship. Hurtigruten quoted me $600+ for the Foss Hotel at Reykjavik, I bought an extra night at the hotel online for just over $300. The two days trips cost me over $1000 for just 1 day & overnight hotel. I am sure I was charged double. Was it because I am an Australian? Hurtigruten have not replied to any of my concerns about over charging or lack of credits. I would hesitate to book through the Australian office again. In future perhaps try the UK Office.

A few years ago we did a series of trips with Hurtigruten and these we found to be excellent. The food, cabin,crew and trips were good. We enjoy getting off at almost every stop and we thought the price was reasonable.
Last week, having received a leaflet from Hurtigruten we decided to again book the Classic Round Voyage. After a difficult telephone conversation with a representative we received an email quote (on second request). It started with a £458 item which had not been mentioned to us. The voyage itself was £1706 more than brochure price. The train from Trondheim to Oslo plus two nights stay in Oslo was £1358. To add insult to injury we discover that the ship only stayed a few minutes at most ports and it was not possible to disembark.
This, plus reports from so many dissatisfied has put us completely off this company. It is clearly going downhill and we do not intend to be part of it.

My husband and I did the Bergen to Kirkenes trip early July 2022 on Kong Harald.
At first my only complaint was the reception staff were not very friendly,but after a few days they were much better. This was during the SAS pilot strike.
Hurtigruten did everything to get us to our next holiday distinction.
Our cabin was great, food was plentiful
and fresh. Buying alcoholic drinks was very expensive. We loved the excursions we took.
We are satisfied with Hurtigruten.

We have been travelling onboard Hurtigruten several times since the late nineties. The norwegian coast has the most beautiful scenery in the world and that hasn’t changed - but Hurtigruten has. It now feels just as a money making machine. The service and comfort onboard is poor and the excursions are expensive but of poor quality. The best and most modern ships are now being used elsewhere as cruiseships and 6 out of 7 ships are from the 80’s and 90’s. Clearly Hurtigruten is now seeing the original coastal journey as a second range product compared to their so called expedition cruises.

Some examples:
This time we travelled onboard ’Kong Harald’ and it just feels old and tired. The loudspeakers on the outside deck couldn’t be turned off – apparently due to an electrical failure - so the first two days there was constant popmusic in the background. Not what you want when sailing through the most beautiful fjords. The cabin (polar outside) was old and very narrow. Two persons can’t move at the same time and most overnight car ferries offer much better comfort today. The inside observation deck has very limited number of seats and the windows in the restaurant are small and make it difficult to enjoy the scenery.

At the excursion to Trollstigen ’A good dinner at a Hotel in Molde’ turned out to be a cold plate at a camp site cafeteria 12 kilometers outside of Molde. There was no norwegian speaking guide available even though we had ordered that and the foreign guide was friendly but had no more knowledge than even the most basic guidebook can offer.

Maybe the new company ’Havila’ can do it better. Unfortunately they only have two ships on the route at the moment and the departure dates didn’t work for us. But if you want modern comfort onboard that might be a better choice. Their excursions program is equally expensive but seems to have more focus on quality – though we haven’t tried it.

I’ve sailed with Hurtigruten twice before and had good experiences. I’m doing my third trip in July, a British Isles expedition which I should have done last year but it was cancelled due to covid. I left my money with the company for a year to support them in these difficult times. I was shocked to be told that there’s now a mandatory charge of €65 to have a lateral flow test before boarding. I support testing but this price is ridiculous. I can go to Boots and get one with a certificate for £14.99. I can get a PCR test for £49.They didn’t charge on my last trip to Norway and the charge didn’t apply when I booked so as others have said, beware Hurtigruten changing the terms after you have booked. As they won’t let you on board there’s little you can do except go elsewhere for future cruises.

Went on a once in a life time trip to Antarctica. The ship, staff, and food were excellent. Although we could not do certain things (because of the weather mainly) the crew did their best to make sure we all saw alternatives. Covid did break out on board in spite of frequent testing but the crew did everything to keep us all safe. It was unfortunate that some passengers did not understand social distancing and proper hygiene. Using LATAM airlines was a disappointment and I would recommend an alternative to fly to join the ship. I have had 3 journeys with this company now; all of them superb

Avoid this horrible untrustworthy company.
They left us standing in the cold arctic winter, -20 C. The ship had breken down, no alternatives, not even a Message. Stil no refund, after three months.
AVOID hurtigruten if you know what’s good for you!!

Terrible customer service. Our astronomy element was cancelled because we were told the lead astronomer was unable to travel and we were transferred to a different itinerary but the same sailing dates. As it turned out once onboard We felt very misled as to the changes, and lied to on important issues on what astronomy activity would still be available. It was impossible to get any information or assistance onboard. Basically Hurtigruten didn’t care.

Not worth 1 star they put profit before customers feeling.
Listen to your customers hurtigruten because without us you have no buisness.
Read reviews 64% 1 star but you do not care.
Never again

We have travelled on Trollfiord 3 times 2017 2019 and March 2022
This time it was very disappointing ,the food was cheap boring and like school dinners.
A 4 euro bottle of Portuguese white wine cost £61 sold as their house wine.no coffee and tea served in the restaurant ,you have to use a machine on deck8where the coffee is cold.
Our cabin cost £560 per night for 6 nights.We should have been served better food with more choice not root vegetable soups all the time.
Will we travel with them again????????

This company made commitments regarding COVID-19 safety when encouraging bookings over the last year, it is now reneging on those commitments without giving customers the right to cancel. If you are worried about the prospect of catching COVID-19 on board, as many in this site have reported doing, then cancel your booking well in advance as Hurtigruten will not accept UK Law applies to them when changing the terms under which they made a booking.

Whilst the trip Hurtigruten makes is exceptional, it is not worth dying for as some COVID-19 deniers and Hurtigruten staff on this site seem to think.

It is also censoring comments by not allowing public viewing of these issues.

Hurtigruten needs to learn to fulfil its obligations and that contracts apply to buyer AND seller.

Hurtigriten does not care about customer satisfaction. If anything goes wrong they will fleece you for more money. Their tag line is book with confidence, the reality is you will rebook in terror.
They will make no effort to help and refuse to refund even when they cannot offer any equivalent value cruise.
I had covid and had to miss my cruise. Even though they still had empty cabins available I was asked to pay 2-3 times the cost of my original booking, they would not transfer it. They would rather sail with empty cabins than be helpful. I now have a useless voucher. They only want your money they do not care about satisfied customers.

The fact that Hurigruten have not bothered to respond to any of these reviews shows how little they care about customer satisfaction.