Our ship Internet service has been out of commission for 3 days so I’ve been unable to post a blog. That means this one is late and all the subsequent ones will be too.
We spent 3 days on the Kong Harald above the Arctic Circle. The scenery was spectacular, the weather cold (in the 40’s) and unfortunately the skies were gray nearly all the time. The only time I saw bright sunlight was at 11:30 PM in Tromso. It was an incredible view, but not enough to get me out of my cabin. After a quick look out the window, I turned over and went back to sleep.
We spent 3 days on the Kong Harald above the Arctic Circle. The scenery was spectacular, the weather cold (in the 40’s) and unfortunately the skies were gray nearly all the time. The only time I saw bright sunlight was at 11:30 PM in Tromso. It was an incredible view, but not enough to get me out of my cabin. After a quick look out the window, I turned over and went back to sleep.
On board the ship we alternatively watched the scenery, listened to Matt’s “Scandi-talks” (short lectures about Scandinavian culture, economics, language, etc), exercised (walking around the 5th deck or using the small on-board gym), conversed with new friends, read, slept and ate and ate and ate! Who’d have known there were so many kinds of fish and ways to prepare it? Each time we docked for 30 minutes or more Matt lead us on a tour around the town, pointing out the highlight - such as they are in these coastal villages. We saw a WWII and the Hurtigruten museums, cod drying racks, the best ice cream north of the Arctic Circle and the like.
Reviews of this journey are filled with complaints about too much time onboard, not enough shore time, no entertainment, etc., but none in our group concurred with these feelings My advice – if you want all the amenities of a big cruise ship don’t take the Hurtigruten. Like an intimate (300 passengers) and international atmosphere (mostly French, German and Scandinavian passengers) and a chance to see some interesting small towns and beautiful scenery? Take this trip!
