Frequently Asked Questions on Norwegian Coastal Voyages

Printed brochures can be ordered from hurtigruten.com- here. Alternatively, you can read our brochures online by locating ’Read brochures’ page from the menu.  

Apologies if you are not able to contact us via phone. The alternatives are to email us and request a call back at [email protected], or book your voyage online.

The Coastal Express voyages are not like conventional cruises. Our 11 Coastal ships sail the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes and return to Bergen. We call at 34 ports and depart Bergen every day, providing a transportation lifeline between cities and villages while exploring stunning fjords and UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the more than 1,000 miles of Norway’s pristine coastline. This mixture of local encounters, spectacular scenery, and additional optional excursions provides an unmatched opportunity to experience and interact with the beauty and charm of Norway and its people.

Hurtigruten Expeditions build on our unique explorer heritage dating back to 1893, appealing to those who value life experiences and personal growth over excessive luxury. On Hurtigruten Expeditions, you will be accompanied by a highly skilled crew and expedition team on one of seven intimately-scaled expedition ships (MS Fram, MS Fridtjof Nansen, MS Roald Amundsen, MS Spitsbergen, MS Otto Sverdrup, MS Nordstjernen, MS Maud and MS Santa Cruz II). These expedition cruises will take you on breathtaking nature-based experiences in remote corners of the world: Alaska, Antarctica, British Isles, Europe, Galápagos Islands, Greenland, Iceland, North America, Northwest Passage, Norway, South America, Svalbard, The Caribbean and Central America, West Africa and Cape Verde, and across the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

My Booking is a service where you can find key information about your booking.

• Log in to My Booking
  
  

Get a quick overview of your voyage details. See your departure and arrival dates, booked excursions and any transportation related to your voyage. Review guest, cabin and payment information.

You can also read more about your itinerary and get to know the ship before your upcoming adventure.

Learn more about My Booking.

Please refer to our terms and conditions here.

You should receive your travel documents approximately 2-3 weeks before departure, provided full payment is received. 

Your flight tickets are electronic; you may check-in by showing your passport to the agent at the check-in counter.

Most excursions are pre-bookable and can be added on to your voyage during the online booking process. The excursions offered on your Coastal or Explorer voyage are listed on the relevant voyage page under the 'Experiences' tab.

If you are booking over the phone, excursions can be added at any point from the time of booking until four weeks prior to departure for Coastal voyages (two weeks if you pay by credit card). Please note that Explorer excursions have limited capacity and can only be booked four weeks before departure (two weeks if paid by credit card). 

All excursions are subject to availability and sold on a first come, first served basis. We recommend pre-booking online or over the phone, where possible.

Excursions which are not pre-bookable may be booked from the tour leader on the ship. Excursions booked on board will be payable in Norwegian Kroner (NOK) and the price may vary as a result of exchange rate fluctuations.

Please bring your drivers license if you have pre-booked or are planning to go on any of the snowmobile or ATV excursions. Excursions and their contents are subject to maximum/minimum numbers, sailing times, and weather and/or local conditions. If pre-booked excursions have to be cancelled, you will receive a refund on board in NOK. 

PDF handbooks and order forms with full descriptions are ready approximately three months before your voyage and will be sent by our Reservations Team to all booked guests. Order forms for excursions on the Norwegian Coast can be downloaded here.

Please note, you do not have a choice of hotel for excursions that include an overnight i.e. excursion that include a set hotel. 

Unfortunately, no you cannot change to half board on Hurtigruten Expeditions. Expedition cruises have full board including drinks. On Expedition Cruises, our suite guests will be entitled to additional services. 

All guests checking in at the Hurtigruten terminal or on board our ships have to present a valid Passport or government approved ID Card. Explorer voyages only accept passports that must be valid 6 months after the voyage. Please send us your passport details immediately after booking.  

Flexible pricing is where all prices are capacity controlled and subject to availability. Prices may change at any time before departure date, the applicable price will be quoted at the time of booking.

We offer a flexible pricing policy, similar to that an airline if you were booking a flight. This means the from price is an indication of the lowest price you could expect to pay for an I -grade (inside) cabin. Prices are capacity controlled and subject to availability. Prices may change at any time before departure date, the applicable price will be quoted at the time of booking. 

You do not need a pin code for your credit card when making payments online or over the phone. You will be required to provide the credit card type, card number, expiration date, and Card Verification Code (CVV). 

You can make full payment online here: https://www.hurtigruten.com/payment

Our voyage prices are based on two people traveling together and sharing one cabin. A guest wishing to travel by themself will be expected to pay a percentage of the cabin rate. However, we occasionally offer no single supplement. 

You can pay as you go onboard our ships with cash or credit card on The Coastal Express voyages. We accept Visa, American Express, Diners or MasterCard and regret that our system does not support Maestro Card. Please note that when using your credit card onboard the ship, your account will be debited in EUR. The rate of exchange will be the one validated by your credit card company. 

Only credit card is accepted on Expedition cruises however, MS Nordstjernen does not accept American Express. The credit card must be valid more than three months after your stay on board. Please note that when using your credit card onboard the ship, your account will be debited in EUR (except MS Nordstjernen which will be debited in NOK). The rate of exchange will be the one validated by your credit card company.

For your convenience, we also offer a Cruise Card system onboard all our ships. This system allows you to charge all onboard purchases to your cruise card. Cruise card accounts can be created at all points of payment on board the ship. We accept VISA, Master Card, Diners, American Express or cash (NOK, EUR, GBP, USD) as deposit. The itemised statement will be sent by email. Please contact reception if you require a printed version. The cruise card account needs to be settled by 10:00 p.m. on your last night on board.

For your convenience, your cruise card charges will be billed automatically to your credit card. The credit card must be valid for at least another three months. Any discrepancies must be reported before disembarkation. This also applies if you want to pay part cash and part credit card. The currency used onboard is as outlined above. Exchange rates are similar to those in a hotel. Please check with the reception for methods of payment. Please note that a PIN code may be required when paying with your personal credit card onboard.

Yes, WiFi is available on all ships at a fee. If you have booked a SELECT* or PLATINUM package, WiFi is included in your cruise.

Please note depending on the vessel’s location, internet connectivity and telephone usage may be out of range or limited due to the remote locations in which we sail.

*If you book online, you automatically book a cabin in the SELECT package unless you have booked an unspecified cabin.

We are happy to welcome guests who are not fully mobile and all ships have at least one cabin equipped for travelers using a wheelchair.

In almost all cases, yes. The only exceptions are a few cabins on board the classic ships MS Vesterålen and MS Nordstjernen where guests have use of a wash basin in the cabin and share facilities with a few other guests.

Jacuzzis can be found on MS Roald Amundsen, MS Fram,  MS Spitsbergen, MS Midnatsol, MS Trollfjord, MS Polarlys, MS Kong Harald (please note the Jacuzzi is currently not in use), MS Nordkapp, and MS Finnmarken (MS Finnmarken has a pool as well). All ships with the exception of MS Lofoten have fitness rooms. 

MS Midnatsol, MS Finnmarken and MS Vesterålen have playrooms. 

All Norwegian coastal ships have pet cabins with the exception of MS Nordlys, MS Midnatsol, and MS Kong Harald. Unfortunately, our Explorer ships (MS Fram, MS Spitsbergen, MS Nordstjernen and MS Roald Amundsen) don’t have pet cabins.

No, we do not book individual beds but rather, entire cabins. If you are traveling alone, you will be booking a whole cabin for yourself. 

Yes, with some recommendations. If the ship is in port for 30 minutes or longer, we encourage guests to take a look around all of the ports. However, in some ports our ships only stop for 15 minutes. In this case, we ask that guests continuing their voyage stay on board, just to avoid any risks. Our full sailing plan can be located here. 

Please be at the port 15-20 minutes prior to departure. For Bergen departures however, the latest check-in time is 30 minutes before ship departure. Check in at the terminal in Bergen is possible until 7:30 pm, after which check-in will take place on board. 

Please be at the quayside at the latest 1.5 hours prior to the scheduled departure in Bergen. When you are traveling from Bergen to a port north of Bodø, please be at the terminal no later than 2 hours before departure.

In Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes, please be at the pier latest 1 hour before departure. For all other ports, please be at the quayside 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Please ensure to adhere to instructions and signage for cars at the ports.

Please refer to the relevant ship pages for vehicle dimensions.

Our ships may have space for cargo although there is no option to book it online or over the phone as it is generally not a service offered to our guests. We can, however, put in a special request if you send us an email detailing the dimensions of the cargo you wish to bring on board. Be advised that port fees and handling charges may apply depending on the size of the cargo. 

If guests have booked excursions through Hurtigruten, then their excursion includes transfers to and from the ship. If during the time you are on the excursion, the ship has moved on to another port in keeping with the sailing schedule, the return transfer will be arranged to re-join the ship wherever it is currently docked. This allows our guests to fully immerse themselves in enjoying their excursion stress-free. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer guaranteed cabin numbers for port-to-port and short voyages (less than 5 nights). 

It is possible to book deck space for a cruise that is shorter than 23 hours? Guests must book a cabin on any itinerary that takes longer than 23 hours. 

Transfer times vary depending on the pickup location. Exact times and locations will be confirmed when you are sent your travel documents. Please also refer to our Arrival and Departure Handbook in our Transfer section.

If you have a connecting flight from the US to Norway with an onward flight to another destination in Norway, you will need to collect your baggage from the carousel at the first arrival airport in Norway. You will then take your luggage through Customs even if your luggage has been labeled with your final destination. After leaving the Customs area, please hand in your luggage at the baggage drop desk and show your boarding pass along with your passport.

Checked-in luggage does not have to be collected if you are connecting through an airport outside of Norway, such as Amsterdam or Copenhagen. If you are holding separate tickets on  different airlines, it is usually not possible to check baggage through. Check-in staff will advise you whether baggage may be checked all the way through or not. 

Norway is home to the most northern city in the world. Guests should therefore be aware that temperatures may be much chillier than they are used to.  

The best approach is to bring multiple layers of comfortable, durable, and warm clothing which can be piled on or stripped off depending on the weather. 

During summer, we encourage guests to make the most of the sunshine to participate in hikes and city walks. Reliable walking shoes and a light jacket are therefore good items to include if traveling during the Midnight Sun season.  

Winter is a spectacular time with the Northern Lights often appearing in the Arctic skies above. Guests should be fully prepared for cold weather with a water and wind-resistant/proof winter coat, thermal clothing, sturdy boots with a good sole, a scarf, gloves, and a hat. 

As in many other countries, autumn and spring in Norway are a mish-mash of rain and sun. You should bring a few different types of clothing in expectation of diverse weather that can be hot and cold, dry and wet. 

The Hurtigruten experience is about exploration and relaxation. There is no dress code or formal attire on board. Keep the tuxedo and evening gown at home and just enjoy the voyage! For more information on what to pack, please visit Packing Tips for Norwegian Coastal Voyages. 

To find an address for a specific port on the Norwegian coast, please see our port page and click on your desired port.

Please refer to contact information for all ships.

Above the Arctic Circle you can experience the Midnight Sun season from May till end of July, depending on where you are. You can find dates and times of Midnight Sun in Norway below:

LOCATION	FIRST DAY	LAST DAY
North Cape	13 May	31 July
Hammerfest	16 May	28 July
Vardø	16 May	28 July
Tromsø	20 May	25 July
Harstad	24 May	20 July
Svolvær	28 May	17 July
Bodø	03 June	11 July

The Northern Lights season runs from October to the end of March, when there is the least amount of sunlight. The Northern Lights appear mostly above the Arctic Circle, so the more time you spend far in the North, the better your chances to seeing the lights.

More information about the Northern Lights can be found here: 

• FAQ: Northern Lights
• Hurtigruten's Northern Lights Promise
• Northern Lights: Everything you need to know