Hurtigruten Vesteralen Cruise Reviews

I chose this cruise in order to explore the Norwegian coast, its islands, its scenery, its ports and its people. As a boating enthusiast I was also interested in the navigation of this `inside passage`, and the essential functions of this ship in linking many remote communities, transporting people and freight between them. I was not disappointed on any of these counts. The journey was ...

I bought trip by phone, from Australia to UK, as no local office, so had to pay in £, thus more conversion fees. I had seen an ad online about reduced fare for solo travel from Kirkenes to Bergen. Each ship is different, and I realised I was on an old one. A newer one has far more facilities. I got the cheapest cabin, without porthole, which was fine. It can be very noisy at night due to ship ...

Great range of excursions. Concert in Arctic Cathedral in Tromso a special experience. The chance to see the sea eagles up close not to be missed. Food was excellent quality, variety, fresh and typical of the regions we were sailing through. Staff always helful. Take warm gear as it rained or was windy even though technically summer. Arctic gets 4 days of summer and we missed them. The sunny days ...

We are not interested in cruises with big luxury ships and thousands of people, also we do not want to have lots of days on the sea without landings. So we were looking forward to sort of an adventurous trip in an exotic world we did not know so far. We were not disappointed at all. Starting in the very north having deep temperatures and lots of snow and ice we wouldn't feel too cold, enjoyed the ...

A trip primarily to see the Northern Lights but thwarted by weather. Had some rock and rolling due to strong seas,[take seasick pills if you do go] No entertainment on board. Three sittings for dinner and if the last (as we were) experienced 2 delayed sitting out of 4. Best evening meal was the buffet dinner on arrival. In winter, Norway is very monochrome - the island etc are rock covered ...

I have wanted to do this coastal voyage for many years. I took advantage of the No single supplement offer, the Wi-fi and unlimited Tea and coffee offer as I don't really drink wine or beer. The Cabin was excellent - I was able to choose which one I wanted when booking (full board booking). My only gripe was that the heating wasn't working and they were not able to fix it, however they would ...

This is a working boat so quite a different experience from your regular cruise. We loved it as it made it all the more interesting, not your usual luxury (although the rooms were very comfortable indeed) and so perhaps attracted a different type of customer (with my previous experience of a cruise ship I found there was a lot of snobbery with people dressing in gowns and pearls for dinner rather ...

I wanted to travel to the Land of the Midnight Sun. I wanted a small cruise ship, where I would not just feel like a number or that I was staying at a hotel in the water. I wanted to experience Norwegian food, sourced from local farmers and fishermen. (I wanted to try reindeer!) I wanted to get a glimpse of life by the sea in the villages and towns along the way. I wanted the comfort of a ...

My first trip on the Vesteralen was great. Beautiful scenery, northern lights, cute villages and nice people in a quiet atmosphere. The interior of the ship is simplel and dated (or vintage depending on your point of view). But cosey and there was enough place everywhere to sit (as we were in low season). The food was good to excellent, with a large variety of choice. Water was included in all ...

We chose the Vesteralen because not being a fan of crowds and large cruise ships, her size fitted us perfectly. From the moment we checked in until our disembarkation 12 days later, we were charmed and totally satisfied with the entire experience. The crew are happy and helpful, the food was well presented, varied and delicious, and the ship was extremely comfortable. Our cabin was small, but ...