My partner and I took a friend on the northbound Hurtigruten cruise from Bergen in June and enjoyed the trip very much. The food was good and the atmosphere relaxed. The breakfast and lunch offerings were good and plentiful. Dinner on the first night was a buffet but it was table-service on each successive evening but the last, which was also a buffet.

Our cabin was set up as a twin-bedded room and was quite spacious with lots of hanging and other storage space. We took an outside cabin so that we could view the passing scenery and although the price seemed high, we considered it good value. There were plenty of opportunities for photography and highlights on the cruise were announced over the ship's PA.

We went for a one-way trip as, although there are different stops in the southbound direction, we considered that the scenery in that direction would be similar in nature to that we had already seen. Our only excursion was to the Russian border at the end of the cruise in Kirkenes. This included a visit to the fascinating Andersgrotta Bomb Shelter and the Soviet Liberation Monument which is nearby. The tour guide ensured that the excursion coach delivered us to the airport bus stop at the end of the trip. Read more