Finally New Zealand Bound:

 

New Zealand Bound:

Yes, we are finally making it to New Zealand. I know many are surprised we have not been there. This trip has been planned a few times and interrupted by COVID. 

We are using our Disney Vacation Club Points for this trip. It is an adult’s only departure. We looked at other providers and cruises and this one covers most of what we are interested in seeing.

While the itinerary covers a good bit, some areas we want to visit will be covered in our pre and post trip days.

I am looking forward to seeing many of the endemic critters of New Zealand. My pre-trip reading on the birds is filled with many colorful ones to find.

A visit to the International Antarctic Centre should be interesting. We even get to meet a husky :). 

Hobbiton is a must, and along with Milford Sound will be explored on our own, as well as some wildlife areas. 

The Trans Alpine rail trip will be fun, scenic, and interesting.

I hear Rugby is kinda big there :). 

Gonna be a mighty long airplane ride for sure, we have good seats and that will help. 





HURTIGRUTEN THOUGHTS AND INFO AND RECAP

 HURTIGRUTEN THOUGHTS AND INFO AND RECAP:

 

                              ARCTIC CIRCLE MARKER

 

 

In No Particular Order.  

We have very much enjoyed this sailing experience with Hurtigruten. As such we are looking forward to sailing with them again in 2025 and 2026. We are also wanting to do the Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen trip again so to experience another season. We are thinking of either Spring or Fall. This way we would avoid the busy summer season.

 

Hurtigruten is now two separate entities, one is the coastal ferry and the other is an expedition fleet. The expedition fleet (now called HX) goes far and wide all over the globe with their expedition offerings. We have done three of these and find them very much to our liking. Our next two sailings will be expedition cruises.

The Captains and staff are well experienced in sailing these coastal waters. On our journey they did an amazing job of keeping us in the calmest waters. This is not surprising as Hurtigruten has been in business for over 130 years. 



The coastal ferry operates on the coast of Norway. Yes, this is a ferry hauling mail, cargo, vehicles and people along the coast. The route stops at 34 ports on the way North and South from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen. This route is referred to as BKB. It is offered as a one way voyage either North or South, or a roundtrip. We did the round trip BKB.

On these sailings especially in winter one needs to be very flexible as the weather can often dictate the schedule. Hence you may miss a port or two. We did have one planned excursion canceled.  

On this BKB sailing we had full board and a coffee/tea package. Alcoholic beverages are a separate charge as well as the upscale dining. There is a beverage package available and is rather expensive and one would have to consume about 5-6 drinks a day to break even. It should be noted the high cost is due to Norwegian taxes levied on alcohol. (Most expedition cruises include alcoholic beverages)

With full board you get your three meals a day. Breakfast and lunch are buffets and the evening meal is a served a la cart. We found the food to be very enjoyable and varied. Hurtigruten takes great efforts to locally source a vast majority of their ingredients.

 

The dining service is excellent.

 

On board is the Coastal Experience team. This crew is responsible for the excursions, lectures, and daily briefings. I found their lectures to be well presented offering a lot of information. We did our own research and did not do any excursions with the ship and explored a good bit on our own in the ports where we had time. Many on the ship thought the excursions were expensive. 



I feel the demographics of the passengers makes a pleasant experience. We had Norwegians, Koreans, Germans, UK, French, Danes, Canadians and just a few of us from the US. 

There are no big floor shows, or other things one finds on the MEGA Cruise ships. The entertainment is the world around you, the fjords and fishing villages and maybe the Northern Lights.

The Hurtigruten ship have a passenger capacity from about 350-500. I like this as these smaller ships can get into these smaller ports. 

The cabins are efficient and manageable. The best feature of the cabins is the bathroom floors are heated. 

On these trips you will find yourself sitting in a lounge area enjoying the scenery. 



Dress Code, there is none or as I call it Expedition Casual, i.e. relaxed hiking attire. No coat and tie or formal dress needed. Pack your warm waterproof gear. 

Hurtigruten is not for everyone, but for us the expedition small boat experiential sailings are PERFECT!



The Hurtigruten website has a lot of information for one to explore and the Expedition side website is also well done. There is a US call center that can be most helpful should on have any questions. Many find the Facebook groups helpful with information.


https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-us

https://www.travelhx.com/en-us/

Also Hurtigruten has some great sales and the best sales are during their Black Friday Sale.






        



YOU ARE SAILING ON HISTORY.

 SAILING TO STOKMARKNES:

Due to inclement weather the next few days are in a state of flux, with a few changes. Some ports of call will be missed and we will seek sheltered harbors to wait out rough seas. 



Today we sailed through Risoyrenna, it is a dredged channel in Risoysundet.  It was officially opened on June 25, 1922.  Before the first dredging, which was completed in 1881, it was supposedly possible to ride across the strait at low tide. The dredging makes it possible for larger vessels to pass between Andoya and Hinnoya. Work on the final improvement in the new channel started in September 1997, and it was initially five meters deep and fifty meters wide. It is now  one meter deeper and had doubled in width. It was officially reopened in September 2001.

We are docked at Stokmarknes for 7-8 hours awaiting better weather. This gives us plenty of time to explore the Hurtigruten Museum. 



Sailing to StokmarknesThis museum is the MS Finnmarken preserved in her former glory. MS Finnmarken was delivered in 1956. The ship was building number 788 at Werft, shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.  She sailed in regular rotation with Hurtigruten from 1956 to 1993.

In August 1994, the ship was donated to the Hurtigruten Museum in Stokmarknes. On May 3, 1999, she went to Kaarbø shipyard in Harstad  for sandblasting and preparation for landing. On June 16, 1999, MS "Finnmarken" left the wet elements and was jacked ashore at the Hurtigruten Museum. As one of the world's largest museum pieces, the ship has been on land ever since.

During our last visit to this port we did not have time to explore the museum. I am so glad for this visit. In the museum you realize Hurtigruten is the life blood of the Norwegian Coast.  

After visiting the Hurtigruten Museum you realize you are not sailing on just a ferry or cruise. Hurtigruten has been sailing this coast for over 130 years. 

YOU ARE SAILING ON HISTORY. 



 

 

           Propeller Cabins, where drunk passengers were confined

KING CRAB!!!

 KING CRAB: 

The king crab is a new arrival in Norway. It actually stems from the northern reaches of the Pacific Ocean, and it was previously known in Norway as the “Kamchatka Crab” after the peninsula on the east coast of Siberia. In the 1960s, Soviet biologists started to release these crabs into the Murmansk Fjord. The crab thrived here, and as early as in 1977 the first king crab was caught in Norwegian waters, just west of the border. Since then, the crab population has expanded westwards, and crabs are now to be found off the coast of West Finnmark and Tromso. However, the crab colonies are densest from the North Cape and eastwards.

Fishing for king crab is quota regulated along the east coast of Finnmark, towards Nordkapp. West of Nordkapp there are no quotas to prevent the crab spreading further down the coastline into important baiting areas for other species.

While in the North Cape area, the chef procured fresh king crab for a special meal in Kysten. 

We learned the best king crab weigh between 2-2.5 kilos. Only the male crabs can be harvested. The crab are tagged and by scanning the QR code one can learn about the crab. Further the crab must be killed before cooking and never boiled alive.

The King Crab meal was great, well paced, excellent presentation and service, AMAZING WONDERFUL KING CRAB, great sides. 

                                    The Table Is Set

                         Pan seared scallops from Norway

                         Sauces, aioli, a citrus and butter

                      Chocolate terrine with vanilla gelato   

With our crab we received his tag. By scanning the QR code you can learn a good bit of information, including weight, date caught and who caught him. 

 



I was so full I had to retire for the evening. Lynn went to the daily briefing.

HAMMERFEST

 HAMMERFEST DAY: 



 

The wind is at 50 knots or about 57+MPH. Waves are 2 meters. We are running behind about 20 min.

Soon we will pass Melkoya Island where Norway produces a vast amount of LNG. 

We will be served an energy drink and get to guess the special ingredient. 


 
Our plan is to take the shuttle bus (there is a fee) to the city as we dock about 3K away.

In Hammerfest we want to visit The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society.  The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society is the world's second largest club, in terms of number of members. At this moment, the club has more than 282,000 registered members (January 2024)! Yes I am a member.

The Polar Bear Society was founded in 1963 in Hammerfest. The polar bear is on the city’s coat of arms and was therefore chosen as the society’s logo. The strength of the polar bear reflects the willpower and survival skills necessary for living in the Arctic.

Also Hammerfest is the home town of Adolf Lindstrom. There is a statue of him on the waterfront.

The 100NOK each for the shuttle bus was well worth it to get into Hammerfest. 

 

The sidewalks were clear thus making the walking easy. Some street crossings were a challenge. 

We only had 50 min in Hammerfest before the shuttle returned. Miss the bus, miss the ship, they don’t wait. 

It was good we had been here before so off the bus and made our way straight to the Ancient and Royal Polar Bear Society. Made a quick stop in the museum and made some purchases in the gift shop. 



 

 

On the way back to the bus we made sure we passed the statue of Adolf Lindstrom. 

 



Back on the bus with time to spare, rather safe than sorry. 



 

 

KIRKENES WALKABOUT

 Kirkenes Norway 

                            Sunrise and Sunset all in one
 



This morning finds us sailing towards Kirkenes. The Temp is 0 Centigrade  and the wind is 25knots off the bow and our current heading is 234’. 

We should arrive in Kirkenes at 0900 and will be there for about 3 hours. We may see some ice as we arrive. 



This is the furthest point to which we will be sailing as when we leave here we will be sailing back to Bergen. 

Kirkenes gets its name from a church built on a peninsula. We are only 7km from Russia. 

During WWII, Kirkenes housed 300,000 nazi troops given its proximity to the Russian border. Because of this concentration of troops Kirkenes was the second most bombed location in WWII. (Only behind Malta) During the bombings the residents would take shelter in a vast cavern system under the city.  

                                            A bit of snow here


Today the population of Kirkenes is about 3500. 

Until recently the border with Russia was fairly open. But with the Ukraine conflict the border was closed. In Kirkenes the nearby Russian’s would shop in Kirkenes for Champaign and baby diapers. (France prohibits the sale of Champaign to Russia) 

One highlight in Kirkenes is the Northernmost roundabout.

Kirkenes is also noted for its king crab. Here crab will be purchased to be served in the ship’s Kysten restaurant. Yes we have a reservation.

We did a nice walkabout in Kirkenes. We covered a bit over three miles and did not stop and buy anything. We did stop at one souvenir shop near the port. 

Northern Most Roundabout.

Yes the houses do look rather the same here in Kirkenes. This is because when the city was rebuilt, the houses came in pre fabricated from Sweden. IKEA Style

CRAB IS KING 

                                        Liberation Monument

                                          Speed Slow (zone)



Here are some thoughts on the Hurtigruten Ferry Line. #1- we like it, #2 Very good and informative lectures, #3 nice small ships, #4 Great Food and service. Would we do this again - YES WE WOULD! We feel we need to experience this in a different season.

Need to Know Stuff: #1 Your ports of call are usually in an industrial area and you will need to walk to the town centers, or cab. #2 I feel the excursions are expensive. #3 Drinks onboard are not included like on the Expedition Voyages. A beer is about $14.00, as alcohol is heavy taxed in Norway. #4 the upscale dining is an uncharge and well worth it. (Drinks are not included). 

Yet when all is said and done, we really like Hurtigruten.