The mountains and cliff rose as high as 3,300 feet above the deck of the MS Nordnorge as it glided on a fall afternoon through the RaftsundetStrait, which is fed with the waters of the Arctic Ocean.
The rugged crags, threaded with thin, silver waterfalls, floated by as passengers on the Nordnorge, one of the Hurtigruten fleet plying the Norwegian coast with cargos of tourists and fish meal, were in full picture-taking mode.
As if the strait were not spectacular enough, the captain then slipped the 11,300-ton ship into Trollfjord, a mile-long finger of water between soaring cliffs, which seemed close enough to touch. The opening to the fjord is about 328 feet wide, and the beam of the Nordnorge is 64 feet.
Once inside the fjord, the Nordnorge turns around smartly and heads back into the strait. From there, we continued our journey south.
Two days earlier, my wife and I had flown to Kirkenes — a town 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, near Norway’s border with Russia — to catch the Nordnoge on its 1,250-mile voyage to Bergen.
We settled into our cabin on Sunday afternoon, and off we went. There are four cabin classes on Hurtigruten vessels: Polar Inside (no porthole), Polar Outside, Arctic Superior and Expedition Suites. All cabins come with a private bath and a flat-screen TV.
The price of cabins varies from ship to ship and the time of the year. A Polar Outside, with a porthole, is running about $1,000 for the six-day trip. Next spring, it is twice that. An Expedition Suite in the spring will run as much as $6,600.
For our September six-day cruise, we booked an Arctic Superior cabin — with a nice, big porthole, plenty of closet and storage space — for $3,948.
Booze costs extra
Life on a ship evolves into a routine colored by preference. First, folks stake out favorite places to pass the day. Some relax in the big leather chairs of the glassed-in forward Explore Lounge on deck seven. Others were in the armchairs and sofas of the café, still others on outside deck chairs when the weather permits. Others headed to the pair of hot tubs on deck six.
The book readers find their niches; the card players, their tables. Everyone checks their phones, and here was the first of several bits that added to the bill. The Wi-Fi charge for the voyage was about $30, but that also gave you unlimited coffee, tea and hot chocolate at any of the snack bars on board.
The other great organizing principle on a ship is meals. Breakfast and lunch were come-when-you-like and sit-where-you-like buffets, while dinner was in four seatings between 6 and 8:30 p.m. with assigned tables. That first night, we dined on reindeer steaks with a bottle of cabernet.
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Ah yes, while your passage includes meals, not so for wine, beer and anything stronger. A draft went for about $10. The draft beer package provides two beers a day plus two bottles of water for about $97. There were three wine packages, each offering a bottle a day plus bottles of water, ranging from the house wines for $276 to a premium package with a richer variety and champagne at $568.
The food was uniformly good, delicious and locally sourced. We had reindeer steaks from Finnmark, cod from Lofoten and Arctic chard from Sigerfjord. The same for desserts such as Norwegian Duga cereal, cream and lingonberries.
That first night while we slept, the Nordnorge plowed through the Barents Sea, making brief, late-night stops — the stops for explore were all during the day. By 8 a.m., it had visited six towns, the smallest the fishing village of Mehamn, population 776 people. In all, it would visit 32 ports.
Trading fish for tourists
That second morning, low-hanging clouds and fog raced each other to cloak the Kjøllefjord in shades of blue, gray and linen. After a stroll around the deck in appropriate rain gear — Norwegians say there is no bad weather, only bad clothing — it was a delight to settle into a chair in front of the large windows of the Explorer Lounge with a book and one of those endless coffees.
In 1891, Richard With launched his first coastal steamer, and the Hurtigruten line was born. The service became a crucial link for communities, fishing villages and mining towns, some of which were otherwise only reached by dirt roads.
Refrigerated holds were added in the early 20th century to haul fish. The number of passengers rose from 298,000 in 1938 to 500,000 in 1950. In the late ’80s, however, Hurtigruten ran into stiff financial winds. So, the company remade itself, dumping most of the fish and replacing them with tourists.
The Nordnorge can carry nearly 700 passengers. The cargo for this trip was composed of Americans, Australians, Brits and Germans — many Germans. There was also a fair representation of Norwegians and families.
Still, the Nordnorge and its sisters retain some of their working-ship tradition, ferrying cars and passenger between coastal ports and hauling freight including fish, dry fish and frozen goods, as well as live chickens.
At Øksfjord, a town of 504 that owes its existence to herring shoals, we watched as large bags of fish meal were loaded by forklift. The bags were destined for a salmon farm hundreds of miles to the south.
So, this is to be remembered: While the Nordnorge was comfortably appointed, with a crew that was courteous, cheerful and helpful, it is no luxury cruise ship. Those expecting luxe deluxe may be disappointed.
The ship’s “Expedition” staff arranges lectures and demonstrations — the head chef showed us how to fillet a salmon — and on-shore excursions, add-ons that ranged from a midnight concert in Tromsø’s Arctic Cathedral ($92), riding horses on the beach in Lofoten ($195) and a visit to a salmon farm ($66).
But the main draw is the rugged Norwegian coast and the sea.
Wandering coastal towns
With a general aversion to tourist buses, we were happy to simply wander the coastal towns and villages — strolling through a rainy graveyard in Hammerfest among the Hansens, Jensens and Sundahls, with the oldest headstones too weathered to tell a tale.
One night, however, we were treated to a free show beyond compare as the Northern Lights snaked their way in green and blue hues across the sky above the ship.
On the morning of the third day, we dropped below the Arctic Circle, and it was marked with a ceremony. Doses of cod liver oil were dispensed on souvenir Hurtigruten teaspoons. You could buy a flute of Champagne to wash it down.
We reached Trondheim — the capital of Norway in the 11th century and now a city of 193,000 — on the fifth day. Trondheim has deep Viking and medieval roots and retains some of those Middle Ages’ alleyways. The city center is still filled with brightly painted wooden buildings going back to the 1700s.
The thing about a ship is that it sails on the ocean, and while the water had been relatively calm, we hit heavy seas later that day. It was exciting to be on deck and watch the swells and white caps, although I must admit it did rob me of my appetite.
On our final morning, the rains were up again as we weaved through rocky outcrops in the Hjeltefjorden with Bergen coming ever closer. In Bergen, the Nordnorge would load another cargo of visitors and head north.
The northern voyage isn’t a mirror of the southern descent, as many of the ports we passed in the night, the northern cruise hits in the day. There is almost double the number of on-shore excursions offered.
We reached Bergen midday. Six days of sea, wind, sun and rain had worked their will recalibrating my internal clock. It was a shame to disembark.
For information about Hurtigruten cruises, go to bit.ly/2RWREcI.
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