Hurtigruten Handy Hints

Our helpful hints guide to a Norwegian Coastal Voyage with Hurtigruten. Many of our Nordic-native team have travelled the coastal voyage themselves and can walk you through how it works on board.

This guide is specific to Hurtigruten, if you're sailing with Havila instead, see our Havila Handy Hints guide for the details that differ.

Departure from Bergen

In Bergen, Hurtigruten ships sail from the Jektevik Terminal, Nøstegaten 30, N-5010 Bergen. Taxi drivers will understand if you ask for the Hurtigruten or Jektevik Terminal, and it's sign-posted locally.

The map above shows the Hurtigruten Terminal (lowest marker) and our Director's Choice hotel, Clarion Hotel Admiral. The main tourist area of Bergen, Bryggen, is around a 20-minute walk from the terminal, over a hill.

The Hurtigruten Guest Lounge is on the second floor of the terminal and opens at 1:00pm, with light refreshments, complimentary WiFi, USB chargers and sockets. Luggage lockers of various sizes are available in the terminal and can be paid for by card.

Hurtigruten's arrival hall in Bergen

You can drop luggage with the terminal team from 1:00pm, ahead of check-in. Check-in begins at 3:30pm, and cabins are ready from around 6:00pm, sometimes a little earlier. Once checked in, all guests attend a safety briefing, run several times through the afternoon and evening so you can fit it around your plans.

Beverage packages are available on Hurtigruten voyages

A seating area while you wait to board

We recommend exploring Bergen until it's time to check in. Just near the port, heading toward the centre, there are some lovely quintessential Bergen back streets to wander, less touristy than the Bryggen wharf side, and a real residential part of town.

Departure from Kirkenes

A Hurtigruten transfer bus leaves after each flight arriving into Kirkenes, a 45-minute transfer to the terminal. The southbound voyage departs at around 12:30pm. We'll send you the transfer details for both Bergen and Kirkenes ahead of your departure.

What to expect on your first night in Bergen

After embarkation, activate your keycard with a credit card at reception, the café, bar, gift shop or restaurant. From then on, purchases on board are charged automatically to your room, and you'll receive a statement the night before you disembark. If you'd rather not use a credit card, you can pay a bond at reception instead and settle the final statement before checkout.

If your final statement is correct, there's nothing more to do, it will be charged automatically. If you have any questions, reception can help.

In Bergen, a buffet dinner is served on the evening of departure, usually between 6:00pm and 9:00pm, with open seating for this meal only. Round Voyage and Classic Voyage guests will find their table assignment for the rest of the voyage in the envelope given at check-in. You can ask for a window table at the check-in counter.

An example of the buffet on board Hurtigruten

Disembarking your Hurtigruten voyage

In Bergen, luggage is delivered to the baggage belt in the terminal. In Kirkenes there's no terminal building, so luggage needs to be left near the lifts on your deck before midnight the night before, or you'll need to carry it yourself when you leave your cabin before 8:00am. Detailed information is given on board around 9:00pm the night before.

On the last day of your voyage, you'll be asked to vacate your cabin a few hours before arrival, cabins are cleaned promptly at the end of each voyage, so it helps to be organised. Information on luggage handling and disembarkation is available on board throughout the trip.

At Kirkenes, a direct bus runs from the ship to the airport, a drive of about 20 minutes. There are usually two buses waiting, one for hotels and one for the airport, so check you're on the right one.

Disembarking a Hurtigruten voyage in Bergen

A few extras worth packing

• A swimming costume and gym clothes. Most ships have a gym, and some have jacuzzis, though they can close during winter or in poor weather.
• Larger or stiffer suitcases may not fit under your bed, and cabin space is limited depending on the class you've booked. There's storage available away from your cabin, ask on arrival.
• A pack of cards for 500 or Bridge with fellow travellers. There's little in the way of typical cruise entertainment on board, so it's worth thinking back to older ways of passing the time.
• WiFi is reliable on board. If you have trouble connecting, check with reception. The ship library is a good spot to use a laptop, with books and games on hand too.
• Towels and shower gel are provided in your cabin. For laundry, it's worth packing a small amount of detergent, self-service washing machines and dryers are available on most ships.
• If you're travelling in Northern Lights season, you can arrange a wake-up call for your cabin overnight. Pack light clothing for indoors too, as the heating on board is very effective.
• Each afternoon around 4:00pm, collect the next day's program from the tour desk, with excursion times, meeting points, meal times, and arrival and departure times for each port. Sign-up deadlines for excursions, usually the evening before, are listed here too.
• Announcements on board are frequent and clear, you don't really need a watch. If you explore a port on your own, be back in good time: the ship departs on schedule.

For more on planning, packing and what to expect, see our Hurtigruten voyages, or ask us for the full Hurtigruten trip notes.

Further reading

A Hurtigruten voyage is one way to travel Norway's coast, and it sits within a wider set of journeys along the same waters. Our Norwegian coastal voyages set out the full range of routes, from the classic Bergen to Kirkenes sailing to shorter northbound and southbound legs. For travellers who want time ashore as well as at sea, our coastal voyages combined with a land journey pair the coast with the fjords, cities and Arctic north. If the aurora is the main reason to travel, our Northern Lights voyages focus on the winter sailings beneath the polar night. And for practical guidance and first-hand accounts, our coastal voyage articles and guides range from what to pack to what a day on board is like.