On 23 Apr 2006 13:39:00 -0700, "eetinBelgië"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    >this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    >international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    >found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk

Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
travel section for this company the other week...
My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
country...

Images of home (NZ)
http://www.titahi-bay.co.nz/home
What we are up to in the UK
http://www.titahi-bay.co.nz

John in Surrey <[email protected]> writes:

    > On 23 Apr 2006 13:39:00 -0700, "eetinBelgië"
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    > >I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > >this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > >international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > >found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    >
    > Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > travel section for this company the other week...
    > My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > country...

I can recommend it for that. In fact, they have approximately no
rivals for that - it's a cruise ship but also a working cargo boat
that's an important part of Norway's goods transport system.

Des

John in Surrey wrote:
    > On 23 Apr 2006 13:39:00 -0700, "eetinBelgië"
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > >this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > >international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > >found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > travel section for this company the other week...
    > My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > country...

Yes, they were v.helpful.
Now is a good time, low season.
There were about 100 tourists, mostly German OAP, but even this bunch
retained their 'Storm Trooping' habits.
High season would be a nightmare.

"eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > Derek F wrote:
    >> Rather than book the complete (expensive) package trip for the Norwegian
    >> Coastal Voyage from the UK.can I simply book the cruise part. I am sure
    >> that
    >> Norwegians travelling on this service must have a less inexpensive way
    >> of
    >> doing it.
    >> Derek.
    > I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
I asked them to send me details of the half board option but still waiting.
They had said that it was on their web site but I could not find it.
Derek.

"eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...

John in Surrey wrote:
    > On 23 Apr 2006 13:39:00 -0700, "eetinBelgië"
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > >this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > >international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > >found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > travel section for this company the other week...
    > My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > country...

Yes, they were v.helpful.
Now is a good time, low season.
There were about 100 tourists, mostly German OAP, but even this bunch
retained their 'Storm Trooping' habits.
High season would be a nightmare.

Not much time left as the high season for pricing starts in May.
Derek.

"John in Surrey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On 23 Apr 2006 13:39:00 -0700, "eetinBelgië"
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    >>this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    >>international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    >>found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > travel section for this company the other week...
    > My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > country...
    > Images of home (NZ)
    > http://www.titahi-bay.co.nz/home
    > What we are up to in the UK
    > http://www.titahi-bay.co.nz
We saw the country very well from the train with a Scanrail pass but the
railway ends at Bodo.
Derek.

Derek F wrote:
    > "eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > >
    > > Derek F wrote:
    > >> Rather than book the complete (expensive) package trip for the Norwegian
    > >> Coastal Voyage from the UK.can I simply book the cruise part. I am sure
    > >> that
    > >> Norwegians travelling on this service must have a less inexpensive way
    > >> of
    > >> doing it.
    > >> Derek.
    > >
    > > I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > > this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > > international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > > found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > >
    > I asked them to send me details of the half board option but still waiting.
    > They had said that it was on their web site but I could not find it.
    > Derek.

worthwhile trips :-
Geiranger fjord
Svartisen Glacier
Husky trip (if there is enough snow)
North Cape (buy your Reindeer pelt here)

"eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...

eetinBelgië wrote:
    > Derek F wrote:
    > > Rather than book the complete (expensive) package trip for the Norwegian
    > > Coastal Voyage from the UK.can I simply book the cruise part. I am sure
    > > that
    > > Norwegians travelling on this service must have a less inexpensive way
    > > of
    > > doing it.
    > > Derek.
    > I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk

and beware of 'coastal ham', its really WHALE !!


Several things in life annoy me greatly, having to pay for a drink of water
on a cruise ship will now be one of them. Others are people/countries that
kill whales and seals and as for groups of rude German tourists ?. Is this
cruise really for me :-) I got very cross when we visited Bergen on holiday
to find whale meat and seal skins on sale in the market.
How much was the water on board ? Presumably you could lug a couple of five
litre containers on board with you along with a few bottles of Duty Free
wine.
How many power points did your cabin have ? When we visited the ship that
docked here last week I only noticed one. As camera batteries take hours to
charge we would need a second one for other purposes.
Derek.

Derek F wrote:
    > "eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected] ups.com...
    > eetinBelgië wrote:
    > > Derek F wrote:
    > > > Rather than book the complete (expensive) package trip for the Norwegian
    > > > Coastal Voyage from the UK.can I simply book the cruise part. I am sure
    > > > that
    > > > Norwegians travelling on this service must have a less inexpensive way
    > > > of
    > > > doing it.
    > > > Derek.
    > >
    > > I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > > this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > > international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > > found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > and beware of 'coastal ham', its really WHALE !!
    > Several things in life annoy me greatly, having to pay for a drink of water
    > on a cruise ship will now be one of them. Others are people/countries that
    > kill whales and seals and as for groups of rude German tourists ?. Is this
    > cruise really for me :-) I got very cross when we visited Bergen on holiday
    > to find whale meat and seal skins on sale in the market.
    > How much was the water on board ? Presumably you could lug a couple of five
    > litre containers on board with you along with a few bottles of Duty Free
    > wine.
    > How many power points did your cabin have ? When we visited the ship that
    > docked here last week I only noticed one. As camera batteries take hours to
    > charge we would need a second one for other purposes.
    > Derek.

If you take the 'weekly wine' option the water (plain and/or sparkling)
is free.
All things considered, the wine was then reasonably priced. It seems in
Norway that they have a minimum price for a bottle of wine. So that
good wine is not much more than crap wine.
Norwegians kill and sell whale meat, their excuse was its a mammal not
a fish, hence 'Coastal Ham'. We just sent it back, and said they should
call it Whale. Most people were too senile to notice.
2 power points, 1 in bathroom and 1 in cabin.
We bought a reserve battery in case of problems.

"Derek F" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "eetinBelgië" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected] ups.com...
    > eetinBelgië wrote:
    > > Derek F wrote:
    > > > Rather than book the complete (expensive) package trip for the
Norwegian
    > > > Coastal Voyage from the UK.can I simply book the cruise part. I am
sure
    > > > that
    > > > Norwegians travelling on this service must have a less inexpensive
way
    > > > of
    > > > doing it.
    > > > Derek.
    > >
    > > I just came back, I paid GBP 790 from Bergen-Kirkenes
    > > this included internal flight Kirkenes-Oslo and 1/2 board
    > > international flights, excursions and 'water' were extra.
    > > found on www.hurtigruten.co.uk
    > and beware of 'coastal ham', its really WHALE !!
    > Several things in life annoy me greatly, having to pay for a drink of
water
    > on a cruise ship will now be one of them. Others are people/countries that
    > kill whales and seals

Why ?
Are you a vegetarian ?
Why is it any different from killing a nice furry lamb or a slithering
salmon ?

    > and as for groups of rude German tourists ?.

I think they annoy everyone :-)

On 24 Apr 2006 14:59:56 +0100, Des Small <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >John in Surrey <[email protected]> writes:
    >> Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    >> travel section for this company the other week...
    >> My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    >> country...
    >I can recommend it for that. In fact, they have approximately no
    >rivals for that - it's a cruise ship but also a working cargo boat
    >that's an important part of Norway's goods transport system.

Must you stay with the same boat, or can you remain somewhere for a
full day and catch the next boat?
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

B Vaughan wrote:
    > On 24 Apr 2006 14:59:56 +0100, Des Small <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    > >John in Surrey <[email protected]> writes:
    > >
    > >> Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > >> travel section for this company the other week...
    > >> My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > >> country...
    > >
    > >I can recommend it for that. In fact, they have approximately no
    > >rivals for that - it's a cruise ship but also a working cargo boat
    > >that's an important part of Norway's goods transport system.
    > Must you stay with the same boat, or can you remain somewhere for a
    > full day and catch the next boat?
    > --

you can use it like a bus (that floats)

B Vaughan<[email protected]> writes:

    > On 24 Apr 2006 14:59:56 +0100, Des Small <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    >
    > >John in Surrey <[email protected]> writes:
    > >
    > >> Would you recommend this cruise company? I noticed a promo in the
    > >> travel section for this company the other week...
    > >> My wife and I are not after some flashy cruise, we want to see the
    > >> country...
    > >
    > >I can recommend it for that. In fact, they have approximately no
    > >rivals for that - it's a cruise ship but also a working cargo boat
    > >that's an important part of Norway's goods transport system.
    >
    > Must you stay with the same boat, or can you remain somewhere for a
    > full day and catch the next boat?

Everything is possible, but it is possible that not everything is
possible with a package deal for cabins and full board - which I didn't
have. (I bought my tickets on the boat on spec.)

If you know in advance where you'd like to stop - the Lofoten islands
are fabulous if the weather's nice - then I'm very sure they could
sort you out, and if you want to pre-negociate some flexibility I'm
pretty sure they could do that too, subject to availability, but
you'll need to cut out some middlepersons - they all seem to think you
should book a full tour.

Des

B Vaughan wrote:
    > On 24 Apr 2006 14:59:56 +0100, Des Small <[email protected]>
    > wrote:

    > Must you stay with the same boat, or can you remain somewhere for a
    > full day and catch the next boat?
    > --
You are free to use the boat only as a means of transportation between
places, many local Norwegians use it. However, if you have or want a
cabin, that could create difficulties, because they would tend to book
these for a one way or round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes or vice
versa.

By the way, how was your cruise?

George

george wrote:
    > B Vaughan wrote:
    > > On 24 Apr 2006 14:59:56 +0100, Des Small <[email protected]>
    > > wrote:
    > >
    > > Must you stay with the same boat, or can you remain somewhere for a
    > > full day and catch the next boat?
    > > --
    > You are free to use the boat only as a means of transportation between
    > places, many local Norwegians use it. However, if you have or want a
    > cabin, that could create difficulties, because they would tend to book
    > these for a one way or round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes or vice
    > versa.
    > By the way, how was your cruise?
    > George

Expensive fun :)
Having the day trips is a good idea, otherwise I would have been
climbing the walls.
1 week was long enough.