If you really want to experience Norway, take a 12-day, 7-day or 6-day cruise on the Norwegian Coastal Voyage. The Coastal Voyage, "Hurtigruten", offers daily departures from Bergen and Kirkenes. Each voyage both northbound and southbound calls at 34 ports! The ports visited during the day on the northbound voyage is called at during the night on the southbound cruise, and vice versa. Port calls vary from 45 minutes up to six hours. The 12-day roundtrip Bergen voyage covers the 1,250-mile west coast of Norway, and you will see fjords and fishing villages before crossing the Arctic Circle. Here, close to the North Cape, you experience the midnight sun in the summer. The 7-day northbound voyage ends up in Kirkenes, close to the Russian border, while the 6-day southbound voyage starts in Kirkenes.

Itinerary

Day 1: Bergen
Bergen is the bustling capital of Norway's fjord district. If you arrive a few hours before departure, stroll around the old wooden buildings in the Bryggen Wharf, remnants of its Hanseatic past. Your journey begins in Bergen, a harbor town established by the Viking King Olav more than nine hundred years ago. It quickly became the center of Norway's vibrant commercial trade, especially in dried cod, with northern Europe and the British Isles. By the late Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League had set up a trading post on the Bryggen waterfront. Some of those buildings with seaward-facing gables you'll see along the wharf date back to the fourteenth century! You board the Hurtigruten this evening.

Day 2: Maloy–Torvik–Alesund–Molde–Kristiansund
When you awake, the ship will be crossing the open Stadthavet and heading for Torvik. En route, you'll stop in the beautiful Art Nouveau town of Alesund. (Between April 15 and September 14, all ships call at Geiranger in the Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to see the beautiful Brudesloret, Friaren, and the Seven Sisters waterfalls.) After a call at Molde—its magnificent view of the Romsdal Alps made it a favorite vacation spot of Henrik Ibsen—the ship will carefully navigate the Hustadvika, a belt of islets and skerries, before docking at Kristiansund. Optional shore excursions available.

Day 3: Trondheim–Rorvik
The ship arrives early this morning in ancient Trondheim, where you'll have time to explore this jewel of a city, Norway's first capital. Did you know that the first Viking sale of goods from "the new found land" took place here about 1000 AD? Timber from Liev Eriksson's Vinland estate was sold to a Bremen merchant. Walk the charming streets, sit by the peaceful harbor, or cross the old city bridge to see the restored wooden buildings in Bakklandet and the great gothic cathedral of Nidaros, where the new kings of old Norway once received their official blessing. From Trondheim, the ship sails on to Rorvik, where the southbound and northbound coastal ships meet. Optional shore excursions available.

Day 4: Ornes–Bodo–Stamsund–Svolvaer
Today you'll cross the Arctic Circle. Of course you can't actually see the line, but on your portside, the globe on the island of Vikingen serves as a marker. There are spectacular sites ahead: islands and skerries with majestic rock formations, whose origins are the stuff of legend. After Bodo, the ship heads out to open sea for the Lofoten Islands with their picturesque cabins on stilts and weathered wooden racks with drying cod. In the evening, she'll navigate the narrow Raftsund Strait, passing the looming crags of the Trollfjord. Optional shore excursions available.

Day 5: Harstad–Finnsnes–Tromso–Skjervoy
This morning you'll pass the medieval Trondenes church before calling at Harstad for breakfast. Afterward, you'll sail across the Vagsfjord past the great island of Senja with its diverse countryside of farmland, pine trees, and plunging peaks. Later you'll stop at Tromso, the "Paris of the North." In the 19th century, Russian, British, Dutch, and German ships called here before heading off on Arctic expeditions for hunting whales, walruses and seals. Optional shore excursions available.

Days 6–7: Hammerfest–Havoysund– Honningsvag–Kjollefjord–Mehamn– Berlevag–Kirkenes
Finnmark's landscape is austere in its beauty, teeming with wildlife. Watch for rookeries ofpuffins and gannets along the cliffs and pods of orca hunting for herring. After calling at Honningsvag, the capital of the North Cape, the ship heads east toward the pretty fishing villages of Kjollefjord, Mehamn, and Berlevag. On the seventh day, you'll arrive at Kirkenes, the journey's northern terminus and turning point. Optional shore excursions available for both days.

Day 7: Kirkenes–Vardo–Batsfjord–Berlevag
After a few hours docked at Kirkenes, the ship will depart upon the southbound half of her voyage, calling during the day at ports passed at night on the trip northward. Crossing Varangerfjord, Norway's only east-facing fjord and a fabled bird-watching site, you'll arrive in Vardo, the easternmost point of the country. Next the ship will round the Varanger peninsula, where archaeologists excavated a community believed to date from 9000 BC. In the evening, the ship calls at Batsfjord, which also boasts the remains of a Stone Age settlement, and Berlevag. Look out for the Tanahorn mountain, which long ago was a Sami sacrifice site.

Day 8: Honningsvag–Havoysund– Hammerfest–Oksfjord–Skjervoy–Tromso
The ship arrives at Honningsvag in the early morning. After calling at Havoysund, she will stop for 1 1/2 hours in Hammerfest, the world's most northerly town. Despite its remote location, it was the first Norwegian town to have electric street lighting and its own power station. She then heads south to Oksfjord, whose glacier calves directly into the sea. After crossing open water, the ship calls at the old trading post of Skjervoy. You'll dock in Tromso just in time to savor its nightlife. Optional shore excursions available.

Day 9: Harstad–Risoyhamn–Sortland– Stokmarknes–Svolvaer–Stamsund
The island groups of Lofoten and Vesteralen have some of the most stunning scenery on this journey. Before your arrival, you'll see the captain skillfully maneuver the ship through the shallow waters of the Risoyrenna Channel, where sand banks are visible through the green water on both sides of the channel. The ship will negotiate the narrow Raftsund Strait leading into the breathtaking Trollfjord, before arriving in Svolvaer and Stamsund. Later, the ship heads east across Vestfjord toward Bodo. Optional shore excursions available.

Day 10: Ornes–Nesna–Sandnessjoen– Bronnoysund–Rorvik
From Ornes, you'll travel through crystalline waters, filled with spawning cod from January to April, and go by lush agricultural fields. Nearly every towering peak you'll see is associated with a local legend. Crossing the Arctic Circle once again, you'll pass the idyllic island of Sandnessjoen. On the approach to Bronnoysund, which you reach this afternoon, you'll spy the mythical Seven Sisters Mountains. Make sure you're on deck when the ship departs Bronnoysund—you'll be impressed by the captain's steady hand! Today's last port of call will be Rorvik.

Day 11: Trondheim–Kristiansund–Molde
Arrive in Trondheim early, with time to visit Norway's largest medieval church, Nidaros Cathedral, and the restored Archbishop's Residence. You'll then sail out through the beautiful Trondheimsfjord, past Hitra, island of deer, and lonely Grip. At day's end, you'll call at Molde, before arriving in Alesund late in the evening in time for a stroll on shore. Optional shore excursion available.

Day 12: Torvik–Maloy–Floro–Bergen
During the night, the ship will call at Torvik, Maloy, and Floro. The World's Most Beautiful Voyage is drawing to a close. Yet still ahead lies mile after mile of spectacular west Norway scenery: holly trees on Svanoy, the mouth of Sognefjord, and the beautiful archipelago on the approach to Bergen.

Each one-way voyage calls at 34 ports!

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The Coastal Voyage, Hurtigruten, also carries cargo. But you will hardly notice and "the postal boat" service with working Norwegians only add to the real experience of Norway. There is a non-tipping policy on the ships, but you may want to reward the Norwegian crew for excellent service.

MS Midnatsol is a 15,000-ton, 674-passenger ship with a modern design, and the ship's interior is dedicated to the Norwegian summer. "Midnatsol" means Midnight Sun and large glass surfaces allow the outside light to enter – creating a proximity to nature throughout the ship. She has a large two-story panoramic lounge on the two upper decks and a top deck with saunas, a gym, a bar, and a large sundeck. Deck 5 houses the main restaurant, cafes, an arcade with playroom, shops and lounges. Deck 8 also has several lounges, including an Internet cafe, TV lounge, and a library. There are 19 suites, some with a balcony. All cabins have telephones and heated bathroom floors. The suites and inside cabins all have TVs.

MS Trollfjord is Midnatsol's sister-ship. MS Trollfjord has Norwegian wood and stone throughout the interior. Large windows let the light and scenery into the public areas – even the elevators are made out of glass. Norwegian artists have decorated the ship. There are 19 suites, some with a balcony. Suites and inside cabins have TVs. All cabins have heated bathroom floors.

Cruise Only
To view a detailed day-by-day sailing schedule and a map outlining the ports, click itinerary schedule/map.

2012 Voyages:
(Early booking savings reflected in rates. US$, per person, based on an inside cabin on select sailings. Rates are subject to change and availability. Please contact us)

January 1- March 14, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,459
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,020
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $800

March 15 - April 14, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,669
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,169
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $919

April 15 - May 31, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $2,315
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,619
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,270

June 1 - August 14, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $2,859
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,999
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,570

August 15 - September 14, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $2,470
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,729
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,359

September 15 - October 31, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,790
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,250
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $985

November 1 - December 31, 2012
12-day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen: $1,459
7-day Bergen-Kirkenes: $1,020
6-day Kirkenes-Bergen: $800

Child discount: 25 percent.
3/4 berth discount: 15 percent.

Fuel surcharge may be levied at US$8 per night

Please contact us for information regarding specific sailing dates and availability

Air
If you take the nothbound viouage from Bergen, you will disembark in Kirkenes. For air schedules in Norway, visit www.flysas.com, www.norwegian.com or www.wideroe.no.

Train
If you are in Oslo, you may consider to take the scenic train journey from Oslo across the mountains to Bergen. The ride takes 6 1/2 hours and the price one way is approx. $100.

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For more upscale all-inclusive cruises, click links below:

Norwegian fjords, all-inclusive luxurious voyages

Scandinavian Capitals and St. Petersburg, all-inclusive luxurious voyages

We offer the right cruise at the right price. Call 1-800-334-6544 (U.S.) or +1-212-480-4521 (International) or go to How to Book