Hurtigruten arranged for two of its sister ships – the 644-berth MS Midnatsol and 646-berth MS Trollfjord – to spend New Year ’s together in Tromsø. The 12-day departures, whether from Bergen (Dec. 27) on the MS Midnatsol or Kirkenes (Dec. 30) on the MS Trollfjord, are priced from $2,203 to $7,657 per person, double. Sailings that include Christmas celebrations (all ships) are priced the same. Members of the 1893 Ambassador Club, a loyalty club for those who have previously sailed with Hurtigruten, receive 10 percent savings as well as a range of complimentary onboard benefits.
New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off with a service in the Arctic Cathedral that includes dinner, dancing, Champagne toasts and a mountain-side fireworks display. The MS Midnatsol continues on to spend the first full day of 2013 in Honningsvåg where guests can take an optional excursion to mainland Europe’s most northern point, the North Cape. Guests enjoy a New Year’s concert in the North Cape caves. Onboard, classical musicians offer a program of concerts while in transit between Tromsø and Honningsvåg.
On Christmas Eve, all Hurtigruten ships moor in their respective ports for approximately 24 hours, allowing Christmas celebrations to be enjoyed without interruption. The celebrations are based on century-old traditions – and guests may choose to do it all or any part of them. Crew and guests decorate the vessels and the Christmas trees with decorations made on board, learn Norwegian holiday songs together, attend a Christmas mass at the local churches, have a visit from “Julenissen” (Norwegian Father Christmas) and enjoy traditional holiday foods.
All of these festivities are in conjunction with the daily sailing along Norway’s western coast, taking in 34 ports of call and 1,250 miles of scenic coastline between the cultural center of Bergen and Kirkenes. New for this winter is an included multi-vision Northern Lights show from the Norwegian solar scientist Pål Brekke.
Other highlights include the Art Nouveau town of Ålesund, the small fishing villages of the Lofoten Islands, the medieval Viking capital of Trondheim and the western fjords. Guests can personalize their holiday with a range of optional excursions that range from Camp Tamok, where guests choose from three modes of transport - snowmobiles, dog sledges or reindeer sledges – headed through the Arctic from Finnsnes to Tromsø, to a snowmobile trip in Lapland, to sightseeing in Bergen or Trondheim.
Rates include accommodation in cabin grade of choice; all meals on board; all aspects of the onboard program; an English-speaking tour leader on board; gratuities; entrance fee to Hurtigruten Museum; and the current fuel surcharge of $8 per night. Optional excursions, flights and transfers are additional.
For more information, visit www.hurtigruten.us.