The Hurtigruten Ferry

 The Hurtigruten Ferry

We took a ferry ride from Tromso, Norway to Bergen, Norway. The ride was 4 days/3.5 nights. Jason had 'seeing Norway's fjords' on his bucket list. And what better way to see them then from the water, sailing south down the coast?

We knew when we booked this months ago that, although it is marketed as a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience, that it would be very weather dependent. We knew that blue skies, sunshine and good views would likely be beautiful. But rain, clouds, and fog could mean limited views. This was a big gamble as it is a very expensive ride... We had a 'family cabin' which has 4 beds, a small bathroom including a shower, and two portholes to look outside. We aren't really sure whether to call this experience a cruise or a ferry - maybe somewhere in between?

We had to wait in Tromso all day and board the ship at midnight to get started...

The first morning was pleasant with good scenery and excitement. The boat itself was 6 decks, with a few cars on the lowest deck, and cabins throughout each deck. There was a dining room, a cafe, and three lounge areas plus a protected top-deck outdoor viewing area. For anyone who has sailed between Victoria and Vancouver on the "BC Ferries", the boat is a similar size and layout to the "Queen of New Westminster" but not as big as the new "Coastal Celebration" boats. 

The evening of day 1 became quite stormy. Our schedule got changed around because the gale force winds and storm didn't allow us to dock at some planned ports. We did have an AMAZING all you can eat buffet of awesome food for dinner. And then the waves and wind came in and rocked and rolled the boat a LOT. Ava thought that watching the waves out the porthole window was fun, and the kids did manage to fall asleep without trouble. (The kids continue to prove their resiliance over and over!) But Jason and I didn't do as well. I spent many hours staying horizontal, holding on to the side of my bed trying to keep it together. And Jason made use of the sea sickness bag... possibly because of his talent for getting his money's worth at the buffet... or possibly because he actually had to work and look at his phone and sit upright and talk to people while the boat was rocking. 

Day 2/3 were calmer in general, with clouds and rain and limited views, but the ship continued to list from side to side a decent amount here and there. It wasn't easy to drink the 'cod liver oil' for the ceremony of crossing the Arctic Circle after being up most of the night trying not to be sick. But trying it was fun and I was given a cool engraved spoon as a souvenir. 

Getting out at little villages, or bigger towns like Trondheim, was really lovely. 

We cooked out own breakfasts and lunches on board but had gone ahead and purchased dinners. The dinners were really a highlight, with 3 course meals featuring the local fare. Unfortunately dinner on day 3 was happening during a section with more wind and waves again, and the kids didn't feel great. So they left the dinner table and went to lay down, and we brought them leftovers to the cabin afterward. They did feel well enough after lying for a while to eat - possibly motivated by the amazing cheesecake and ice cream dessert!

After dinner Jason made me laugh as the boat rocked and rolled again, saying "What's the point in paying all this money for this delicious food, if we end up throwing up 2/3 of the dinners!?!" ... thankfully we all kept it together that evening.

Day 4 we packed up our things and enjoyed a much more pleasant day of sunshine, good scenery, and the excitement of getting to the city of Bergen and solid ground.

Overall, I can't really recommend this journey to others. The cost is ridiculous, and I just can't recommend that anyone else bother to spend that much money doing this. Especially if you have experienced the ferry around Vancouver Island. But, since we already had committed to this months ago, we made the best of it and enjoyed the parts that we could. 

For the kids part, they did very well and made the best of the hours of down time reading and playing games. Jason got some extra work done and I got some things organized for my business and future parts of our trip.

Arriving in Bergen was very exciting, and we look forward to enjoying this city next!

*For more/different photos, please check out the facebook post and check out the video of me drinking the cod liver oil! I try to post slightly different things on each place, so top #mojofamilyadventures fans will enjoy all the different ways to follow along...