To Enjoy a Voyage
from Port-to-Port

“It is possible to travel by bus around the fjord, but this is so much more comfortable: To eat a nice meal, chat with other people, and enjoy the views”, says Anne Grethe Øyen, who lives in Vardø, a town in the extreme northeastern part of Norway.

She is on her way home from a vacation on the Canari Islands, finishing her last leg of the journey after flying from Oslo to Kirkenes this morning. She is now having lunch in the Havila Café.

“It’s my first time traveling with Havila Voyages”, says Anne Grethe, as she takes a taste of her white fish soup and savors the aroma.

“The soup is delicious”, she confirms. “Rich and creamy, with lots of fish and flavor. Yes, I would recommend this one”.

Earlier, Anne Grethe took her time exploring the coastal cruise ship. She looked at the room with the reclining chairs (which she might have used if she were to travel a few more hours)  and she studied the á la carte menus in both the main restaurant and the cafeteria. She even had a walk around the main observation deck. 

“This is a great ship; very new and nice. Not to mention the fact that it runs on batteries and natural gas… This is a more environmentally friendly way of traveling compared to other ships”, she says.

Anne Grethe is positive that she and her partner, whom she’ll soon be greeted by in Vardø, eventually will go for a longer voyage along the Norwegian coast.

“We have talked about it. It may not be a round trip, but the least we can do is go halfway, and it has to be northbound from Bergen because we want to visit the fjords in the West”.

Another port-to-port passenger, Bill Iversen, approaches us with a fresh cinnamon roll in his hand. He also is a resident of Vardø and an old acquaintance of Anne Grethe's. It turns out that Bill, a former journalist at NRK (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) in Nordland, has just been on a week’s work assignment as a freelance bus driver, ending up in Kirkenes. He too is on his way home.

“I don’t travel by boat that often, as I tend to get seasick. But now that the weather is nice, it seemed like a good idea”, he reckons. “Furthermore, the price was about the same as the bus fare, and the travel time is quite similar. Or… It might go a bit faster by bus, but I’ve already seen that route for several decades. It’s good to have a bit of variety”. 

Bill takes a bite of the pastry he just bought at the café. 

“How is it?”, I wonder. 

“I bought it because of the yellow cream in the middle, and it’s delicious”, he answers, with a satisfied smile.

Bill, just like Anne Grethe, is onboard Havila Voyages for the first time. 

“I’m impressed. The boat is nice; spacious and open with a very good view through the large windows, which means a lot for the overall experience”, he explains. 

The coastal route itself – at least the northern part of it – however, is well-known to Bill as he did several work trips at sea while working as a journalist. 

 “Do you have a favorite stretch on the coastal line?” I ask. 

“Wherever it’s peaceful”, he says, grinning. But I sense his sincerity. 

“And then, of course, it’s nice the minute you pass Hammerfest. And the area south of Sortland is stunning”.

If you avoid getting seasick (and I should mention that Havila Voyages’ coastal cruise ships are equipped with Rolls Royce’s Neptune 200 stabilizers, ensuring that the ships cut elegantly through the surface of the sea even on windy days), Bill believes that traveling along the coast this way is comparable to a relaxing stay at a cabin.

“People say that the pulse drops when you’re at the cabin. The same thing happens here. It doesn’t matter how stressed you are prior to your trip because the journey doesn’t go any faster than you see outside these windows”, he says.

I understand exactly what he means. As we look outside the panoramic windows, we see one beautiful landscape after another roll by in slow motion. This is how it should be, and this is how it has been for the past 130 years, ever since Captain Richard With established the first express route service between Trondheim and Hammerfest. On behalf of the government, he transported people, mail, and goods from port to port, linking the local communities along the Norwegian coast together. Throughout the 130 years that followed, the Hurtigruten route – now formally named “Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes” – was expended several times. It has been operated by many different shipping companies, with Havila Voyages as its 11^th and most recent addition to its history. Havila Voyages shares its important societal mission with Hurtigruten AS.

More about the coastal route history

Whether you are a port-to-port traveler, like Anne Grethe and Bill, or a tourist wanting to experience the best of Norway from a state-of-art coastal cruise ship, you are most welcome on board Havila Voyages!