This company has some housekeeping to take care of. I booked a 12 day cruise and have really mixed…read morefeelings. First of all travel in this part of the world is very expensive and I was hoping for better service. Parts of the crew like the expedition team, and most of the serving staff in the dining room were fantastic. But the reception team and housekeeping were not always pleasant. Heading north the reception team was excellent, but on the way back towards Bergen, not so much. They have an intern Sammy, who yelled at me for a solid five minutes because I was late boarding even after I apologized. I don't like spotlighting people, but I contacted the company with a complaint and so far no response. In the words of a crew member's toast,"Hurigruten is not a cruise, but a connection for the Norwegian people" I must agree. It is better to think of this boat line as a ferry and not so much a cruise expedition. They do not stop at ports for long so another reason why it's more like a ferry because you don't have much time to explore the different stops. Once I almost missed the ferry because it docked 15 minutes late which I didn't factor into the departure. time. Use it to get from point a to point B with a possible one or two night stay in the cabins, or if you want to be thrifty, just sleep in one of the lounges, but you have to expect there might be noise. Also, they need to do a better job cleaning the bathrooms in between trips because there was some mold at the base.

Reservations people are surly. No one inquired if they could help with flights, hotels or transfers…read morewhen I initially booked. When I called back to sign up for transfers, they were grumpy that I hadn't booked hotel through them, but "allowed me" to book transfers. Two days before departure they called to cancel my first transfer because they didn't have my flight arrival info (which they should have gathered when I booked the transfer). I told her Hurtigruten's travel info says both flights into Kirkenes are met by the transfer bus, so why was I being cancelled? She didn't have an answer and I was issued a refund. Ironically the bus did meet my flight, I boarded and was the sole passenger and rode for free. Onboard I had to request a hair dryer and was told my fare didn't include an in-room kettle, something this tea drinker would have enjoyed. There are no water refill stations, so rely on your bathroom tap to stay hydrated or purchase bottles of water from them, which isn't very eco-friendly. Food/dining was quite good and the dining staff were very friendly and helped make up for the above shortcomings. Coffee cups are very small for the mediocre coffee offered. Excursion staff and guides were very good, although one of my pre-paid excursions was cancelled. The highlight was a midnight concert featuring flute, soprano and keyboard. The Coastal Express is a quite scenic journey, but Hurtigruten could do better pre-departure, live up to the sustainability they preach by providing water stations, and stop nickel and diming for expensive onboard wine, souvenir mugs, lanyard for cabin card etc. It is not truly all-inclusive as advertised.

Beautiful rail route and a perfect way to get from Bergen to Oslo or vice versa! While the trip is…read moreconsiderably longer than flying, the route itself is a tourist attraction because it travels through some of the most pristine and scenic country in Norway. The rail also has a cafe car with some delicious pizza and cinnamon rolls. If you're heading to Bergen, I would highly suggest taking the rail instead of flying.

This is the bus terminal to board your airport shuttle to get to the airport on Platform N! If you…read morepay by card, someone at the stand will take it and give you a ticket, 115 kr per person. If you pay by cash, you buy tickets from the driver. They offer student tickets too but I'm not sure what the restrictions are. This bus terminal is located next to the train station. Before you can find platform N, there's an electronic map somewhere easily visible telling you how to get there. Basically once you pass the train station, keep walking straight and turn right somewhere. Also, it helps to just follow those with suitcases haha. Didn't take the bus here to elsewhere, but it seems to be a very organized bus terminal with everything laid out. The map is a big plus.