Ms Kong Harald Reviews

18-29th March 2019.Ship excellent in comfort and food.Staff excellent.always helpful.Captain always in touch with passengers on any happenings.We had some bad weather and priority of the captain was to keep us safe.Sadly we didn't see the Northern Lights but you cannot control nature. . It was an excellent cruise with the boat and crew we had.The expedition team were so passionate when giving us the lectures about everything

My friend and I travelled end of February 2019 for 12 day Classic Round Voyage cruise. Experienced absolutely no problems at all. We expected to be bored at some points, so took books and a dvd player - didn't need any of them! Constantly something to see/do/experience! Excursions are pricey but well worth it, they seem to under-sell in the literature, so you think a trip is not worth doing but they are! We did husky sledging, tram ride, North Cape and Marble mine. We were also lucky to see the Northern Lights four times! Food was superb, we are vegetarians and they catered well...lots of choice and almost too much food!! Drinks are too expensive, not the ships fault...that is Norway for you. Would 100% recommend, beautiful views...the whole trip exceeded our expectations. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on this ship. There were approximately 400 passengers on board. The food was excellent! Breakfast and (usually) lunch were buffet, with a huge choice of hot and cold dishes. The evening meal was normally a set 3 course menu, but the restaurant offered alternative meals for those who were vegetarian, or preferred to eat fish instead of meat, etc. Drinks were expensive (e.g. a glass of beer or wine was approx £10), but most things in Norway are expensive compared to the UK. Our cabin (Artic Superior grade) was relatively spacious and included a double bed and included a kettle to make tea and coffee; cabins of other grades were quite tight and had pull-down single beds. The "Expedition crew" (who organised the excursions) were excellent and engaged with the passengers. They gave talks, enthused about the country, pointed out sights of interest during the voyage and participated in the tours (particularly the hiking tours). All the staff on the ship appeared to be happy. And yes, we did see the Northern Lights!

What a fantastic trip. The ship as we knew was a working ship. We chose this as we wanted to get to places where the bigger cruise liners couldn’t access. We found the staff very friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and of a high standard. OK, so the alcoholic drinks were expensive, but this in Norway and to us in the UK everything in Norway is expensive. However, on a trip like this you go for the scenery and the northern lights, none of which disappointed. There were regular lectures on board from very informative staff which explained to us what we were seeing and how it came about. We were informed when the Aurora was visible. The ship itself was spotless. There was ample seating in the lounge areas and the size of the ship retained its intimate friendly atmosphere. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to explore the full beauty of coastal Norway

I travelled with this ship in March 2018 as a traveller rather than a cruise passenger after visiting family in Kristiansand the took Long Harald to Tromsø rather than the usual boring flight.She is magnificent food excellent and staff Typically friendly Norwegian hospitality.You must realise this is not usual cruise ship with all the shows cinemas etc if you do you will be disappointed,she is a magnificent means of transport that the British ferry companies may want to learn a lesson in hospitality and reliability from as every port of call even though in grip of artic winter was arrived at exactly on time ( take note operators of Dover to Calais farce).Yes I recommend but if you want the frills take a dedicated cruise but Hurtigrute is a very functional means of transport at a high level of luxury.Take out a mortgage if you intend having a beer onboard though.

This was without doubt one of the best holidays we have ever had. As the ship dodged its way between the islands and ducked into the fjords, we saw the most amazing scenery. And also we took advantage of the various port calls to have a wander around villages and towns. On board life was also fantastic where the amazing food, with the all-you-can-eat breakfast and lunch buffets along with the scrummy set evening meals (Norwegian cuisine),kept us well fed. The daily gatherings to go over the photos from the excursions of that day and to go over the details for tomorrow were good fun (we also had a go at learning norwegian!) as were the daily lectures where we learnt about norwegian explorers, fairy tales, history of the country amongst other things. But the best part was the incredible staff, in particular the excursion staff of 'Oncle' Heinz, Jan Helge and Oyvind. They made us feel like family. Yep, we'll definitely be going back.

Kong Harald conked out before we set sail. never told truth about what was going on just sweeteners. suddenly told we had to evacuate by 2.30, set down at hotel and left to ponder what had just happened. no paperwork other than flight details, no transfer vouchers to which the driver tried to charge us. no promised hair dryers in cabins, no tea making facilities in cabin, no instructions as to how to set up bed settee. staff an absolute dream their sorrow for us missing out on our trips was evident in that they tried even harder to make our stay on board pleasant. shame the captain wasn't as conscientious.

I chased the Northern Lights on Hurtigrutren's 12 day Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen voyage, 18 Feb-1 Mar 2015. What a great trip! The ship is beautiful; my deck 3 N class cabin was both functional and comfortable, the food was excellent, as were the staff. The excursions were efficiently run and enjoyable - the Tromso Arctic Cathedral concert was a highlight, as was the Kirkenes husky sledge ride. Plenty of opportunity to explore alone on the longer of the many port stops. My only criticisms are the lack of information on arrival at the Bergen Hurti Terminal and the lack of table water at lunch and dinner, which pressurises customers to buy the expensive bottled water. I didn't, on principle, as the availability of water at meals should be a given - there's plenty of really cold, potable water from the cabin shower room, however. Read up on Hurtigruten before booking, as this is not a traditional cruise - but it is a wonderful experience, especially if the Lights appear, as they did on two nights running for us.

Totally enjoyed the experience from boarding to leaving twelve days later. The crew were always helpful and friendly, food very good ( slightly small helpings at dinner), the cabins not large but who goes on this voyage to stay in their cabin. Perhaps the weather could have been better but there is always something of interest whether sailing or in port. It is not a voyage for anyone who wants razzmatazz, the trip was made for me by the ship, Norway and the people I met.

We travelled from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen on a recent cruise on the Kong Harald. We really enjoyed our trip. The ship is firstly a working life line for all the towns, cities and villages visited during the journey. We found our Cabin functional and comfortable. It was an outside cabin on deck 5. It was spotlessly clean and servcied each day. The meals on board were served in the restaurant. Breakfast and lunch were buffet service with ample seafood available for both, but always offering hot and cold meat options. Dinners were set three course meals with no choice. The food was always excellent and the waiting staff were very friendly and helpful throghout the journey. We enjoyed the excursions arranged by the ship. The most memorable was the Reindeer sledding and dog sledding at Camp Tomak. You leave the ship at Finnenes and travel inland to reach the camp. The day was full of new experiences and we particularily enjoyed the dog sledding through the atric landscape only illumimated by the moon. We finished with a meal of reindeer stew in a sami yurt before leaving to rejoin the ship at Tromso. We managed to see the Northern Lights on two nights but the displays were weak. There are four conditions you need to experience the lights: Good Solar Activity, No Cloud, Little or no Moon light and of course you need to be there at the precise time! We were travelling during a period of Full Moon which significantly reduced our chances. So if you really want to see the Aurora travel when the moon is in it's new phase to increase your oportunities. We were amazed by the nighttime scenery we saw while looking out for the lights, The moon lit up the fjords in a most magical way. We loved the ports we visited even where we could only hop off for a quick look. We especially liked Tromso, Trondhiem and Alesund a beautiful art nouveau town. This was a wonderful holiday which we will remember for years to come. We would do it again but work harder to ensure we improved our opportunities to see the Northern Lights.