The WORST Norway coastal cruise experience is on Hurtigruten

Considering a cruise in Norway? Think twice before booking the Hurtigruten coastal ferry. In this video, you will learn about the cabin, the dining and the views. Plus, I uncovered a scam that Hurtigruten is running for international passengers. The Norwegian coast is stunning, but you should probably choose another company than Hurtigruten.

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🛳️ Trip details:
Route: Bergen to Trondheim, Norway
Date: Oct. 18-20, 2024
Cruise line: Hurtigruten AS
Ship: MS Polarlys
Cabin class: Arctic Superior cabin (probably)
Paid with: Cash

📝 This video is NOT sponsored. I paid for this trip myself. The company whose service I reviewed did not know ahead of time that I was going to make a video, and the views presented are my own. Some product and service links are affiliate links. If you use them I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

➡️ Gear I use

1️⃣ Mirrorless camera:
Canon EOS M50 + EF-M 15-45mm Kit (Mark II):

2️⃣ Wide-angle lenses for Canon M50
Optically stabilized vlog lens
Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 STM:

Low-light beast:
Sigma 16 mm f/1.4 DC DN for EF-M mount

3️⃣ Camera cage for M50
SmallRig M50 /M50 II /M5 Cage:

4️⃣ Compact Android phone
ASUS ZenFone 9 with 256 GB storage

5️⃣ Tripods and selfie sticks
Ulanzi MT-47 camera tripod:
Ulanzi MT-34 with built-in phone clamp:
Sirui 5C carbon fiber travel tripod:

6️⃣ Microphones
Compact microphone for cameras and smartphones
Comica CVM-VM10II mini shotgun mic:
My studio microphone
Samson Q2U dynamic microphone (USB & XLR)

7️⃣ Travel backpack with removable daypack
Osprey Farpoint 55:
Larger version (Farpoint 70):

⌚ Sections in this video (The WORST Norway coastal cruise experience is on Hurtigruten):
00:00 | Hurtigruten review
01:33 | Check-in in Bergen
03:03 | Boarding MS Polarlys
04:13 | Cabin tour
06:34 | Meals included onboard
07:09 | Facilities and amenities onboard
09:18 | Coffee shop and bar
10:27 | Entertrainment and wifi
11:44 | Hjørundfjord and Urke
12:33 | Stop and Ålesund
13:23 |Dinner buffet
14:03 | Approaching Trondheim
15:10 | Price and value for money
16:41 | Recommendation and alternatives
17:13 | Premium airport bus by Vy

#MarkusTravels

🏢 Companies mentioned:
@hurtigruten
@HavilavoyagesYT

[MarkusTravels]

⁉ Was I wrong? Share your comments below.

[mimosa]

This is the first time in my 54 years on this planet that I’ve ever heard someone complain about Hurtigruten….

[joliettraveler]

We took this cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes. The food was excellent. We loved the entire experience.

[andyay]

Fascinating how people have such wide ranging views on the same experience.
My wife and I have just returned from 11 nights on MS Midnatsol doing the Bergen to Kirkenes and back.
We could not be happier a wonderful experience, an excellent cabin very comfortable and roomy. Staff friendly, approachable and helpful, those on the expedition team were knowledgeable and entertaining. Food was exceptional many many choices, well cooked and very tasty. We had a faulty kettle in our room, it was replaced within 20 minutes.
We had booked and paid for an excursion to in Tromso that included a cable car trip, later found out the cable was closed for maintenance, we had a full refund back to our credit card.
Would certainly travel with Hurtigruten.

[qwerty-]

I've taken many Hurtigruten cruises and in every way that you can imagine they have the best ships and service I've experienced. Something is Really Wrong with this Man.
Also, everyone I know who has cruised with Hurtigruten also agrees that Hurtigruten is the BEST!
Life does not get better than on a Hurtigruten ship! Everything is terrific with Hurtigruten. The service is amazing and they book your flights and airport to ship transport.

[richardc]

Marcus. I’m afraid I totally disagree with your recommendation, although I appreciate your experience may have been different from mine. Last month I completed the return Svalbard Express trip Bergen to Bergen, and it was the best cruise I have ever taken. Excellent food and superb service throughout, as well as access to smaller ports that large ships can’t access. I have been fortunate enough to take over 35 cruises all over the world with a wide range of cruise lines, and cabin levels, so I’m not a “newby”.

[clausskjdt]

WOW, that must be creating drama for sake of drama, just for clicks on your channel. And poor you having to talk to an actual person LOL, what a pathetic review.

[ulfehrning]

You can never compare a ship almost 30 years old with a brand new one. 
We have done two trips with Hurtigruten, the first northbound on Kong Harald and the second southbound on Otto Sverdrup a few years apart and those trips have been among the most wonderful trips we ever have done. We live in southern Sweden and brought our car with us on both trips to be able to combine with road trips one trough Norway and one through Sweden/Finland/Norway. 
Yes Hurtigruten is a bit expensive (as everything in Norway) but worth every single penny. I can really recommend it, we have the best memories.

[GenericaQwerty]

I went on my first ever "cruise" on the MS Midnatsol a couple of months ago, the full 12-day round trip. I travelled the way from Australia just for this.

I was fully aware it was just a ferry and set my expectations to align. I was thoroughly impressed! The food was amazing, the staff were lovely, my room was clean and the trip was flawless. I'd recommend it to anyone! If you want a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship. If you are happy to entertain yourself on a ferry, this is great.

I would have loved to go on Havila for the newer facilities, but went for the best price at the time. Hurtigruten didn't disappoint.

[ergloo]

It's NOT a cruise but a ferry service. Norway has banned cruise ships as environmentally unfriendly, unsustainable polluters. Good for Norway

[joycewhitehead]

We had a wonderful cruise on Hurtigruten's MS Nordkapp in October. We never expected a luxury cruise ship; we actually prefer small ships. I cannot say enough in praise of the ship and the company. Because it was a small ship, we were able to get to know the crew, who were excellent. The voyage is correctly called the World's Most Beautiful Voyage. - the scenery is stunning. We enjoyed the daily briefings and the excursions. We completely disagree with Markus. We loved our voyage on Nordkapp and would love to do it again.

[ruthhogg]

It is not a scam, I don’t think you understand how these things work. I would have preferred if you had done a little research before making these claims. Because of that you get a thumbs down.

[Dan-fodk]

what was the scam....as claimed in the
You mostly sounded like a theatrical and spoiled kid.... OK...the TV didn't work....did you report it?
What do you expect from a 30 years old ferry? Was it the colour on the walls that made you unhappy...??? Hurtigruten has new ships on the drawing board. But they have to wait until the next bidding for the new contract period. The Norwegian state own the rights for the route ....and pays for the service the coastal express deliver. So with given intervals there are a bidding compensation for a contract with the state ....according to the EU-regulations. Hurtigruten are no longer owned by Norwegians, but by a British investment company....hence they are the ones to make the calls and standards.
Havila on the other hand is a fully Norwegian company.
When it comes to food there are different tastes ....and that's not a wrong doing or a scam.
There are others who prefer the food on Hurtigruten instead of Havila.
To make a case out of that the northern light forecast was not updated ...it was "2 days old" is ridiculous. Of course because your travel was so far south that there will not be any northern light whatsoever ....so what is there to update....??? Bergen is around on the same latitude as Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki. Have you made any video about the ferry Stockholm to Helsinki hadn't updated northern light forecasts....or no such at all...???

....and why do you ...at all...book a sea voyage when you can not handle it...???

[gordonthomas]

Markus.
I did not find your review useful. In booking I already knew that if I wantedd to see the Northern Lights via a mega cruise I would travel on another carrier. It seems like you've never taken a "private for profit ferry service" that has added a cabin and dining experience over the years to continue to operate as customers tastes change. Yes sometimes pricing differently for different demographics. I think your review seems to be negative and not worldly enough to put into perspective what this company that has offered "as service" over the decades long before the "cruise" vacation experience ever existed. You mentioned you mentioned you were not feeling well during the cruise. I hope that you not trying to gain viewers by pointing out the obvious. Have you ever taken for example the Alaskan Ferry, the Lake Michigan Ferry there are others i've experienced from Hawaii, the Philippines to China and Indonesia. I have friends in Switzerland that run 7 generation family businesse and know they all need to morph and change to meet demands. Not an easy task going from the 1840(s) to today. But change does occur.

I hope your future reviews are done more constructively, with understanding of the industry, economics, labor and time tables.

[jakew]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this cruise.

[HansMartinØvre]

Well, Hurtigruten is not a cruiseship for spoiled rich people. Its a post and passenger route along our long coast. If you want a luxury cruice, find a cruise ship with all the luxury you want.

[avramgold]

In 2017 we took the coastal route on the Finnmarken from Bergen to Kirkenes and back. We booked one of spacious balcony cabins on deck six. The Nordic menu was terrific, the shore excursions interesting and the crew was just great. We will never forget the short and longer port stops for the ferry we were on. It was an adventure, more like an expedition cruise and we were so impressed, we booked a Hurtigruten Antarctica expedition trip for 2023. Again, an extremely memorable journey for what it was.

[MrStian]

It’s not a cruiseship, it’s a coastal ferry.

[naturepower]

Very helpful! And thank you for being honest and open to your viewers! Now this is the “original voyage” category where the ships have 34 stops acting as postal and cargo ship as well. I wonder what their “signature voyage” experience is like, and how does it compare.

[hellojones]

Its mostly a ferry company who offers costal transporation in Norway and so called cruises. Its similar what most of the Baltic sea companies offer. If you Google a little, then renovations was done in 2016 for this ship and they do not renovate the rooms and focus more on common areas.
Just do the research before booking a trip..