It was near 11 p.m. on Hurtigruten’s MS Nordlys, and a good number of the ship’s company gathered on the icy top deck of the ship to stare into the sky. Among the crowd was expert aurora borealis chaser Tom Kerss, who checked the forecasted conditions for the northern lights that evening and knew exactly what to look for.
“Right there, that faint column,” he said, drawing a line into the night sky with a red laser pointer.
Everyone looked up over the snowcapped mountains on the coast, and several smartphones came out. Phone cameras, Kerss explained, typically do a better job of “seeing” aurora than the naked eye. Several click quick snaps and surrounding murmurs of satisfaction confirmed it — we’re in the presence of the Northern Lights.
Mission accomplished for Kerss — and for Hurtigruten, which offers a guarantee to passengers on select voyages that the Northern Lights will be visible, or they’ll get a free cruise to come back and try again.
Nordlys was just north of Tromso, Norway, which is far north of the Arctic Circle and at about the same latitude as the northernmost coast of Alaska. The ship was sailing Hurtigruten’s Coastal Express itinerary, which has been in operation since 1893. The route traces almost the entire length of Norway, from Bergen to Kirkenes; it takes 12 days roundtrip and calls on 34 communities as it goes.
What to Expect on the Coastal Express
The ship is something of a combination cruise ship and car ferry. Cars even get on and off at some of the stops, and the stops in smaller communities are only a few minutes. In larger communities, like Tromso, Honningsvag and Kirkenes, the stops are a few hours, which allows passengers time to do some sightseeing.
Hurtigruten’s MS Nordlys
Credit: 2024 HurtigrutenIn Honningsvag, we took a bus to the North Cape, which, at 71 degrees north latitude, is the northernmost point in continental Europe (that you can drive to, at least). In Kirkenes, the end of the line, passengers can visit the Snow Hotel for dog sledding, snowmobiling or trekking across a frozen fjord to pull up pots of King Crab through the ice before heading back for a sumptuous lunch of crab legs. There’s also an excursion to visit the Norway-Russia land border, with touring through a bunker built during World War II.
Though I was onboard for just the portion from Tromso to Kirkenes (and had weather good enough to see the Northern Lights right out of Tromso), the really keen passengers can join special Astronomy Voyages roundtrip from Bergen, where Kerss and other astronomy experts give onboard lectures and offer additional Northern Lights-chasing expeditions.
An expedition suite onboard MS Nordlys
Credit: 2024 HurtigrutenWhat to Expect Onboard Hurtigruten’s MS Nordlys
Onboard, accommodations are comfortable (my stateroom had modular fold-down bunks that allowed me to maximize luggage space), and there are thoughtful extras, like bath amenities with local northern botanicals.
There are plenty of dining options, too. In the main restaurant, Torget, guests enjoy three-course meals with their choice of main entree each evening; dishes focus on the regional cuisine of each area of Norway that the ship traverses. At Kysten, the ship’s restaurant with an elevated a la carte menu, travelers can expect fresh seafood and Norwegian game (including reindeer), accompanied by Hurtigruten’s own sparkling wine, Havets Bobler, which is aged beneath the sea.
(Kysten is available with a la carte pricing, or travelers can dine there each evening of their voyage with a Platinum upgrade, which comes with a number of other VIP amenities.) Other options onboard include Brygga, the bistro, and Multe, a bakery and coffee shop where waffles served with “brunost” (brown cheese) and ice cream are must-try treats — both are popular with cruise guests and locals traveling between ports.
For Kerss though, the voyage is all about the Northern Lights:
“There’s no better place in the world to see them,” he says, “than from the deck of one of these ships.”
Editor’s Note: As part of a 2023 rebrand, Hurtigruten Group has changed its two sub-brands, Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express, to “HX” and “Hurtigruten.” This article pertains to the former Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express.
