Norway highlight

Fred Steinberg’s article “Plying the Waters along Norway’s Western Coast” (June ’10, pg. 18) was of particular interest to me since I had just returned from a cruise with Hurtigruten, one aboard the Nordkapp.

The 11-day, round-trip voyage from Honningsvåg to North Cape was part of a tour with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 800/322-6677). The tour, May 11-26, 2010, cost over $6,000, including air from New York and single supplement.

For most of the cruise the skies were overcast, keeping the midnight sun from being visible, and there was a good amount of rain, mostly drizzles. I was fortunate that I took my pictures immediately upon arrival at North Cape, since within 20 minutes a thick blanket of fog had rolled in, rendering it impossible to view even the Children of the World monument.

Although this journey to North Cape was indeed a highlight, I felt some of the other excursions were not that good. Instead of seeing the Polar Museum and the main street area in Tromsø ($52) and taking a bus tour to Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim ($53), walks through these cities probably would have been more rewarding, and the Russian border out of Kirkenes could have been skipped altogether.

Aboard ship, cocktails cost about $15; beer, $10 a glass, and house wine, $12; these prices included the Norwegian VAT of 25%.

It was purely coincidental that our sailing included Norway’s Constitution Day (like our Independence Day), May 17. The Nordkapp omitted one or two minor ports in order to provide us with extra time in Bodø, where we saw a number of locals wearing traditional dress. There are festivities to be found in any city on this day in Norway.

Our Norwegian tour directors, Fredrik Kase and Wenche Rossvoll, were outstanding. Dinners aboard ship included a preponderance of fish, all of which was very good, and also reindeer and shellfish. Only the beef served at the Captain’s Dinner was uninspiring, lacking taste, in my opinion.

By the way, I’m told that on Constitution Day, Norwegian children are allowed to eat all the hot dogs and ice cream they want.

ROBERT SIEBERT
Jamaica, NY