NORWAY'S COASTAL JOURNEY

Havila Voyages operates a coastal ferry from Bergen to Kirkenes, serving as both a local transport for passengers and cargo along the coastline and a cruise route for travelers interested in exploring Norway's incredible scenery and culture. Havila's website offers a historical look at the beginnings of the coastal ferry and its importance for the people of Norway. 

Havila offers several voyage options, with these being the most popular:

• 12 Day Round Trip from Bergen to Kirkenes  to Bergen
• 7 Day Northbound from Bergen to Kirkenes
• 6 Day Southbound from Kirkenes to Bergen

Shorter cruises of 3 or 4 days are also available. 

Havila serves passengers with four ships, all built within the last few years: the Capella, Castor, Pollux and Polaris, which they claim offer the most sustainable voyages on the coastal route. The ships are powered through a combination of Liquid Natural Gas and the largest battery packs ever installed on a passenger ship, allowing Havila to sail for up to 4 hours straight with zero emissions (and reduced noise). The batteries are charged with clean hydropower ashore.

We sailed on the MS Capella, built in 2020. Each of the Havila ships is comprised of 9 decks - Decks 4 through 9 are open to passengers. Owing to their role as a ferry, the ships are significantly smaller than your average cruise ship, with just 179 cabins and a maximum capacity of 640 passengers. 

The ship's decor reflects the nature of Norway, creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere. Decks 4, 5, 7 and 8 house the passenger cabins which range in size from smaller interior cabins to Havila's signature Lighthouse Suites, which have a separate bedroom and a private balcony with a jacuzzi. Read more about the cabins here. We stayed in two Superior Sea View cabins, each with 2 twin beds (although you can book as a double bed instead). The cabins were on the smaller side, but very comfortable and well-laid out, with nice amenities. Had we traveled as a couple rather than with our sons, we may have chosen a higher cabin category. However, we spent so little time in the room, and there are so many comfortable areas of the ship, that we don't think that would be necessary for our personal travel style. Some travelers may wish to have the extra space and convenience of a living area in their cabin.

The ship's main restaurant, Havrand, a small cafe named Havly, and the Hildring Fine Dining restaurant are located on Deck 6, along with a number of inviting spaces for passengers to relax in a comfortable chair and enjoy the view of the Norwegian coast through floor to ceiling windows. 

The Havblikk Bar & Lounge is located on Deck 9, which provides panoramic views from the top deck of the ship and a bar offering a wide selection of both non-alcoholic beverages and beer, wine, and cocktails. 

Havila Voyages offers a unique dining concept that reflects their commitment to sustainable travel. Unlike most traditional cruises, there are no buffet restaurants on the ship. Havrand, the main restaurant, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which are included in your voyage. The restaurant offers a number of set dishes served in a small plate style and the menu changes every 3 days as the ship sails through different regions of Norway, allowing the chefs to showcase regional flavors.

Havila encourages passengers to order as many small plate dishes as they would like for each meal, and they provide suggestions for how many of each would be satisfying for most. You are welcome to order more or less, depending on your personal preference. The small plate concept plays a significant part in Havila's sustainability goal of producing just 75 grams / less than 3 ounces of food waste per passenger per day.

The food is exceptional and we always found something we wanted to order again. The breakfast menu includes different styles of eggs and local breakfast meats, oatmeal or porridge with fresh fruits, yogurts, a variety of cold meats and local cheeses, pastries and breads. One of our favorite parts of breakfast was the jam of the day - cloudberry was the best! Lunch has lighter options including soup and salad, along with meat and seafood options and vegetarian dishes. For dinner, Havila suggests that you order a starter, a main, and a dessert (always order the dessert - they are fabulous). Dinner options include seafood, meat or vegetarian options. Both the lunch and dinner menus change and I've linked the menu for the first few days of the journey north from Bergen. You can find all of the current menus on Havila's Food Stories. 

 Hildring Fine Dining is a second restaurant which is available to book as an upgrade to your journey package. This restaurant offers set menus with options such as king crab, scallops, and rack of lamb. We considered upgrading to dine at Hildring during our voyage, but, to be honest, we were so satisfied with both the food and the service at Havrand that we chose not to. 

The last dining option is Havly, a cafe that serves both ferry and voyage passengers and is located on Deck 6. As a voyage passenger, you can order most of the items on the Havly menu and they are included in your package. We stopped here to order specialty coffees during the day and one day we ordered a late lunch when we left the ship for an excursion during our usual lunch time. While my teenaged sons enjoy a variety of foods, there was an evening when they wanted to have a more casual dinner and chose to order pizza and hamburgers from Havly instead of joining us at Havrand. 

Coffee, tea and water, along with juice at breakfast, are included in your voyage. In addition, the ship offers a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, including an impressive selection of mocktails. You can choose to pay as you consume or you have the option to purchase a non-alcoholic or regular beverage package (or both, as we did). These packages can offer meaningful savings depending on your personal preferences.

What sets a Havila Voyage apart from a traditional cruise is the lack of organized entertainment on board. Havila is, at its heart, a working ferry. If you wander around your ship between mealtimes,  you'll find couples or small groups of passengers sitting by the windows, watching the ever changing coast of Norway. Some might be taking photographs, some are playing cards, and some might be reading. Overall, the ship is quiet and very relaxed. Our sons (ages 14 and 15) were two of only a handful of children on the ship. If we weren't participating in one of the excursions offered in port, we were likely on deck 9, playing cards and enjoying the views.

Havila organizes excursions in each major port - a list of the current offerings can be found here. We booked 3 excursions through Havila, all of which we'd recommend. The Winter Cruise to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Geiranger Fjord was spectacular. It was a full day, but the views of the fjord were unparalleled. In Tromso, we visited a Sami gamme and went reindeer sledding. And after we disembarked in Kirkenes, we went King Crab "fishing" and snowmobiled across a frozen fjord about 3 miles from the Russian border. We chatted with other passengers who also had positive feedback on their excursions, especially the dog sledding and North Cape adventure. As a side note, if you have the opportunity to visit the Snow Hotel in Kirkenes, you must go. Not only is the complex amazing, the staff are absolutely superb. 

We began our cruise at the end of March, which also marks the end of the usual Northern Lights season. The Northern Lights are most prominent from October to the end of March. We were hoping to see the Aurora at some point during our cruise, but each night seemed to be cloudy and by our last evening, our hopes were wearing thin. Just after we went to bed on our last night, the announcement that the crew had spotted the Northern Lights came through our cabin phone. We rushed up to the top decks and were treated to an absolutely stunning display. We took as many pictures as we could (it was also about 20 degrees F!) and spent about 30 minutes on deck marveling at the sight. Pictures will never do justice to this beauty. 

We had never been on any type of cruise in the past, so we really did not know what to expect. The Havila Voyage far exceeded our imagination. Even our teenagers loved it. We have already said that we would book this voyage again and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

If you are interested in learning more about Havila, please contact me!