Feel the cool winter magic in Norway

Hurtigruten’s cruise-ferry hybrids offer unique and memorable voyages

Picture the fiords of Norway. Now, coat them with a thick layer of snow. Turn the lights down low; the sun here only rises for a few hours in the darkness of winter — and at some latitudes, not at all. Norway in the wintertime is a storybook wonderland; a mixture of towering, snowcapped mountains, warm lights glowing inside picturesque houses, and of course, the famous northern lights.

If you paused to check the headline of this week’s article, I apologize. Yes, this is indeed a cruise — one of the most interesting you can take in the winter time — into the heart of arctic Norway.

Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten (hurtigruten.com) runs a fleet rugged, powerful and classy hybrid cruise-ferry ships off the coast of Norway. These year-round departures operate as a seven-day cruise north from Bergen to Kirkenes, high atop the Arctic Circle; a six-day cruise southbound from Kirkenes to Bergen; or as a 12-day round-trip voyage from Bergen. You can even take one ship north, hop off in Kirkenes for a few days, and then hop a different ship for the southbound run.

But this is no ordinary cruise. On the northbound journey, Hurtigruten’s coastal ships call on 19 different ports between Bergen and Kirkenes, from popular Alesund to the arctic capital of Tromsø and small villages that you’ve never heard of before. Some port calls last hours; others are mere minutes. And in some villages, you don’t need long. I made a point of hopping off in every port I was awake for (some port calls are in the evening hours), even if it was only to pop my feet on the ground and take a few photos.

While Hurtigruten’s ships operate during the warm summer months, a winter cruise along the coast of Norway is a true hidden gem. When I sailed several years ago, I did so in February — late enough in the season to get a few hours of what passed for daylight each day, but still well within the timeframe for the northern lights, which I memorably did see several kilometres from the Russian border, on a lonely highway near Kirkenes.

Hurtigruten imparts its Norwegian heritage on guests at every turn. Locally inspired cuisine reflects regional specialties and has been substantially improved in recent years. So, too, have Hurtigruten’s ships, many of which have gone through sweeping refits that have added queen-sized beds in place of the former drop-down single berths (which admittedly were quite cosy) and new onboard amenities, such as the tasty Norwegian Coastal Kitchen with its menu of local delights.

What makes Hurtigruten’s ships even better? In a world of cookie-cutter ships that all look alike, Hurtigruten’s fleet has distinct personalities. There really is nothing else like these ships afloat. They were designed for these waters and can plow through rough seas at nearly full speed. I remember standing up on deck, watching as we came into port in a tiny village, barely slowing down, with the car doors opening before we’d even stopped. Vehicles drove off, new ones drove on, and 10 minutes later we were pushing away from the dock and on our way again.

But let’s be clear: these are more cruise than ferry, with expansive public rooms, forwardfacing observation lounges, and wide-open decks. In the winter, scenic cruising is particularly memorable, with the lights of the ship intermingling with the

seemingly endless blue hues of twilight that stretch on for hours.

Doing this run in the winter is magical. Norway is devoid of many of the tourists that come here in the summer, and the snow only enhances that look. Yes, it will snow on your cruise. It might sleet. It’ll be dark. But the experience will be a one-of-thekind cruise that won’t soon be forgotten.

Hurtigruten also runs full-blown expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica and is poised to welcome two technologically advanced new ships — the Roald Amundsen

and the Fritdjof Nansen — to the fleet.

But there is a reason that the majority of its ships operate what has been called, “The World’s Most Beautiful Voyage.”

Happy cruising. Visit portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-707-7327, www.cruiseshipcenters.com, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com.