Day 1: Bergen

Bergen is the bustling capital of Norway’s fjord region. If you arrive a few hours before departure, stroll around the old wooden buildings in the Bryggen Wharf, a remnant of Bergen’s days as a leading port of the medieval Hanseatic League. In travel’s early days, it was easier to get from Bergen to the Continent by sea than it was to get to Oslo—a fact apparent in the city’s European-style architecture and culture. You board the Norwegian Costal Voyage this evening.

Day 2: Maloy–Torvik–Alesund–Molde–Kristiansund

When you awake, the ship will be crossing the stretch of open sea known as Stadthavet, heading for Torvik. Farther on, you’ll stop in the beautiful Art Nouveau town
of Alesund. (Between April 15 and September 14, all northbound ships also call at Geiranger in the Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to see the beautiful Brudesloret, Friaren, and Seven Sisters waterfalls.) After a call at Molde—its magnificent view of the Romsdal Alps made it a favorite vacation spot of famous Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen—the ship will carefully navigate the Hustadvika, a belt of islets and skerries, before docking at Kristiansund.

Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 3: Trondheim–Rorvik

The ship arrives early this morning in ancient Trondheim, where you’ll have time to explore this jewel of a city, Norway’s first capital. (Did you know that the first sale of goods from the Vikings’ “New Found Land,” in North America, took place here around the year 1000? Timber from Leif Eriksson’s Vinland estate was sold to a merchant from the German port of Bremen.) Walk the charming streets, sit by the peaceful harbor or cross the old city bridge to see the restored wooden buildings in Bakklandet and the great Gothic cathedral of Nidaros, where new kings of old Norway once received their official blessing. From Trondheim, the ship sails on to Rorvik, where the southbound and northbound coastal ships meet.

Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 4: Ornes–Bodo–Stamsund–Svolvaer

Today, you’ll cross the Arctic Circle. Of course, you can’t actually see the imaginary line, but on our portside a globe on the island of Vikingen serves as a marker. Spectacular
sights lie ahead, such as islands and skerries of majestic rock formations, their origins the stuff of legend. After Bodo, the ship heads out to open sea for the Lofoten Islands, with their picturesque cabins on stilts and weathered wooden racks of drying cod. In the evening, you’ll navigate the narrow Raftsund Strait, passing the looming crags of the Trollfjord.

Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 5: Harstad–Finnsnes–Tromso–Skjervoy

This morning, you’ll pass medieval Trondenes church before calling at Harstad for breakfast. Afterward, you’ll sail across the Vagsfjord, past the great island of Senja,
with its diverse countryside of farmland, pine trees, and plunging peaks. Later you’ll stop at Tromso, the “Paris of the North.” In the 19th century, Russian, British, Dutch, and German ships called here before heading off on Arctic expeditions for hunting whales, walruses, and seals. Optional shore excursions are available.

Days 6–7: Hammerfest–Havoysund–Honningsvag–Kjollefjord–Mehamn–
Berlevag–Kirkenes

Finnmark’s landscape, austere in its beauty, teems with wildlife. Watch for rookeries of puffins and gannets along the cliffs, and pods of orca, or Killer whales, hunting for herring. After calling at Honningsvag, the capital of the North Cape, the ship heads east toward the pretty fishing villages of Kjollefjord, Mehamn, and Berlevag. On the seventh
day, you’ll arrive at Kirkenes, the journey’s northern terminus and turning point. Optional shore excursions are available for both days.

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6-day Southbound Voyage from Kirkenes to Bergen

Day 1 (Day 7 of roundtrip): Kirkenes–Vardo–Batsfjord–Berlevag

After a few hours docked at Kirkenes, the ship will depart upon the southbound half of her voyage, calling during the day at ports that had been passed at night on the trip northward. Crossing Varangerfjord, Norway’s only east-facing fjord and a fabled bird-watching site, you’ll arrive in Vardo, the easternmost point of the country. Next, the ship will round the Varanger Peninsula, where archaeologists have excavated the remains of a community believed to date from the year 9000 B.C. In the evening, your ship calls
at Batsfjord, which also boasts the remnants of a Stone Age settlement, and the port of Berlevag. Be on the lookout for Tanahorn mountain, which long ago was a sacrificial site sacred to the indigenous Sami people of Lapland.

Day 2 (Day 8 of roundtrip): Honningsvag–Havoysund–Hammerfest–
Oksfjord–Skjervoy–Tromso The ship arrives at Honningsvag in the early morning. After calling at Havoysund, she will stop for 1½ hours in Hammerfest, the world’s northernmost town of more than 5,000 people. Despite its remote location, it was the first Norwegian town to get electric street lighting, along with its own power station. Your ship then heads south to Oksfjord, where you’ll see a glacier “calving”—shedding enormous chunks
of ice—directly into the sea. After crossing open water, the ship calls at the old trading post of Skjervoy. You’ll dock in Tromso just in time to savor its cosmopolitan nightlife. Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 3 (Day 9 of roundtrip): Harstad–Risoyhamn–Sortland–Stokmarknes–
Svolvaer–Stamsund The archipelagos of Lofoten and Vesteralen boast some of the most stunning scenery on this journey. Before your arrival, you’ll see your captain skillfully maneuver your ship through the shallow Risoyrenna Channel, where sand banks are visible on both sides of the waterway through its green waters. The ship will then negotiate the narrow Raftsund Strait leading into the breathtaking Trollfjord before
arriving in Svolvaer and Stamsund. Later, the ship heads east across Vestfjord toward Bodo. Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 4 (Day 10 of roundtrip): Ornes–Nesna–Sandnessjoen–Bronnoysund–
Rorvik From Ornes, you’ll travel through crystalline waters filled with spawning cod from January to April, and pass by lush agricultural fields just on shore. Nearly every towering peak you’ll see is associated with a local legend. Crossing the Arctic Circle once again, you’ll pass the idyllic island of Sandnessjoen. On the approach to Bronnoysund, which you reach this afternoon, you’ll spy the mythical Seven Sisters mountains. Make sure you’re on deck when the ship departs Bronnoysund—you’re sure to be impressed by the captain’s steady hand. Today’s last port of call will be Rorvik.

Day 5 (Day 11 of roundtrip): Trondheim–Kristiansund–Molde–Alesund
Arrive in Trondheim early, with time to visit Norway’s largest medieval church, Nidaros Cathedral, and the restored Archbishop’s Residence. You’ll then sail out through the beautiful Trondheimsfjord, past Hitra, the island of deer, and lonely Grip. At day’s end, you’ll call at Molde before arriving in Alesund late in the evening in time for a stroll on shore. Optional shore excursions are available.

Day 6 (Day 12 of roundtrip): Torvik–Maloy–Floro–Bergen

During the night, the ship will call at Torvik, Maloy, and Floro. “The World’s Most
Beautiful Voyage” is drawing to a close. Yet still ahead lies mile after mile of spectacular west Norway scenery: holly trees on Svanoy, the mouth of the Sognefjord, and the beautiful archipelago on the approach to Bergen.

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