An adventure is characterized by two things: journeying into the unpredictable and adapting to the elements. You will experience both on Hurtigruten expedition cruises. When you embark on an expedition with Hurtigruten, you'll be travelling to some of the most remote and pristine places on our planet. This is an adventure to beautiful coastal areas where nature is at its most raw, where wildlife roam free, and where the elements rule. Hurtigruten is an expert in every aspect of expedition travel. On their expedition voyages, you benefit from the skills of a full Expedition Team, who serve as hosts, lecturers, instructors, teachers, and guides. Exploring the natural marvels of our planet with Hurtigruten is more than just exciting. It’s an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the world we share. Exploration is about opening our minds to new customs, our eyes to new landscapes, and, yes, our mouths to new tastes. Hurtigruten chefs may utilize unique herbs and spices or adopt traditional cooking techniques from the area, all to add authentic, local gastronomy to the meals they prepare for their guests on board.
Taking Sustainability Seriously
Exploring our blue planet for more than a century has taught us the importance of being green. As a result, we are now supporting 41 environmental, cultural and social projects in 11 different countries. These range from helping endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest and protecting Galápagos seabirds, to securing safe spaces for vulnerable Greenlandic children and enabling community storytelling for the Itquamavit elders in Canada’s frozen north. We hope that the ripples we create today will one day turn into the waves of the future. With the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as our compass, our cruises to the planet’s most stunning corners are where explorers can truly feel at home. After all, it’s not about us, it’s about all of us.
Doing Your Part
There are a range of simple things you can get involved in during your cruise to do your bit. Help out on a beach clean-up where the refuse we collect is brought back onto the ship to be recycled. Citizen Science projects get you to observe our natural world closely and contribute to current research. Even hanging a tag on your cabin door to say your towels and bed sheets don’t need changing can save energy and water. You also have the option to donate to the Hurtigruten Foundation which funds projects around the world. We are setting a new, more sustainable standard for expedition cruising. You can be sure we will continue with our commitment to sustainability; leading the way with green tech, protecting our planet, supporting local communities, and inspiring more to action.
Science Center
The versatile Science Center is the heart of each ship’s scientific and educational activities. From here, the Expedition Team will lead guests in activities like wildlife spotting on the observation deck, and they can take advantage of our destination-focused library.
For photo enthusiasts, we host an onboard photographer who gives instructional sessions and helps with camera settings and adjustments.
Our Citizen Science Projects offer the additional benefit of scheduling activities that contribute in a very real way to key scientific understanding.
In the adjacent lecture hall, the team will host interesting lectures on geology, history, biology, geography, glaciology, photography, and oceanography.
Our Ships
Since 1893, our ships have been a hallmark of the Norwegian coast & beyond. On all of the ships in today’s fleet you will find modern facilities carefully blended with true character. Our fleet of expedition ships have been designed to give you the very best expedition experience, allowing you to delve into exploration and discovery, and enjoy the premium relaxation and wellness options on board. Hurtigruten Expedition’s ultimate goal is to operate our ships completely emissions-free. We stopped using heavy fuel oil over a decade ago. We were also the first major travel company to remove single-use plastic from all our ships. The Science Center lies at the core of many of our expedition ships. Featuring high-tech equipment, a library and interactive computer screens, this is where your Expedition Team share their deep knowledge of nature.
Green Tech
Building our two new hybrid-powered expedition ships, MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen, represents the biggest investment in our almost 130 years of history. They are packed with ground-breaking green technology, such as battery packs, heat recovery systems, and a cutting-edge hull design. These innovations combined reduce carbon emissions by more than 20 %, compared to other cruise ships of the same size. Hurtigruten stopped using heavy fuel oil more than a decade ago and campaign for its worldwide ban. To set a new standard, we are also considering a range of new, green fuel options, including biofuels made from organic waste.