Hurtigruten chief ‘would not rule out’ year-round ex-UK sailings

The line announced two weeks ago it would sail ex-UK expedition cruises for the first time.

As part of its new Norway Expedition programme, Hurtigruten will operate 14-day voyages from Dover onboard its ship, Maud, between October 2021 and March 2022.

Daniels revealed Hurtigruten has booked more than 350 people since the programme’s soft launch.

Asked whether Hurtigruten would extend its winter sailings to the summer as well, making them year-round, Daniels said: “That’s certainly something we’d consider, but the journey that’s operating massively for the UK is the northern lights.

“It’s a different conversation when it comes to the summer months as you’ve got a lot more competition and it’s a different type of mind-set.

“I certainly wouldn’t say no, but I would want to make sure that the winter sells well and we can prove that it’s sustainable before we go back to head office and have those extended conversations.”

Hurtigruten also announced in August it will convert three of its ships into hybrid-powered expedition vessels.

“Up until now the ratio of expedition to coastal sailing has been 70:30 and within the next few years you’re going to see that change to 50:50,” revealed Daniels.

“Further down the line this will maybe switch to 70:30 in favour of expedition.

“You can already see that with the ship deployment and the itineraries we’re working on.”