Expedition Cruising…the Hurtigruten Way

It was a Vancouver to Alaska cruise with a difference. Instead of returning to British Columbia it headed to the Arctic Ocean and then east through the Northwest Passage. Its destination was Halifax, then all the way south to the Antarctic Peninsula.  

The expedition ship itself was unusual too – The Roald Amundsen, launched in 2019 by the Norwegian Cruise Line, Hurtigruten – it’s the first hybrid cruise ship. The ship uses four Rolls-Royce-designed diesel engines but is always connected to two large banks of rechargeable batteries. Emissions are lowered and fuel savings can reach 20%, says chief engineer Svein Aursted.

Several weeks after leaving Vancouver the 140-metre-long ship arrived in Halifax where we board for a week-long expedition cruise to Boston. Twenty cruisers chose to stay on the ship for the complete Arctic to Antarctic itinerary. The 157 crew members, welcomed the new guests, a mixture of American, German and British cruisers.

Our itinerary was unusual – a stop at remote Sable Island, then back to mainland Nova Scotia and the UNESCO World Heritage fishing port of Lunenburg, then visits to three towns in Maine, followed by Cape Cod and finally Boston.