Hurtigruten Slashes Prices for Antarctica Cruises

A Hurtigruten vessel makes its way through the Antarctic ice. Photo from Hurtigruten.

Since one of my favorite cruises ever was the Hurtigruten voyage along the coast of Norway, and Antarctica is currently number one on my bucket list, I thought I’d pass along this news from Hurtigruten about big price cuts in some of their upcoming Antarctica cruises, even though you may beat me to a cabin I’m eyeing myself.

You can currently save up to $7,820 per person on a 10- to 19-day voyage to the White Continent, with the new fares running as low as $6,081 per person, double occupancy. While that may not seem cheap compared to, say, a Caribbean cruise, a trip to Antarctica is typically a once-on-a-lifetime experience, and it just got thousands of dollars cheaper on a very experienced expedition-style cruise line:

* The 10-day “Land of the Penguins” voyage is available from $6,081, with departures on January 4 and 16, 2015. It spends a full week on Antarctica.

* The 19-day “In the Realm of the Great Explorers” is coming right up, departing November 1, 2014, and is priced from $8,680. It focuses on the Falklands and South Georgia as well as Antarctica.

* The 15-day “Polar Circle Expedition” has fares starting at $7,764 for sailings on January 28 and February 11, 2015.

Penguins are a common sight on a Hurtigruten Antarctic cruise. Photo from Hurtigruten.

The latter voyage is intriguing because it sets out to cross into the polar circle and make landings in some rarely visited areas of the Antarctic Peninsula. Possible stops include former scientific research stations as well as more established sites.

As one of the world’s oldest cruise lines, Hurtigruten draws from its roots of famous Norwegian explorers ranging from Leif Erickson to Fridtjof Nansen to Roald Amundsen, and its deluxe expedition ship, the MS Fram — named after the original Norwegian ship that took Nansen to the North Pole and Amundsen to the South Pole — spends its entire year on polar itineraries, both north and south.

So the captains and crew are experienced polar navigators.

Antarctic voyages aboard Hurtigruten may find you camping ashore, hiking in snowshoes, Kayaking ice-laden waters, and taking small-boat excursions. Of course you’re sure to encounter thousands of the natives (penguins), stunning scenery, and, on board, well-informed lecturers.

Hurtigruten is an industry leader in sustainable travel, belonging to numerous environmental organizations whose members must adhere to strict standards of responsible cruising.

You can check out Hurtigruten and all these trips to Antarctica — as well as their other voyages to Norway and other often remote destinations — at its website, www.hurtigruten.us.