Embark the ship in Kirkenes, where you join the southbound Coastal Voyage which departs around lunchtime. Your ship hugs the coast as it visits the remote settlements it continues to serve more than a century after the Hurtigruten was created to provide a vital link with the rest of the country, giving us the opportunity to see Norway as the Norwegians see it.

Hammerfest, the world’s most northerly town boldly claims to be the first in Europe to have electric street lighting. Starting point of Bill Bryson’s journey described in Neither Here Nor There, this is the first major call. Continuing south, our night stop at Tromsø offers the opportunity to enjoy the Midnight Sun summer concert in the Arctic Cathedral.

The memorable sights of the Lofoten Islands will stay with us forever as the ship meanders gently through this stunning network of inlets and isles. It is possible to explore inland here by opting for the overland excursion from Harstad and rejoining the ship in Sortland.

Moving on we reach what is the highlight of the voyage for many, where we hope to make a detour into spectacular Trollfjord. As we venture into this dramatic fjord, we stand in awe of the Captain’s prowess and skills of navigation, for the sheer sides of the cliffs seem close enough to touch. Site of a famous battle between local fishermen and wealthy ship owners in 1890, and the echoes of this dramatic history seem to reverberate from Trollfjord’s gnarled rock stone walls.

Sailing through the beautiful, mountainous island chains, rising to 1,000 metres in places, we can see fishermen’s cabins built on stilts along the waterfront, whilst in the air around us fly a wide variety of seabirds such as puffins, kittiwakes, cormorants and sea eagles. This remarkable day is completed with an evening return to Svolvær and a farewell to the islands at Stamsund.

There is further excitement today as the ship crosses the Arctic Circle. Sailing past the famed peaks of the dancing Seven Sisters mountain range, folklore merges with the facts of nature – look out for Torghatten, which still bears the hole made by Hestmannen’s arrow in one of Norway’s popular legends. The award-winning new museum at Rørvik celebrates the important part the sea has played in defining today’s Norway.

We have an early arrival in the fascinating medieval city of Trondheim, where the Norwegian Explorer passengers leave the ship to follow their own itinerary. The voyage continues out of the Trondheimsfjord past Hitra Island to make brief calls at Kristiansund and Molde, known as the City of Roses and surrounded by 87 snow-capped mountains, before the midnight call at Ålesund and a last night at sea.

The landscape becomes increasingly lush as the journey weaves through the islets and beautiful Bergen comes into view again. Before long it’s time to say good-bye to the ship and ‘på gjensyn’ (‘until we meet again’) to friends, fellow passengers and our crew, as we disembark from our magnificent journey on the Norwegian Coastal Voyage.

We recommend adding our Land Package which, along with the pre-cruise arrangements mentioned at the beginning of this itinerary, constitutes a transfer from Bergen quay to hotel and a 1 night stay including breakfast at Strand Hotel or similar in Bergen.