My friend and I were complete novices when it came to cruising. We’re used to checking in for flights, but a cruise is a whole different story! 😅

A bit stressed, we didn’t take any chances with our arrival time. There were huge crowds, and we ended up waiting in a long line. After check-in, we attended a quick 30-minute orientation introducing the cruise line and safety rules. That’s when I discovered that life jackets are stored in the lifeboats, not in the cabins like in Titanic! 🛟

It’s true that Titanic is the ultimate reference movie whenever you board a ship. In fact, access to the very front of the boat (the pointed bow) was blocked off. My guess? They didn’t want passengers trying to recreate that famous scene and pretending they were in the movie! 🎬🙋‍♀️

Gliding Past Breathtaking Views: Port Side Cabin Magic 🌊📸

Next, we checked out our cabin. I had read in an article that if your cabin is on the port side (the left side of the ship), the views are far better. I can officially confirm this is 100% true! 👌

At first, I thought an upper-deck cabin would be better. But in reality, being closer to the water worked out great—the cabin was well-designed and felt surprisingly spacious. The only minor downside? Being so close to the sea meant the splashing water made our porthole dirtier as the days went by, making photos a bit tricky! 💦

Port Calls: Faster Than Lightning! ⚡⏱️

Later, we attended an info session where they handed out our itinerary. Looking at the schedule, we were completely baffled: many stops were only 15 to 20 minutes long! 😳 We looked at each other in confusion, wondering how on earth we’d have time to visit anything.

I had imagined a Love Boat scenario—arriving in the morning, sightseeing all day, and sailing off in the evening. Turns out, not at all! Hurtigruten ships double as local ferries and supply vessels: they dock to pick up local passengers or drop off cargo. 📦🚢

It was fascinating and really fun to watch from the deck whenever we docked at a port… Except at night, of course, when the ship stopped at 2:00 or 3:00 AM and all we wanted to do was sleep in our awesome cabin! 😴

Final Thoughts: An Unforgettable Journey 🥳

All in all, this cruise was an incredible, memorable, and hilarious adventure. Everything was truly fantastic with Hurtigruten, and the smaller ship size kept things feeling wonderfully human. In fact, we’ve already planned to book another trip with the same company! 🤩

Next goal: avoid recreating the Titanic scene, cross our hearts as real cruisers! 🚢✨