Basics

Hurtigruten is a Norwegian company. Many of the expedition team are European, and the passengers are from all over the world (US, UK, Australia, Germany, Spain, China, India…). On this cruise, everything (announcements, schedules, menus, etc.) were in both English and German. The currency onboard (for extra excursions, the shop, or adult beverages) was Euros.

Activities

The days in Antarctica were long, with the first announcement usually sometime between 7a and 7:30a, and the last activities wrapping up at 10p or 10:30p. Meals were usually a ‘whenever you can fit them in’ kind of thing, as the activity schedule varied so that everyone got a chance at being first to land. 

I brought e-books to read and there were on demand movies on the TV, but I barely made any progress with one book and never watched movies. Besides the fact that you have Antarctica outside the window to keep you entertained, there are tons of lectures and activities. There’s also a pool, spa, gym, and the science center and lounge have tons of board/card games. If you get bored, that’s on you.

Dress Code

Everything onboard is very casual; there’s no dressing up for dinner or anything. Hurtigruten provides you with a waterproof jacket and boots. The ship is quite warm, so light clothes + warmer layers for the outdoors was best.

On one-stop days or two-stop days when we finished before dinner, I wore my thermal underwear between stops and then casual pants and a t-shirt when we were done. On two-stop days where we finished later, I wore my thermal underwear all day. Most people kept their Hurtigruten jacket handy whenever roaming the ship so they could go outside to take pictures whenever they wanted. On Drake crossing days, I was in a t-shirt and pants all day.

When going on a landing or cruising, sun vs. clouds and wind vs. no wind made a huge difference. Sitting still in a zodiac vs. hiking up a mountain also made a big difference. I would rather be a little bit cold than a lot hot, and had fleece lined thermal underwear so usually those and a waterproof layer were enough for landings or sunny cruising. Beforehand, I usually went on my balcony in just my thermal underwear to get a sense of the temperature (it was never below freezing during our week). I also always packed more/thicker layers in my backpack just in case.

Food 

Just because it was an expedition cruise didn’t mean they gave us cafeteria slop. The food was just as good as any main dining room meal on a regular cruise line. There were perhaps fewer options per meal than a larger ship, but no one went hungry.