A few years ago, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) launched a memorable advertisement: “Navigators of the world since it was . . . flat.”
That put the matter neatly: The Vikings and their fellow Scandinavians have been going down to the sea in ships for more than a thousand years. Yet to many Americans cruising has seemed synonymous with a search for the sun: in the Caribbean, Hawaii and the South Pacific, the Greek Isles or the Mediterranean.
Now think Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
It’s different up there at the top of Europe. Instead of sunny beaches, you find scintillating old cities. Rather than shopping for beads and bikinis, you check out cashmeres and crystal.
One of the joys of meeting Scandinavians in their own watery back yard is their beguiling variety, and almost all of them speak English.
The Danes are the jesters of the group. A Dane told the story of international zoologists who were asked to prepare theses on elephants. The Swede wrote “Titles To Use in Addressing Elephants.” The Dane contributed “100 Ways To Prepare Elephant for the Smorrebrod.” The Norwegian version was “Norway and the Norwegians” (it always is). The Finn came up with “Elephants and the Sauna.” (Pressed, the Dane admitted the American title was “How To Raise Bigger and Better Elephants.”)
The Scandinavians share several seas, all aswarm with ships: the North Sea west of Denmark; the Skagerrak and Kattegat north and east of Denmark, west of Sweden and south of Norway; the Norwegian Sea and its famous fiords along the western coast of Norway; the Baltic Sea east of Sweden, and its two great arms, the Gulf of Finland (south of Finland to Russia) and the Gulf of Bothnia (between Sweden and Finland).
The classic, incomparable Scandinavia sailing is that called the North Cape Cruise. It can depart from Copenhagen or Oslo or Bergen (or even London) and go (depending on your desires and line itineraries) only as far north as Trondheim or beyond the Arctic Circle to Tromso and Hammerfest. The longer the better: Round the North Cape itself and call at Kirkenes on the border of the former Soviet Union or even in Murmansk (Russia) on the Barents Sea. Each summer, several ships call farther north at Spitsbergen near the Arctic Ocean (among them, in July, the Royal Viking Sun).
It is the blessed warming of the Gulf Stream that keeps these seas comfortable: Even on the serene, windswept North Cape, summer temperatures rarely call for more than a heavy sweater and/or waterproof jacket.
I have cruised this coast in all-suite elegance and aboard an old coastal steamer that carried mail and cargo and, oh yes, an afterthought of passengers. Either way, it’s a trip. Peaks poke up from deep sea, pointed as the spine of a dinosaur, separated by chill and ice-green fiords. Between the first familiar cities and the last, the names of the ports (34 of them via the postal steamers) sound a Viking siren song. They are names to lift a cup of mead to: Torvik and Molde, Bodo and Honningsvag, Vardo and Vadso and Kirkenes.
Aboard the most sybaritic ships, you’ll live for two weeks or so in Valhalla, with nightly feasts (smoked salmon a la russe with blinis for starters and cloudberries for dessert), champagne parties in on-deck hot tubs as stars glitter down on the Arctic Circle, the ancient, serrated “wall” of the Lofoten archipelago easing past your picture window.
On the coastal steamers, dressing and dining are more informal, cabins are cozy and sensible rather than grand and there’s no shopping mall, but the welcome is warm and traditional and dinner often comes straight from the sea to the table.
Today, Bergen Line operates 11 vessels, some “traditional” (fairly simple, but all rebuilt and modernized within the last six or seven years); others new (with showers and toilets in all cabins).
The choice of ship is yours: I suggest you study the matter with a travel agent, matching comfort to cost, seasonal availability and length of voyage. You can board at any port and cruise for three, four or five days, but I highly recommend the round trip of 11-12 days. (A wonder: These daring denizens operate every day of the year. Their common name-that applied to all 11 ships-is Hurtigruten. A 15-day air/sea voyage with 12 days along the coast is available out of New York with Bergen Lines.)
Shore excursions: Are these trips really necessary? Unfortunately, I must cite that old truism: It depends. The coastal steamers call at 34 ports in 11-12 days and conduct excursions when the number of passengers warrants it. The luxury liners call at from five to seven, 11, or 21 ports on voyages lasting from a week to three weeks or so. Shore excursions are offered in all ports, and they usually are fairly costly.
Here are some highly personal observations.
1. If it’s your first call in a major port (Oslo or Stockholm, say), a city overview in a tour bus usually is worth the time and money, if only because it will help you to learn what you will want to see in greater depth the next time around.
2. If you’ve visited the city before, you should do better on your own. Take a bus or taxi or even walk to whatever interests you: Oslo’s Munch Museum or Copenhagen’s Tivoli, for instance. You also will have time to take a meal in a local restaurant and to people-watch, which is what makes most cities interesting.
3. In a city such as Stavanger, where the ship docks in the heart of town, an excursion is merely an annoyance. You can see all the main sites on foot and enjoy that I’ve-been-let-out-of-school independence. (Tour cost here was $24; skip it.)
4. If a specially arranged opportunity is offered, take it. Bergen proper can be seen on foot, but I’ll never forget or regret the short excursion into its countryside near Troldsalen, where pianist Andun Kayser interpreted a lovely Grieg nocturne in the rain-fragrant woods that surround the composer’s home.
5. The essence of the Norwegian coast is its spectacular scenery. Jump at every opportunity to take a train ride or a bus trip to the top of a fiord-encircled peak. For instance, Flam is a toy of a town, the terminus of the cork-screwing Flam Railway, which climbs to Myrdal station through 20 tunnels and 12.5 miles of high-country beauty that would dizzy the eye of an eagle. The Flam River, white as whipped cream, plunges over a precipice; the train hugs cliffs; after lunch in a cozy aerie, you twist down the Stalheimsk leivene (Europe’s steepest road) to Gudvangen ferry port and your waiting ship. It’s a dazzler of a day. (The total cost was $95; worth every cent.)
Tromso (population 15,000) is the world’s largest city north of the Arctic Circle but quite adequately can be explored on foot. Take a taxi to the Arctic Cathedral, a triumph that echoes in architecture the shapes and strength of pack ice. If a trip is offered to the Skibotn Northern Lights Observatory for the 45-minute Cinema 360 look at the semi-dark world of Tromso’s winter, however, go.
6. Bergen Line’s steamers call at many ports that are little more than dogholes (i.e., have only enough space for a dog to turn around in). In such cases, tours are simply silly. Ask the purser or one of his crew; they’ll tell you so. (Don’t book tours on these vessels in advance. Let your whim and the ports dictate at the last minute.)
The Baltic and beyond
There are more ships going to and fro in the Baltic than there are night club girls in Copenhagen. Almost 50 complete cruises are scheduled for 1993, ranging from two to 24 days. Seventy-seven shipping companies operate within Scandinavia, 11 of them with representatives in the United States. One country alone-Denmark-maintains 47 regular ferry crossings within its own country, eight to Germany, one to Poland, eight to Sweden, six to Norway and two to Great Britain.
With so many choices, how does one begin?
First, do you seek the unmatched luxury and the American-oriented cuisine, entertainment and service of a top international line? At least eight of them will put ships in the Baltic this spring, summer and early autumn.
Or, second, would you like to experience a more regional line, as accustomed to these crystalline waters as a Norseman to aquavit? Some of their ships are smaller, more intimate and just as stylish as their more famous cousins; they usually highlight Scandinavian or north European cooking. Others are sleek giants: Consider the brand-new, 3,000-passenger Europa of Silja Line that began Helsinki-Stockholm service in March. (To repeat: There is almost never an English language problem in Scandinavia-certainly not with the crew and staffs of ships.)
Major lines operating seasonal cruises in these waters in 1993 include Classical Cruises (Baltic Sea), Crystal Cruises (Norwegian Sea), Cunard (Baltic, Norwegian Seas), Paquet French Cruises (Baltic, Norwegian Seas), Renaissance Cruises (Baltic Sea), Royal Cruise Line (Baltic, Norwegian Seas), Royal Viking (Baltic, Norwegian Seas) and Seabourn (Baltic, Norwegian Seas). Several of the ships begin and/or end their trips in London, across the North Sea.
When considering international lines, I’d look first at their itineraries. Classical Cruises’ Aurora I, for instance, is emphasizing “new” destinations such as Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia in addition to the historic Hanseatic port of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland (an irresistible little place), St. Petersburg (the great Hermitage museum awaits) and the capital cities of Stockholm and Helsinki.
Various Cunard cruises add such Baltic ports as the Danish island of Bornholm and Germany’s Hamburg (a splendid, aristocratic city despite its raffish reputation). North Coast cruises originate in Southampton.
Royal Cruise Line puts the Crown Odyssey in Baltic waters for two similar itineraries: London-Copenhagen with calls in Amsterdam; Warnemuende, Germany (tour to reunited Berlin); overnight in St. Petersburg and stops in all four Scandinavian capitals.
Royal Viking Line’s smart Sun and small, elegant Queen will cruise in Baltic waters, adding to the usual ports of call Szczecin (optional trip to Berlin) and Gdansk (Gdynia), both in Poland, and Visby, Sweden (a fine addition to any itinerary).
Among its other offerings, Seabourn Pride combines the Baltic and the Norwegian coastal cruise in a special, 28-day voyage called Journeys of the Norsemen (July 5-Aug. 2).
The regional ships that make waves are the vessels of Bergen Line, foremost supplier of passenger ship services in all northern Europe. In addition to the fleet that makes the Norwegian coastal voyages, they operate the six floating hotels of Silja Line (including the aforementioned Europa); the six ferry-cruisers of Color Line between England and Germany to Norway and the seven ships of Scandinavian Seaways that provide daily downtown arrivals and departures in Oslo and Copenhagen and also connect England, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland and Germany. In addition, Bergen’s Konstantin Simonov makes four-day cruises between Helsinki and St. Petersburg, and the Ilich sails six-day voyages between Stockholm and St. Petersburg and three-day ones between Stockholm and Riga.
The old-time ferry tales are no longer true. Ships of the new generation are no longer transport ferries but “combo cruisers” that, according to Bergen’s president Kristin Demetriou, combine freight, passengers and cars on competitive, profitable runs.
Consider the Silja Symphony and Europa (Stockholm-Helsinki) and Silja Serenade (Stockholm-Turku), each of which has a variety of restaurants, health spas, entertainment and shopping. All the comforts of a cruise are offered in one overnight, while traveling from one country to another in a floating hotel with prices starting at $150.
Despite that most of Color Line’s sailings are only overnighters, its 1992 flagship, the Prinsesse Ragnhild (with 1,875 passengers) carries a conference center for 400 people, a two-deck entertainment center, a shopping center and restaurants, a pub, bistro and cafe.
A Finnish entry in the luxury race is the year-old, intimate Kristina Regina operated by EuroCruises. This summer she will make 11-day Baltic States cruises, focusing on ports in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the picturesque Hanseatic walled city of Lubeck in Germany and several other little-visited cities.
EuroCruises sends various ships on Scandinavian itineraries from two days Helsinki-Visby to 17 days on the North Cape cruise and 24 days from London to Moscow via Sweden.
One of the most unusual and popular cruises in the region is that through the Gota Canal across Sweden between Stockholm and Goteborg. This is a four-day sailing through one of Europe’s most remarkable waterways aboard turn-of-the-century steamers that transport 60 passengers in cozy charm.
Lecture circuit
In recent years, “enrichment” programs and thorough port lectures have become increasingly common, especially aboard liners carrying a high percentage of North American passengers. Royal Viking stands out in this respect, with its World Affairs Program carried out by Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, as well as discussions of the aquatic world by expedition members of the Cousteau Society.
Classical Cruises were created for in-depth educational voyaging. All cruises present a program of slide-illustrated lectures by guest experts, covering current and historical interests in ports of call.
Royal Cruise Line takes a different tack. All 1993 sailings include the New Beginnings series of motivational lectures designed to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being.
In general, instructional programs on board Bergen Line and other regional lines are limited to what is offered during shore excursions. Most sailings are too short to provide time for extended on-board programs; on North Cape cruises (which originated as cargo-mail sailings), lectures never have become a tradition.
Some numbers for northbound sailors
For more information on ships contact a travel agent.
Some helpful addresses for cruising Scandinavian waters:
Scandinavian Tourist Board, 655 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017; 212-949-2333.
Bergen Line, 505 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017-4983; 212-691-2099. (Also for Baltic Express, Color Line, Gota Canal, Silja.)
EuroCruises, 303 W. 13th St., New York, N.Y.; 212-691-2099.
Scandinavian Seaway, Cypress Creek Business Park, 6555 N.W. 9th Ave., Suite 207, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 33309; 800-533-3755 or 305-491-7909.
