In 2007, the company introduced the 318 berth, ice-rated MS Fram to its expeditionary fleet that offers cruises in the North- and South-Polar regions. It also debuted the first-of-its-kind itinerary—a 65-day longitudinal cruise from Reykjavik to Antarctica on the MS Fram with port calls in the UK, Canada and the US, and Central America. The ship then transits through the Panama Canal and sails along South America’s Pacific coast, visiting Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. The cruise will be repeated in fall 2008.
During Antarctica’s summer season (the Northern Hemisphere’s winter) from October to March, three Hurtigruten ships, including the Fram, sail to Chile and Argentina, the Falkland and Georgia Islands and Antarctica. Ranging from 13 to 21 days, the trips include a new 17-day itinerary that sails as far south as Marguerite Bay and a new 19-day sailing that combines the Falklands with Antarctica.
This winter Hurtigruten is also offering new itineraries such as the Northern Lights cruise for passengers wishing to experience the Aurora Borealis. Winter theme cruises are also being introduced—Bridge Players Cruise, Winter Digital Photography, Harmony at Sea Choral cruise and Watercolors and Art. Other unique itineraries include several Arctic-theme adventures ranging from ice-hotel stays to killer-whale safaris. New land explorations on the remote arctic island of Spitsbergen include an eight-day combination of Oslo and Longyearhen, a 13-day Dogsled Safari and a ten-day Snowmobile Safari.
During spring through fall, Hurtigruten offers ten-to-18-day land/sea combinations to allow travelers the option of doing their own sightseeing with the added convenience and cost savings air-inclusive cruise tours. In 2008, a 17-day escorted vacation that visits Russia’s St. Petersburg, Finland’s capital city of Helsinki, and the Sami region.
Other expeditionary sailings include 15-day expeditions between Iceland’s Reykjavik and southern Greenland; 12-day programs focusing on Greenland’s Disko Bay region, and 19-day itineraries exploring the west coast of the island, going as far as Storapaluk only 800 miles from the North Pole.