Havila Voyages
Expedition Cruising
Havila is the fresh alternative to Hurtigruten on the Bergen-Kirkenes route, and their ships are genuinely stunning — modern Scandinavian design with the largest battery packs ever fitted to a passenger vessel. If sailing silently through a UNESCO fjord on zero emissions matters to you, this is the only real choice.
Havila Voyages is a family-owned Norwegian shipping company that launched in 2021 to operate the classic Bergen-Kirkenes coastal route alongside long-time incumbent Hurtigruten. Their four purpose-built ships — each around 15,800 gross tons carrying up to 650 passengers — were designed from the keel up with sustainability at their core. Powered by LNG and equipped with 6.1 megawatt-hour battery packs (the largest ever installed on passenger vessels), they can sail completely emission-free for up to four hours, switching to silent battery mode through UNESCO-listed fjords and near fragile coastal communities.
The onboard experience is distinctly modern Norwegian. Interiors are all clean lines, natural materials, and floor-to-ceiling glass that frames the ever-changing coastal scenery. Meals are served à la carte rather than buffet-style — a deliberate choice that has reduced food waste to a remarkable 70 grams per passenger, a fraction of the cruise industry average. The menu draws heavily on local Norwegian producers, and the overall feel is closer to a boutique hotel than a conventional cruise ship.
Havila sails the same legendary 2,500-nautical-mile route as Hurtigruten, calling at 34 ports between Bergen and Kirkenes, but the experience feels noticeably different. The ships are newer, quieter, and more intimate. There are no expedition teams or lecture programmes — instead, the emphasis is on personal discovery, wellness, and simply watching one of the world’s most spectacular coastlines unfold through those panoramic windows. Winter voyages bring Northern Lights hunting above the Arctic Circle, while summer sailings offer the endless daylight of the Midnight Sun.
For travellers who care about their environmental footprint without sacrificing comfort, Havila represents a genuinely pioneering option. The company is pushing toward fully climate-neutral operations by 2030, with plans already underway to replace fossil LNG with biogas across the fleet. It is a rare case where the sustainability credentials are not just marketing — they are engineered into every voyage.
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