I was so pleased to read your review. We have booked a cruise on the Harvey la cast store for May 2024. Very excited to return to Norway for the second time you are right nothing beats Norway.

Last March we took a trip on the Havila Castor from Bergen to Kirkenes and back. We have been on many cruise ships before but were immediately impressed with the Castor. It does not look or feel like a cruise ship. It feels like a home at sea. The relatively small size, the friendly crew and the layout of the ship give a very comfortable atmosphere.

There was no entertainment as such on the ship but we did not need it. The constantly chaging vistas and frequent stops meant that we were never bored.
We took a number of excursions and they were all very good. These included A tram ride in the snow in Trondheim, Visiting a Sami camp in Tromso, The Nordkapp (we had previouslydriven there one summer), The ice hotel in Kirkenes, a snowshoe excursion in Lofoten and a visit to a marble mine near
Kristiansund. We also made our own way to the aquarium in Alesund.

In your cabin you can press a button on the phone to get a call when there is
sighting of the Northern Lights. This is usually at an ungodly hour in the middle
of the night. If you get up you will find many other people wandering around the snow covered decks seeking the best view.

We tried the outdoor hot tubs which were surrounded by snow and were not that warm. I think that we were the only people that went in them and, for the latter part of the voyage they were not open.

During the trip we got to know the excursion team in the onboard shop very well and also many of the waiting staff. The lady from Tromso who ran the
cafe was also very pleasant.

Because the ship does not carry that many passengers getting off and on at
excursion stops was not a problem unlike big cruise ships where it can be a nightmare.

The surprising thing was the lack of Norwegian passengers. The majority of
people were German with some Americans, Australians and British.

Our overall impression of the ship, staff and voyage was very good. We would rate it as the best cruise that we have taken and recommend it in preference to
other Norwegian cruises that only call in at a few destinations.

As for the destination, nothing beats Norway!