More and more companies are offering circumnavigation cruises around Iceland: Viking, Windstar, Iceland ProCruises, Silversea, Seabourn, and more. But I just don’t think you can beet the value that Hurtigruten is offering right now.
First, let’s clarify the name. Iceland cruises are offered by Hurtigruten Expeditions, which operates separately from Hurtigruten. To make this clearer, Hurtigruten Expeditions is changing its name to HX. Here’s the new logo.
All cruises with HX have a lot of built in value:
- Free excursions in almost every port. These are mostly walking tours of the ports you’ll be in, and you’ll want to pay for upgraded excursions sometimes. But these are a nice option to have if you’re looking for a relaxed day. Here are some examples of the free excursions:
- (Cheap) alcohol is included with meals. So is WiFi, and so are gratuities. Windstar will charge you something like $89 a day per person to include all of these. HX does offer an upgraded drink package if you want more expensive alcohol.
- The sale prices for HX Iceland cruises are really really good. You’re not going to find a better price than this for a 9 day cruise around Iceland on a small ship:
(That’s the Black Friday sale for May 2024 cruises. The price is good through November 30, 2023.)
The cheapest price is only available for May cruises, which is a bit early for the Iceland cruising season; typically these cruises depart June through August. But late May is a perfect time to go: fewer tourists and you still get 24 hours of sunlight.
The ship for the May 2024 departures is the MS Fridtjof Nansen, which is new hybrid diesel / electric ship. It was named the “safest and most sustainable cruise ship in the world” in 2021.
The ship holds a maximum of 530 passengers, which is in the middle for these small ship cruises around Iceland. Local cruise line Iceland ProCruises only holds 164 people, whereas Viking holds over 800. Still, these numbers pale in comparison to large cruise ships, which can hold 2,000 people or more.
By the way, in the article I linked above, I said that Iceland ProCruises is the best value in Iceland cruises. I still think this is true given the size of the ship. But when Hurtigruten / HX runs a good sale, the price can be significantly less than Iceland ProCruises.
If you’re looking for a summer 2024 cruise around Iceland, we recommend booking with HX before November 30th to take advantage of their incredible Black Friday pricing!
Iceland Step by Step is a full-service travel agency that focuses exclusively on Iceland. We can help you choose the best Iceland cruise for your group. We can also help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars with our specialized advice on getting to and from the airport, third-party excursions, and custom pre- and post-cruise tours of Iceland.
Reach out if you’d like us to help you plan your Iceland cruise vacation (or Iceland non-cruise vacation!)
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