Hurtigruten Launches Culinary-Themed Itineraries Showcasing the Best of Norway’s Food and Beverage

Thursday, May 01, 2025 0

Hurtigruten, the iconic leader in Norwegian coastal voyages, announces a new culinary and drink-themed itinerary launching this September. The seven-day voyage includes three nights onboard the Original Coastal Express from Bergen to Stamsund, two nights at partner farms in Lofoten and Vesterålen, and one night at a distillery by Lyngen Fjord in northern Norway.

Following widespread acclaim for its Norway’s Coastal Kitchen program – including its most recent recognition as one of Food & Wine’s 2025 Global Tastemakers and winning Most Sustainable F&B Programme Award at Seatrade, the world’s largest annual cruise event – Hurtigruten has curated new small-group departures set for September 21, October 5, October 19, and November 2, 2025.

“More and more foodie travellers are discovering Norway, and Hurtigruten offers some of the freshest produce you can eat on a ship thanks to our 70+ partners along the coastline. So, it was a natural evolution for us to create small group itineraries to run just a few times a year, where our guests can enjoy truly the best of what Norway has to offer when it comes to food and drinks,” said Øistein Nilsen, Hurtigruten’s Culinary Director.

The new voyages deliver a premium gastronomic experience highlighting Norway’s exceptional coastal flavours. Beginning in Bergen, during the first three days guests will savour a fresh shellfish platter from the local fjords, enjoy a tasting session at the women-owned Feddie Ocean Distillery, a five-course tasting menu featuring fjord and mountain produce, a Trøndelag-inspired lunch, and a four-course Sámi dinner crafted by Sámi Culinary Ambassador Máret Rávdná Buljo. Guests will also sample Hurtigruten’s unique “Bubbles of the Sea” sparkling wine, matured for twelve months deep beneath the Arctic Sea.

After three nights onboard, guests disembark in Stamsund for a farm-to-table dinner and tour at Myklevik Gård, Hurtigruten’s partner in its zero edible food waste initiative. The journey continues with a seaweed lunch at Lofoten Seaweed, whose products are featured in many dishes onboard, and an overnight stay at Kvitnes Gård, where Hurtigruten Culinary Ambassador Halvar Ellingsen presents a 17-course tasting menu.

On day six, the group travels north to Aurora Spirit Distillery, the world’s northernmost whisky distillery, for a private tour, cask tastings, and a whisky-paired three-course dinner before retiring to fjord-side cabins. The final day concludes in Tromsø with a visit to Mack Brewery, a Hurtigruten partner for over 120 years, featuring a brewery tour, beer tasting, and a lunch showcasing Hurtigruten’s new Signature bread made from Mack’s spent grain – another example of the cruise line’s focus on sustainability.

“At Hurtigruten, we design journeys that nourish both body and spirit. These new culinary voyages are a fusion of innovation and tradition, where guests don’t just taste the Norwegian coast, they connect with it. By connecting our guests with the people and places behind Norway’s rich flavours, we turn meals into memories, destinations into relationships, and travel into transformation. Our guests crave meaning in their journeys—and that’s exactly what these voyages deliver,” said André Pettersen, Hurtigruten’s Chief Product and Hotel Officer.

In peak season, up to 80% of Hurtigruten’s onboard food is sourced locally along the Norwegian coast, while 60% of 154 drink products year-round, supporting over 70 farms, fisheries, bakeries, butchers, cheesemakers, and distilleries through its Norway’s Coastal Kitchen network.