Signature Voyages · 15 Days · With Tom Kerss
The all-inclusive North Cape Line from Oslo, with Hurtigruten's Chief Aurora Chaser Tom Kerss on board throughout, lecturing on the night sky and leading exclusive excursions in Tromsø and Alta. Sailing in the depth of the Northern Lights season.
15 Days · 14 Nights · Oslo to Honningsvåg to Oslo
This voyage is the Signature North Cape Line in full, sailing all-inclusive aboard MS Trollfjord from Oslo, out along the coast to Honningsvåg and the North Cape, and back. What sets these particular sailings apart is Tom Kerss, Hurtigruten's Chief Aurora Chaser, who is on board for the entire voyage.
Tom's programme runs to eight lectures and two masterclasses over the fortnight, covering the aurora, the wider night sky and how to photograph both, alongside exclusive shore visits in Tromsø and Alta built specifically around the Northern Lights. It is the North Cape Line's usual comfort and pace, with a proper explanation of what you are looking at laid on top.
Two departures in 2027, 12 and 26 March · Northern Lights Promise included
The Promise
This voyage qualifies. Sail during the auroral season, between 20 September and 31 March, on a voyage of 11 days or more, and if the Northern Lights do not occur within sight of the ship, Hurtigruten will give you a 6 or 7 day northbound or southbound voyage free of charge. At 15 days, this sailing is comfortably covered.
The free voyage is a 6 or 7 day northbound or southbound sailing on a half board basis; flights and any additional meals are not included. For new bookings only and not combinable with other offers. See special offers for full conditions.
Your Astronomer
Tom Kerss is an astronomer, astrophotographer, author and consultant, and holds the title of Chief Aurora Chaser for Hurtigruten. He sails with this voyage throughout, running a programme of lectures on the aurora and the wider night sky, alongside masterclasses in aurora photography and aurora forecasting, so you leave understanding not just what you saw but why and when it happens.
Beyond the lecture theatre, Tom leads the exclusive shore excursions built into this voyage: a visit to the Arctic University Museum of Norway and the planetarium in Tromsø, and a call at the Northern Lights Cathedral and the aurora research site at Bossekop in Alta. Both are included in the fare, not optional add-ons.
Departures & Fares
All prices are in pounds per person, based on two people travelling together and sharing a twin cabin, voyage only. Both departures sail aboard MS Trollfjord with Tom Kerss on board throughout. The from price is the cheapest fare available on that sailing; as cabins book up the price rises, so booking early pays on a voyage this popular.
| Departure date | Ship | Astronomer | Polar Inside | Polar Outside | Arctic Superior | Expedition Suites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 March 2027 | MS Trollfjord | Tom Kerss | from £3,905 | from £4,449 | from £6,368 | Call |
| 26 March 2027 | MS Trollfjord | Tom Kerss | from £3,905 | from £4,449 | from £6,368 | Call |
Not all cabin categories are available on every departure. Prices may change at any time prior to booking, and the applicable price is quoted at the time of booking. Call 0333 405 0194 to check current availability for your preferred date.
Your Fare
As a Signature, all-inclusive voyage, this fare covers considerably more than the Original Coastal Express. Everything below is included regardless of which cabin category you choose; only the cabin or suite itself changes the price.
| What's included | |
|---|---|
| Astronomy on board | |
| Eight lectures and two masterclasses Talks on the aurora and the night sky, plus masterclasses in aurora photography and aurora forecasting, led by Tom Kerss | Included |
| Exclusive excursion in Tromsø A guided visit to the Arctic University Museum of Norway and Tromsø's planetarium | Included |
| Exclusive excursion in Alta A visit to the aurora research site at Bossekop and the Northern Lights Cathedral | Included |
| Food and drink on board | |
| All-inclusive dining Breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner throughout the voyage | Included |
| Unlimited selected drinks Selected beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks during open hours | Included |
| Accommodation on board | |
| Cabin or suite selection Choose the location and grade of your cabin or suite from four categories | Included |
| Life on board | |
| Signature Expedition Team On board and ashore, in addition to Tom Kerss's own programme | Included |
| Access to the Photo Programme and app Share photographs with fellow passengers and enter the daily competitions | Included |
Not included: flights and airport transfers unless booked as a package, travel insurance, optional shore excursions beyond those listed above, gratuities and luggage handling. You can arrange travel insurance online here, and it is a condition of booking that every passenger has cover in force.
Your Voyage
Fifteen days and thirteen ports, with two full days set aside for Tom Kerss's exclusive shore programme in Tromsø and Alta. Optional excursions beyond those two are listed under each day and are booked and paid for separately.
Day 1
Ports today · Oslo
The voyage begins in Oslo, and Tom Kerss is on board from the start. The first evening's talk sets out the fortnight ahead: what the aurora is, why this particular route and season give such good odds of seeing it, and what the lecture and masterclass programme will cover as you sail north.
Ports today · Stavanger
The ship's first call is Stavanger, a city built on oil money but proud of a much older story: the old town's white timber houses and, on the waterfront, the striking sword monument commemorating the battle that first united Norway. It is an easy town to explore on foot in the hours ashore.
Day 3
Ports today · Ålesund
Ålesund burned to the ground in a single night in January 1904 and was rebuilt at speed in the Art Nouveau style then in fashion, which is why the whole town centre matches. The climb up Mount Aksla is the classic view, and the harbour brewery a good reward for making it.
Ports today · Rørvik
A small fishing town on the Helgeland coast, and a reminder of how many of these ports exist because Hurtigruten calls at them rather than the other way round. The surrounding islets and skerries are worth a look from the deck as the ship approaches.
Ports today · Svolvær
The Lofoten Wall fills the horizon as the ship reaches Svolvær, the archipelago's largest town and a working base for the region's cod fishery. By now you are well inside the auroral zone, and if the sky is clear Tom Kerss and the Expedition Team will be out on deck after dark.
Ports today · Stokmarknes
Stokmarknes is where Richard With founded the Coastal Express in 1893, and the Hurtigruten Museum on the waterfront is built around the fully restored MS Finnmarken of 1952, preserved whole inside a glass hall. It is a fitting stop the night before the astronomy programme's centrepiece.
Day 7
Ports today · Tromsø
The first of the two exclusive excursions built into this voyage. In Tromsø you visit the Arctic University Museum of Norway and the city's planetarium, the northernmost in the world and the largest in Norway, with Tom Kerss leading the visit. Tromsø has earned its place in this story many times over: Amundsen recruited crew and loaded stores here, and much of the aurora research your lecturer draws on was carried out in this town and the mountains around it.
Day 8
Ports today · Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg is the port for the North Cape, and the ship gives you a full day here, in keeping with the Signature voyage's slower pace. The plateau stands some 300 metres above the Barents Sea at 71 degrees north; under the winter sky it is snow, rock and a very large sky, and statistically some of the best odds of the whole voyage for the aurora.
Day 9
Ports today · Alta
The second exclusive excursion. In Alta you visit Bossekop, a site with a long history of aurora observation and research, and the Northern Lights Cathedral, a striking spiral of a building where architecture and astronomy come together. Both are led by Tom Kerss as part of the fare, not booked separately.
Ports today · Narvik
A town framed by mountains and by history: the War Museum covers its pivotal role in 1940, and the cable car up Narvikfjellet gives sweeping views back over the fjord. This is also the turning point of the voyage, as the ship begins working its way south again.
Ports today · Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes sits beneath the Romsdal Alps, among the steepest mountain walls in Norway, with the Trollstigen road switchbacking up into them above the town. It is a dramatic contrast to the open coastline further north.
A day southbound along the coast
A day without a scheduled call, and a good one for catching up on Tom Kerss's lecture programme or simply watching the coastline slide past. The last of the astronomy masterclasses is typically timed for around this point in the voyage.
Ports today · Bergen
Bergen, hemmed by seven mountains, with the UNESCO listed Bryggen wharf leaning over the quayside and a fish market at the head of the bay. The Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen is the classic way to see the whole layout at once.
Ports today · Kristiansand
Norway's southernmost city of any size, laid out on a strict grid by King Christian IV in the 17th century. It is a gentler landscape than the Arctic ports further north, and a sign that the voyage is nearly home.
Ports today · Oslo
The ship returns to Oslo and the voyage ends where it began, fifteen days and thirteen ports later, with two exclusive excursions, eight lectures and two masterclasses behind you, and a considerably better understanding of the Northern Lights than you arrived with.
More Information
To book the Astronomy Cruise with Tom Kerss, or to check current availability for either 2027 departure, call 0333 405 0194.
