Hurtigruten Group has confirmed a resumption of all its ships, across Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norway, effective 1 June 2022 – the first time since March 2020. The announcement comes after the relaunch of MS Fridtjof Nansen last week, exclusively foreshadowed by LATTE Cruise.
Hurtigruten’s fleet are sailing with no capacity restrictions and robust forward bookings. For the 12-month period from Q2 2022 to Q1 2023, reservations are higher compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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Daniel Skjeldam, CEO Hurtigruten Group says that while the first quarter of 2022 was still heavily affected by the pandemic, countries in the Group’s key source markets and destinations have moved markedly closer towards normality.
“We have already made significant progress this year, with all our ships in Hurtigruten Norway back in operation, and Hurtigruten Expeditions’ MS Roald Amundsen, and MS Fram also successfully completing an Antarctica season.”
“As of May we are ahead of our pre-COVID-19 ticket sales for the coming quarters. From 1 June, all Hurtigruten Expeditions ships across the globe can finally offer unique adventures to our travellers without many restrictions.”
All restrictions on Hurtigruten Norway’s capacity were lifted in February, with a steady uptick in activity throughout the first quarter. Hurtigruten Expeditions also ended the quarter with all but two of its ships sailing, and Hurtigruten Svalbard set a new turnover record in March.
The Galapagos has recently been launched as Hurtigruten Expeditions’ newest adventure destination, and Hurtigruten Group has continued to develop its HQ2 in London.
Skjeldam forecasts a strong Q2.
“The outlook for the second quarter and beyond is very positive, considering everything we’ve been through over in recent years,” he said.
The CEO added; “This is mostly due to the resilience of our employees and engagement from our guests, who love our experiences. Although we’ve been tested, we are emerging from the pandemic in a strong position, with new investments and our eyes firmly fixed on the future.”
Hurtigruten Group has also continued to consolidate its position as industry leader in Environmental and Social Governance (ESG), with its annual ESG report released last month detailing the many milestones achieved by the cruise ship company in 2021, as well as its key targets and objectives going forward.
Most notable amongst these, in March Hurtigruten Norway announced the launch of Sea Zero, its partnership with leading research Norwegian-based organization, SINTEF, to develop the world’s first emission-free ships. At this stage, Hurtigruten is looking to sail its first emission-free Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express ship by 2030, an important step in the Group’s overarching strategy to become a zero-emission adventure travel company by 2050. In the interim, Hurtigruten Norway has also initiated one of Europe’s largest environmental ship upgrades, to be completed next year.
While there’s is no doubting that leading the cruise industry on sustainability and social responsibility is key to strengthening Hurtigruten Group’s competitive position globally, a belief in the importance of doing the right thing is the Group’s primary motivation.
“There’s no time to spare when it comes to building a sustainable, responsible, and exciting adventure travel industry for tomorrow – and that is our number one job today,” Skjeldam concluded.