Our second boat transport starts in Bergen. We are taking the boat up the coast to our next destination; Ålesund. The cruise ships refer to this type of transport as port to port. These boats are a crossover between a ferry and a cruise ship, smaller in size, none of the fancy amenities found on a traditional cruise ship. There are 2 competing lines in Norway, Havila and Hurtigruten. We are on Havila for this leg. We arrived to the dock on a hot late afternoon day and could see the line out the terminal door from the distance. We queued for an hour before finally getting on board. You cannot enter the cabins until 6:00 pm so we enjoyed the great weather out on the decks.
The boat is very nice, a level above the Copenhagen ferry, nice decks, wide halls, no cattle call feeling on this boat. Our room is inside, handicapped assessable. Your choices on port to port are limited, this is a way for the cruise lines to fill all cabins so you are getting the bottom of the barrel. Note here, Janet as a lifetime business traveler has been required to stay in many, many handicapped assessable rooms (cost savings forced by corporate travel agencies) and she has grown to hate them, so lots of groans upon entry.
In comparison to the Copenhagen ferry, this is a nice ship, nice room and we had a good dinner with a super great staff member who provided Sweden travel tips (her native land). We both got a great night sleep, off to Ålesund.