If you thought that a trip to Ikea would be the closest you'd ever come to a Scandinavian escape, take heart. Two giant, venerable, semi-public steamship lines of that prosperous, sophisticated area have announced major budget breakthroughs for enjoying their most attractive cities and sights this fall and winter.
Cabins are small but comfortable, each with a private bath.
Bergen has eliminated its normal single-person supplement for the entire period from Sept. 16 through April 15. Though the Bergen Line ships performing the Norwegian Coastal Voyage are, in several cases, brand new, the lower prices are for the older, smaller vessels. Ships cruise to the charming and busy town of Bergen, the jazz festival town of Molde, historic Trondheim, and up above the Arctic Circle past the gorgeous icescapes of the tiny coastal towns all the way to Kirkenes. Each Norwegian Coastal Voyage vessel serves an unusual combination of functions, providing a first-class cruise experience, carrying local passengers and cargo between ports and acting as a lifeline to remote coastal towns and villages. Though you might normally shy away from cruises, the itinerary for this trip is so unusual, the ships themselves so different from the usual glitzy floating hotels, and the experience you're likely to have so completely unrelated to anything you've heard about cruising, that you might want to give this a second glance.