Cruise ship detail that's the 'real star' of the show on arctic circle voyage

When you think of cruising, you're probably imagining cocktails by the pool, tropical destinations and sunset photos. 

But rather than soothing your sunburn, let's swap itineraries as we enjoy a cool climate cruise.

There are stunning fjords, whales breaching off the bow, the land of the midnight sun and so much more.

READ MORE: What it was really like visiting famous site along Italy's coastline

MS TROLLFJORD

Our home for the next week is the MS TROLLFJORD, the flagship of Hurtigruten's Signature Voyages.

Our cruise is The Svalbard Line - North, taking us from Bergen to Svalbard, where there are more polar bears than people.

The ship comfortably takes 500 passengers and 75 crew.

READ MORE: Budget-friendly way to explore bustling Asian hotspot

View gallery

These are the biggest cruise ships in the world right now

There are nine levels (seven are passenger accessible), but you'll spend most of your time on levels 5 (restaurants and shop), level 8 (the lounge/bar and fine dining restaurant) and level 9 (the top deck).

THE CABINS

The MS TROLLFJORD has everything from cozy inside cabins to elegant suites.

We are staying on level 8 in a Grand Suite. Swipe your card on the door and you'll never want to leave! It's old-world charm with modern amenities.

The cabin is approx 31-37m2, so very spacious. There's a small walk-in robe and a bathroom with an actual bath! A rare find on a cruise line. The double bed is a cloud of pillows and quilts. The Scandinavian's really have it worked out with the single quilts for each person. You've got two plasmas tvs, a lounge, mini bar that's restocked daily and more storage than we could possibly use.

But the real star here … two armchairs sitting at an expansive bay window… so you watch Norway go by. This is truly luxury cruising, and we spend many hours here just watching.

THE RESTAURANTS

The ship has three dining options, all of them distinctly Norwegian in taste and flavour. Be sure you bring your appetite and a sense of adventure because this is fine dining at a new level.

Flora is the main dining room where you'll come for buffet breakfasts and a la carte lunches and dinner. Norwegians love their porridge so be sure to try that with local berries.

Lunch and dinner for us starts with warm soups, the salted pork knuckle soup is a highlight. Fresh seafood is raved about especially the halibut. You can indulge in three courses or just one. You choose your pace and your palette.

Brasserie Arran serves traditional Nordic cuisine with a modern flare. Here we feasted on Coastal Brown Crab Cakes or the Hurtigruten Coastal salad for starters. We got adventurous with a main course of Braised Reindeer Shank and Smoked Reindeer Souva served on polarbread with lingonberry aioli.

Be sure to leave enough room for the Norwegian doughnut fingers with chocolate sauce and strawberry jam for dessert. This is a great place to come for a casual lunch too. I can recommend the Chopped Steak Burger with a hint of spice thanks to the mustard bbq sauce. 

Suite guests can also dine at Rost (non-suite guests can pay an additional fee) - Hurtigruten's arctic fine dining restaurant. Famed for its five-course dinners with matching wines, the only thing better than the food here is the staff.

Lead by restaurant manager Dan, the team here including Tina and William are warm, knowledgeable and willing to share their lives and love of Norway with passengers. It's hard to pick a winner as breakfast, lunch and dinner here are all a standout affair. The eggs Benedict, of course, for breakfast. The delicate venison and mushroom soup for lunch.

The dinners you simply must experience for yourself. But when you begin with Havets Bobler, a cuvée that's aged beneath the Norwegian Sea and end with Cloudberry krumkake, you know you have experienced fine dining at its best. More than that, it's black-tie food without being forced to wear the attire yourself.

And before we move on from food, we need to talk about brunost. Where have you been all my life. Brunost, literally brown cheese, is a Norwegian staple and my new obsession. 

It's like caramel and cheese together in one taste sensation. You eat it sliced on bread with strawberry jam. It's an ice cream, It's a cocktail. In short, I am moving to Norway. 

BAR 1893

More than just a bar, this is the heart of MS TROLLFJORD. A meeting place for coffee, cocktails, piano music and perhaps a bit of trivia. Unsurprisingly, I am going to recommend the Brown Cheese cocktail here, but there's a beer, wine and cocktail list here that you'll need more than a week to get through.

There's smoke filled domes and flowers delicately trapped in giant ice cubes. The Multe Sour was a daily evening treat.

And it's here you'll find the most popular person on the ship, Bar Manager Rasmus. By the end of the cruise, he feels like a personal friend. 

THINGS TO KNOW

A cruise of this kind is made more enjoyable by knowing what to expect.

There are daily gatherings to take you through the next day's port. There's a lecture hall where you can attend classes on wildlife or photography, cooking demonstrations with cuisine tasting on the top deck and informative movies and documentaries.

Be sure to get up on the top deck when you cross the Arctic Circle too.

It's such a once in a lifetime experience, especially if you are brave enough for the tradition of getting a cold shot of water down your back! I wasn't. 

THE PORTS

On The Svalbard Line we stop in seven ports. You'll get several hours at each stop to stroll, shop and get a taste of Norwegian life. 

From the tiny fishing village of Traena to the iconic Reine at the tip of the Lofoten Islands .. and the cosmopolitan Tromso.

If you want to really immerse yourself, book a shore excursion. We rode gondolas and e-bikes and kayaked through fjords that make you feel like you're in a Lord Of The Rings movie.  

If you don't want the experience to end - I highly recommend extending your stay in the final port of Longyearbyen, Svalbard for a couple of days.

We visit in Polar Summer when the sun never sets over the green and brown mountains that rise up from the Arctic.

We hugged huskies, who are giant sooks who just want a belly rub, and watched glaciers calve while sipping hot blackcurrant juice, a local favourite. I didn't quite spot a polar bear, but that just makes me want to come back again.

KEEP MOVING

With all the food options onboard, you will want to get moving too. There's a walking track for you on deck six, a small gym and sauna … or just take it easy and kick back in a deck chair and a warm jacket on level 9. You can't beat the view.

Everything on Hurtigruten is done with Norwegian precision and accuracy. Nothing runs late, everything is as it says it will be, if not better.

So put down the frozen cocktail and swap it for a frozen adventure instead.

This writer was a guest of Hurtigruten.