Bergen's Funicular Railway

Day 1: Bergen Bergen is the bustling capital of Norway's fjord region. if you arrive a few hours before departure, stroll around the old wooden buildings in the Bryggen wharf and fish market, a remnant of Bergen's days as a leading port of the medieval Hanseatic League. For an unsurpassed view of Bergen, we ride the Fløibanen (cable railway) to the top of Mt. Flø, which stands 320 m (1050 ft) overlooking the city including the Bryggen. In travel's early days, it was easier to get from Bergen to the continent by sea than it was to get to Oslo—a fact apparent in the city's European-style architecture and culture. You board the Norwegian Coastal Voyage this evening. (Depart Bergen 10:30 p.m.)

Day 2: Maloy-Torvik-Alesund-Molde-Kristiansund When you awake, the ship will be crossing the stretch of open sea known as Stadthavet, heading for Torvik. Farther on, you'll stop in the beautiful Art Nouveau town of Alesund. After a call at Molde—its magnificent view of the Romsdal Alps made it a favorite vacation spot of famous Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen—the ship will carefully navigate the Hustadvika, a belt of islets and skerries, before docking at Kristiansund. Optional shore excursions available.

Trondheim Bridge

Day 3: Trondheim-Rorvik The ship arrives early this morning in ancient Trondheim, where you'll have time to explore this jewel of a city, Norway's first capital. (Did you know that the first sale of goods from the Vikings' "New Found Land," in North America, took place here around the year 1000? Timber from Leif Eriksson's Vinland estate was sold to a merchant from the German port of Bremen.) Walk the charming streets, sit by the peaceful harbor or cross the old city bridge to see the restored wooden buildings in Bakklandet and the great Gothic cathedral of Nidaros, where new kings of old Norway once received their official blessing. From Trondheim, the ship sails on to Rorvik, where the southbound and northbound coastal ships meet. Optional shore excursions available.

Navigating Raftsund Strait

Day 4: Ornes-Bodo-Stamsund-Svolvaer Today you'll cross the Arctic Circle. Of course, you can't actually see the imaginary line, but on our portside a globe on the island of Vikingen serves as a marker. As we sail northward, opportunities to see the awesome northern lights increase. Spectacular sights lie ahead, such as islands and skerries of majestic rock formations, their origins the stuff of legend. After Bodo, the ship heads out to open sea for the Lofoten Islands, with their picturesque cabins on stilts and weathered wooden racks of drying cod. In the evening, you'll navigate the narrow Raftsund Strait, passing the looming crags of the Trollfjord. Optional shore excursions available.

Tromso

Day 5: Harstad-Finnsnes-Tromso-Skjervoy This morning, you'll pass medieval Trondenes church before calling at Harstad for breakfast. Afterward, you'll sail across the Vagsfjord, past the great island of Senja with its diverse countryside of farmland, pine trees and plunging peaks. Later you'll stop at Tromso, the "Paris of the North." in the 19th century, Russian, British, Dutch, and German ships called here before heading off on Arctic expeditions for hunting whales, walruses, and seals. Optional shore excursions available.

North Cape

Days 6-7: Hammerfest-Havoysund-Honningsvag-Kjollefjord-Mehamn-Berlevag-Kirkenes Finnmark's landscape, austere in its beauty, teems with wildlife. Watch for rookeries of puffins and gannets along the cliffs, and pods of orca, or Killer whales, hunting for herring. After calling at Honningsvag, the capital of the north cape, the ship heads east toward the pretty fishing villages of Kjollefjord, Mehamn, and Berlevag. On the seventh day, you'll arrive at Kirkenes, the journey's northern terminus and turning point. (Arrive Kirkenes 10:00 a.m.) Optional shore excursions available for both days.