[Nordic 15-Day Free & Easy Trip] Day 8: Sailing from North Cape to Tromsø, stopping at Hammerfest, experiencing a sauna, and getting seasick

Table of Contents Trip Overview Trip Preparation Sailing from North Cape to Tromsø Morning Rocking and the Onboard Breakfast Experience Hammerfest: Snow, a Church, and the Polar Bear Club A Seasick Afternoon: The Price of the Sauna and Writing Checking Out After Dinner, Waiting to Arrive at the Capital of the Northern Lights Arriving in Tromsø: Settling into a Small Apartment Late at Night Trip Summary & Other Nordic Travel Diaries I. Trip Overview Today is our last day aboard the coastal cruise, sailing all the way from the North Cape (Nordkapp) to the important Arctic city of Tromsø. Along the way, we made a brief stop at Hammerfest, Norway's northernmost town, and explored the local Polar Bear Club there. Today's onboard life included: ✅ Enjoying a hearty breakfast and buffet lunch ✅ A sauna experience on board ✅ A bout of seasickness caused by rough seas and heavy swells 🤢 ✅ Arrived in Tromsø late at night, officially entering the "Capital of the Northern Lights" 2. Trip Preparation 1. Transportation: HAVILA Cruise Men's cabin type: no window, bunk beds, cost 6,800 TWD/person Women's cabin type: with window, two single beds, cost 11,000 TWD/person Booking website: HAVILA official website 2. Accommodation: Apartment in the heart of Tromsø (Airbnb) Location: about a 20-minute walk from the pier, but not very convenient if you have luggage. Room condition: small and cramped, but fully furnished. Price: 8,400 TWD per night, which is cheap for Tromsø. Overall rating: average, not particularly recommended.

III. Sailing from North Cape to Tromsø Morning Rocking and the Onboard Breakfast Experience In the early morning, the cruise ship kept gently rocking, casting a hypnotic kind of spell. Even though we'd already napped several times the day before, it still felt especially cozy to stay in bed a little longer. Breakfast was served from 7:00 to 9:30, and we agreed to meet at 8:00 to go eat together. The breakfast quality on the HAVILA cruise was quite good, combining a la carte ordering with a self-serve buffet, offering plenty of choices: Hot dishes (scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon) Cold cuts (cheese, ham, smoked fish) Bread and fresh fruit

Over the two days and two nights of this cruise, we had 2 lunches, 2 dinners, and 1 breakfast in total, and given Norway's high prices, an average of NT$6,800 per person was actually a great deal. Hammerfest: Snow, a Church, and the Polar Bear Club After breakfast, we sat in the ship's lounge chatting. It was a leisurely stretch of time, and everyone's pace slowed along with the ship's speed. At eleven in the morning, the cruise docked at Hammerfest — one of the northernmost cities in the world. We had one hour ashore in Hammerfest, so we quickly disembarked to explore the little town. Thick snow blanketed the whole town, filling it with a wintry atmosphere. Looking at the city's emblem, its character here seems tied to glaciers, seafaring, and polar bears.

It was only after checking afterward that I learned there aren't actually real polar bears here, but there is a "The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society," a small museum-and-club dedicated to promoting the culture and history of the Arctic region. We happened to visit a local exhibition hall there, which displayed the history of polar expedition teams, along with specimens of polar bears and other Arctic animals.

We also discovered a uniquely designed church in the small town, with an artwork of Jesus outside made entirely of mosaic tiles. There wasn't much time, so after a quick look we hurried back to the ship.

A dizzy afternoon: the price of sauna and writing We got back to the cruise ship a bit past lunchtime, but the friendly crew still let us into the restaurant to eat, and this meal was again the à la carte plus buffet format. After eating, Meow and I decided to try out the ship's sauna.

To be honest, the sauna on this ship wasn't very hot, but the whole process was fairly complete. After one round of steaming, we went out to the outdoor pool to cool off, but since the pool water wasn't very warm either, going back into the sauna to heat up again was especially torturous.

However, at three o'clock that afternoon, I made a bad decision — I went up to the top deck of the cruise ship to write while enjoying the ocean view. The wind and waves were quite strong at the time, and the ship was rocking violently. I was so focused on my phone screen that I didn't even realize I was already seasick 🤢 As soon as I felt unwell, I rushed back to my room to rest, but even standing on the deck to get some fresh air didn't help. In the end, I took A Cat's advice to "just go throw up," and sure enough, I felt a lot better afterward. My body felt much lighter, so I lay down to rest and recover my energy. After dinner, I checked out and waited to arrive at the Aurora Capital. At six-thirty, I dragged my exhausted body out of bed. Thankfully the seasickness had worn off, and I was able to eat dinner normally. My travel companion A-Juan wasn't so lucky—she was seasick too, and after hearing about my experience, she went and threw up as well. But after vomiting, she was completely drained and had no appetite at all for dinner. After the meal, following the ship's rules, we finished checking out of our cabin before eight o'clock. Once we had gathered our luggage together, we found a corner in the common area to rest.Tonight we won't arrive in Tromsø until around midnight, so A-Mao and I just watched some shows and scrolled on our phones, occasionally looking up out the window, hoping a miracle would happen — seeing the aurora again. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great tonight, with heavy snow falling outside, so we couldn't see the beautiful aurora again, which means our streak of consecutive aurora sightings stays at four days.

Arriving in Tromsø: Settling into a small apartment late at night Around midnight on March 17th, we finally arrived in Tromsø. Luckily, we found a seven-seater taxi at the harbor, and the driver kindly took us straight to the accommodation we'd booked for the night.

This accommodation was a bit hard to find — it turned out to be in the semi-basement of a building, and we had to walk down a staircase to reach it. The space was also much smaller than we expected. But for a group of us worn out from travel, having any place to sleep felt like heaven. Although most of this day was spent aboard the cruise ship, the stop in Hammerfest, the sauna experience, and a bout of seasickness added variety and fun to the journey. Explore more Nordic Four Countries independent travel journals The Nordics aren't just about auroras and snow — they also hold urban elegance, polar mystery, and cultural depth. This journey spanning Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden will take you to explore the beauty of Europe's purest corners! 🇩🇰 Denmark Independent Travel 📍Day 2: One-day Copenhagen tour｜📍Day 3: Explore Freetown Christiania, fly to Finland 🇫🇮 Finland Arctic Journey 📍Day 4: Helsinki city tour & night sleeper train｜📍Day 5: Santa Claus Village & first taste of the Northern Lights 📍Day 6: Rovaniemi husky sledding & city stroll｜📍Day 7: Lake Inari & the secret land of the aurora 🇳🇴 Norway Cruise Voyage & Aurora Exploration 📍Day 8: Cross the border from Inari into Kirkenes to board the cruise ship｜📍Day 9: Staying in Hammerfest and life on board｜📍Day 10: Tromsø museum and cable car snow scenery｜📍Day 11: Transportation disrupted, stranded in Tromsø 🇸🇪 A Swedish cultural stroll and a perfect ending 📍Day 12: Flying to Stockholm, spotting the Northern Lights from high above｜📍Day 13: City Hall & the Vasa Shipwreck Museum 📍Day 14: An in-depth wander through the Old Town and Swedish culture