Narvik planning cruise pier transformation, more on slow cruising concept

The port will introduce shore power in 2025. It is also considering a mobile convertor unit capable of delivering low-voltage power.

Further enhancements are on the way, with Grethe Parker, sales and marketing manager, Port of Narvik, sharing the port’s latest plans with Seatrade Cruise on August 28, during a Cruise Norway familiarisation trip to Northern Norway taking place August 24-September 1.

Building refurbishment

In January, the vacant red building on the cruise pier will be transformed into a vibrant space selling art, crafts, jewelry and more on its ground floor.

‘The façade will be changed, the roof will be raised and there’s going to be glass doors on each side,’ Parker said. She envisions a large map on one side of the building so passengers will immediately be able to identify their location. ‘And I want some rules: “This is how we behave.”’

It’s not that people misbehave, she added, but instead intends it to be ‘a bit of fun’ reminding passengers to ‘be nice, enjoy yourself’ but avoid littering, for instance. Parker would also like to see a quirky installation for taking Instagram photos.

As for the rest of the building, ‘Half of the top floor will be a meeting room for us at the port, the other half, we’re going to make into a crew quarter with WIFI and darts and billiards. A chill out space.’

The building is set to be transformed

Slow cruising concept

Narvik, Leknes, Sortland and Harstad have teamed up to offer a discount to cruise operators when they call at three of the four ports consecutively. It is designed to be more environmentally friendly, enabling ships to save fuel while contributing to regional value creation.

The discount is applied on confirmation of the port bookings.

Narvik receives approximately 50 calls annually. By the end of the year, it will have clocked up 54 calls and has 45 calls booked in for 2024. Forty-one calls are scheduled for 2025 and 22 for 2026.

Parker said the goal is to reach 75 calls.

An ISPS booth and office opened on the pier a year and a half ago, open to guides, bus drivers as well as onboard shore excursion teams, and is fully equipped with a kitchen and WI-FI.

Charging facilities for buses

Parker explained the port is working on a project where buses can charge at the port, when the bus park goes electric. ‘They can charge while they wait for the next group of guests,’ she said.

Regarding Environmental Ship Index (ESI) and Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Parker added, ‘We’re not there yet. We’re thinking, once we’ve got shore power in place, we will join EPI. But will we do it before 2025? I doubt it. We’ll probably coincide it with the shore power.’

New shore excursions

The fam trip saw cruise line representatives venture to Narvik to experience some of its new and most popular experiences.

Polar Park and Arctic Train

Among them, a trip to Polar Park, the northernmost wildlife park in the world and home to Norway’s large predators. Participants got up close with the animals, spending time with a wolf inside its enclosure before entering the enclosures of the wolverine, Eurasian lynx and Arctic fox. Located one hour from Narvik by road, the latest experience available to passengers at the park is ‘Arctic Fox Playtime’ involving interaction with four Arctic foxes.

Tours to the park take five hours from Narvik – six hours if including the wolf experience. The venue can handle up to 2,000 passengers a day.

Fam trip participants were also given a guided tour of what Parker described as Narvik’s second USP, the Arctic Train. Seats can be chartered for cruise passengers. One option consists of a Northern Lights journey. Travelling along the Ofot line, the first stop on the way is Bjørnfjell by the Swedish border - an area rich in World War II history. The train continues to Katterat Station where up to 120 passengers can venture to a remote camp to observe the aurora borealis. They can watch a film about the northern lights, relax around a fire pit and spend time indoors or outdoors eating and drinking.

Daniel Lysøe, ship agent, European Cruise Service sampling the Arctic Fox Playtime experience and Beth Louise Carracio-Rudge, destination experience specialist, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines aboard the Arctic Train

The ride usually gets underway at 6:45 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.. Operators have the option of choosing a coach for the way there or back. The journey will include photo stops. Audio guides are in three languages and in autumn, the train will be fitted with loudspeakers.

The concept was started in May 2020 but disrupted due to the pandemic. Since then, the company has been conducting pilot tests so that the product will be ready from November.

Parker told cruise line representatives the Arctic Train, which has a 200-seat capacity, can offer journeys tailored to a specific request, adding, ‘It’s whatever you’d like your guests to experience.’

One option is for a Navvy themed journey: migrant workers by that name filled areas of the valley and fjord until the Ofotbanen railway was finished in 1902. During the journey, staff dress in clothing reminiscent of the time, serving tea and cinnamon buns, with the option of providing passengers with a keepsake.

Those on the Cruise Norway fam trip also stopped at the Ofoten Railway, the public train offering the same picturesque views of the Rombak fjord as the Arctic Train which uses the same track. Tours utilizing the public train are available, plus the station it leaves from is home to the locomotive Ofoten, the first locomotive on the Ofotbanen line.

Hotel and golf

A scenic drive to the 18-hole Skiomen Golf Park, with Frostisen Glacier as its backdrop, was also on the agenda. For this new excursion, passengers can participate in a nine-hole golf tournament that includes canapés and champagne, a two-course lunch, golf carts and equipment. Coffee and cake can be served in the club building as part of a tour that incorporates panoramic Skjomen. Passengers not wishing to play golf can also choose the panoramic option for superior views of mountains and fjords, stopping at the club for coffee and cake only.

Ambassador Cruise Line's head of itinerary management Giovanna Camilla Dipasquale with the Frostisen Glacier in the background

The group moved to Fjellkysten Mountain hotel, a venue targeting small groups of cruise passengers to deliver elevated experiences, for instance, a meal with music played on a century-old piano. It has its own brand of alcohol with fam trip participants invited to taste the product. The building affords expansive views of water and mountains, has a hot tub and sauna, and is a suitable location from which to see the northern lights. The venue erected a Sami lavvu (traditional house) a few weeks back and by winter, will install an artificial lake outside it to allow for ice skating in winter. The owner is hoping to build a reindeer enclose in the future, too.

Fjellkysten Mountain hotel

Midnight Sun Steps

The Midnight Sun Steps, a wooden trail leading up a mountain side, opened two months ago and ‘has taken off,’ says Parker. The 2,170 steps built in the Spansdalen Vally north of Narvik are comfortable and evenly spaced at a gentle incline. At the top, the 350-mtr-long Henrikkafossen waterfall is at passengers’ footsteps.

Midnight Sun Steps

Camps and cable car

During the fam trip, there was a chance to travel by cable car where the mountain peaks of the Lofoten Islands are visible. Several walking tours can be organised from there or the attraction can be combined with one of several shore excursions. For a chance to see the aurora borealis from the air, the cable car’s opening times can be extended.

Beth Louise Carracio-Rudge, destination experience specialist at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (L) and Giovanna Camilla Dipasquale. head of itinerary management, Ambassador Cruise Line (R) take the cable car ride

An evening at Camp Lodge was a further introduction to what is a new experience offered to cruise passengers. It functions as a lodge and cafe with a separate lounge area with fireplace. Offering sweeping views of Narvik, it can be used in combination with mountain hikes, evening dinners for small groups or northern lights excursions.

Yards away is Camp 291 - contemporary overnight accommodation with glass a glass ceiling and windows from which to observe the northern lights, and sliding doors leading to a balcony where Narvik can be seen from above.