Buying a Hurtigruten ticket

My wife and I plan to travel from either Honnigsvag or Hammerfest to Tromso on the Norwegian Coastal steamer on or around June 7 as part of 3 weeks in the Arctic region. We would prefer to be flexible about the exact day we take it and buy the ticket just before we sail.

Could I ask anyone who may know something about this. Is it really advisable that we book the ticket over the net in advance? This means we would not be able to change our dates if we wished. Does it ever fill up so much that even passengers who don't need a cabin can't get on it?

Southbound trips are usually a bit less crowded than the northbound ones, but as you're travelling (early) in the high season the ship could be filled to the brim. The ship will refuse new passengers if the passenger limit is exceeded (or will be exceeded due to reservations made for one of the next harbours). There is a legal limit on how many passengers the ships can carry. The ship for June 7th is Nordstjernen, which has 457 berths and a passenger limit of 691. I find it unlikely that they will have 234 "day passengers" early in June. You'll be embarking early in the day, so if booking ahead is difficult, I'll find it likely that you can get a ticket on board without any trouble.

If you need a cabin, book in advance. If you don't need a cabin, it's never a problem just buying a ticket on the ship.

For this distance you would never buy a cabin anyway.

I have, on two occasions, been rejected carriage on fully-booked Hurtigruten ships. It's not true that this never happens.