Northern lights cruise on Oriana

We have booked to go on the Northern lights cruise on Oriana early next year & are very much looking forward to it, even though we arent in port for as long as you are led to believe by the P&O website. When they tell you we are in Tromso for 2 days it turns out on the second day we set sail early morning so you can hardly say we got 2 days there, the same applies when we dock in Alta. Now that we are aware of this it means our plans for excursions in these places have to be restricted & we cant fit as much in as we would have liked. Has anyone done the same cruise that could advise us on the best excursions to take in Tromso & Alta and also as we are now at sea a lot longer than anticipated will Oriana keep us entertained & content whilst onboard?

We have booked to go on the Northern lights cruise on Oriana early next year & are very much looking forward to it, even though we arent in port for as long as you are led to believe by the P&O website. When they tell you we are in Tromso for 2 days it turns out on the second day we set sail early morning so you can hardly say we got 2 days there, the same applies when we dock in Alta. Now that we are aware of this it means our plans for excursions in these places have to be restricted & we cant fit as much in as we would have liked. Has anyone done the same cruise that could advise us on the best excursions to take in Tromso & Alta and also as we are now at sea a lot longer than anticipated will Oriana keep us entertained & content whilst onboard?

As you are on a northern lights cruise one assumes it will be dusk/dark for most of the time. I guess that would rather curtail any tours that can be offered as no good going up mountains for a view, if you do not have a view,cos it is dark.

When we did a recent transatlantic 5-6 days each there and back they did nothing special to entertain us onboard ,so I guess they will not do anything special,above the normal talks and quizzes, when you are on board.

I have read they sometimes get someone from the photo team to give a talk on how to take pictures/movies of the northern lights, should you be lucky enough to see them.

Not sure the ice hotel is a possibility on this cruise but if so, it is well worth a visit from Alta. I wouldn't be tempted to visit the prehistoric rock carvings in Alta though as they are likely to be covered in snow or frost and it may be rather treacherous underfoot. Fascinating in the summer though and a nice little stroll. Dog sledding and skidoo rides are also popular for the more adventurous.

As you are on a northern lights cruise one assumes it will be dusk/dark for most of the time. I guess that would rather curtail any tours that can be offered as no good going up mountains for a view, if you do not have a view,cos it is dark.

When we did a recent transatlantic 5-6 days each there and back they did nothing special to entertain us onboard ,so I guess they will not do anything special,above the normal talks and quizzes, when you are on board.

I have read they sometimes get someone from the photo team to give a talk on how to take pictures/movies of the northern lights, should you be lucky enough to see them.

We did Northern Lights cruise in March 2014 on Oriana and it was not dusk/dark for most of the time in March you get the equivalent of a full winters day of daylight.

We did Northern Lights cruise in March 2014 on Oriana and it was not dusk/dark for most of the time in March you get the equivalent of a full winters day of daylight.

I stand corrected...we had the opposite 24hours of daylight. Thank goodness pandos curtains are thick.

Daylight hours depend on what time of year. On the equinox, about 21st March, it's 12 hours daylight everywhere in the world. As you move back towards February and January, Norway loses daylight hours at a faster rate than the UK because it's further north.

We did Northern Lights cruise in March 2014 on Oriana and it was not dusk/dark for most of the time in March you get the equivalent of a full winters day of daylight.

We were on that cruise and we had a fantastic time. One of the best cruises we have been on, first & last 2 photos are in Alta, second is sailing in and the 3rd is the icicles round the jacuzzi

Hi Lostboys - which date for the Northern Lights cruise have you booked? We are on the same cruise in March. I will have to check the departure times for both Alta & Tromso as I have several excursions that I would like to do.

A few photo's of Tromso, the cathederal, main street, memorial and kindergarten kids

Thank you all for your replies, weve had a look at things to do in Tromso & Alta and to be honest there seems to be more things we would like to do in Tromso so i think we will be having a very busy day when we are there to fit everything in! In reply to "miniyorkie" we are on the second of the Oriana Northern lights trips, i think its possibly 8 march off the top of my head!

Thank you all for your replies, weve had a look at things to do in Tromso & Alta and to be honest there seems to be more things we would like to do in Tromso so i think we will be having a very busy day when we are there to fit everything in! In reply to "miniyorkie" we are on the second of the Oriana Northern lights trips, i think its possibly 8 march off the top of my head!

The roads that the shuttle bus uses in Tromso are underground from port to town - quite interesting