Northern Lights Cruise - Advice Needed Please

Greetings all,

We are booked on the Oriana in February 2017 on a Northern Lights cruise and I was after advice/suggestions of what to do in each port and any recommended tour guides. Our ports of call are as follows:

Andaldnes (0800-1800)

Tromso (0800-0330)

Alta (two overnights)

Stavenger (0900-1700)

Obviously, it will be cold when we are there, but we are a reasonably fit middle aged couple and interested in basically anything.

Any suggestions would be greatly anticipated.

Thanks in advance.

sorry...that should be "appreciated", not anticipated!......damn auto correct!

Not a lot to do in and around Alta for two days -- a trip to the prehistoric rock carvings / open air Museum on one day. The new Cathedral in the town of Alta itself with a walk through the woods surrounding the town should could be a possibility for the other.

At Tromso (and Alta) you are likely to be dependent on a shuttle to the town centre, though Alta is just about walkable from the berth.

A good plan at Tromso is to start the day visiting the Botanic Gardens, very close to the berth and then come back to take the shuttle -- the initial queues from the ship should have dispersed by then.

If you have not been to Stavanger before I should be inclined to take in the old town on one side of the harbour and the 'newer' , though still pretty old , on the other side, where there is also a cathedral. The most popular excursion if you want one is to Pulpit Rock.

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My brother got caught out once in Norway. He booked a 'cheap' trip to see the Northern Lights. He found out why...it was a full moon, so he saw nothing!!

I've just checked for you...new moon is 26th Feb and it looks like you are up there about that time, so (cloud permitting) you should have a good view!

Simon

My brother got caught out once in Norway. He booked a 'cheap' trip to see the Northern Lights. He found out why...it was a full moon, so he saw nothing!!

I've just checked for you...new moon is 26th Feb and it looks like you are up there about that time, so (cloud permitting) you should have a good view!

 

Simon

Hi Steven,

Thanks for the reply. I just checked the lunar calendar as well and it is the full moon in Alta on 2 march 2018 and we are there on 3 March 2018. Which I presume is not a good thing???

NL also depend on solar activity, which can't be predicted. You could have clear dark skies and not a wisp of NL.

If the solar activity is low on the scale, the light from the full moon may make it harder to see. Be aware that the awesome NL colors you see in pictures sometimes only show up in photographs and to the naked eye they just appear white.

I'm active on the TA Iceland board and there are always questions about the NL there. The locals stress that you shouldn't judge the success of your trip on seeing them since the strength and location are so unpredictable. Enjoy where you are, and seeing the NL will be a bonus.

That said, I hope you see them. I grew up in Northern Michigan and saw them growing up. They are pretty cool.

Hi Steven,

 

Thanks for the reply. I just checked the lunar calendar as well and it is the full moon in Alta on 2 march 2018 and we are there on 3 March 2018. Which I presume is not a good thing???

(Almost got my name right!!:D)

No, not a good thing. As post above, you never know if you will see them or not, but full moon is a definate no no.

Simon