What are the onboard prices like for dood and drink?

I'm considering a winter cruise to try and see the northern lights! (I do understand that this isn't a cruise ship the in the traditional sense )

Some of the packages through my usual TA are for 4 /5 or 6 day trips which would be fine, but they are only half board or B&B.

What sort of costs are involved for onboard food as I know Norway is very expensive. What are drinks prices like for water, tea, coffee as well as alcohol?

Have people found enough to do on board as I know many of the shore stops are short. Is it best to take lots of books? lol.

Is there internet onboard ( soo many questions lol)

If you want to save on food you can eat in the cafeteria which is much cheaper than the main restaurant (from 80 to 140NOK for a dish, it's not gourmet food but it's good quality comfort food, sandwiches or salads or hot dish with some choice). In the main restaurant, I think lunch is about 350NOK and dinner around 450NOK. You can also buy snacks at grocery store during stops.

I'm not sure about the beverage price, I think a small bottle of water was around 25-30NOK. You can also buy drinks in grocery store if you want as long as you don't bring them in the main restaurant.

I have done this trip several times in winter and never got bored but you need to be aware that the main source of entertainement is the landscape outside (and at night looking out for Northern Lights! ;) ), also the arriving and departure from ports is always an interesting moment. If you don't think that can keep you happy then do bring books yes. On my first winter trip (around Christmas, so very little daylight) I was so worried I would be bored I carried along 4 or 5 books, and I think I ended up reading about 20 pages of the first one and that's it!

There is wifi onboard in public lounges but at an added charge (I don't remember the price).

Our most recent trip was booked full board so (unless things have changed) you may wish to give your travel agent a nudge.

I have never been bored. I'm either watching the landscape go by, watching the comings and goings in port during short stops, taking a walk into town on the longer stops (think 30+ minutes), or looking up at the sky during hours of darkness!

Other than that, wiFi was free on our last trip (but that may have changed) and SarniaLo has read 20 pages more than myself.

We have just returned from 11 days on MS Spitsbergen, on there there is no a la carter restaurant only the Bistro which carries a limited range of food as we were FB can't really state food prices but in line with Norway in general it's not cheap. Drink prices like wise are high, a small bottle of water still or sparkling was 40NOK, a bottle of beer ranged from 75-105NOK, wine averaged around 105 NOK for a small glass and 475 NOK + a bottle. Every now and then there would be a special and that always seemed to be 99 NOK.

We are in the process of doing a review and hopefully will be able to scan and add the price lists we have.

Wi-Fi was 400 NOK for 11 days and 20 NOK for 5 days, the speed was extremely good and often clocked at over 30 Mbps however any streaming content is blocked.

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Thanks for the replys.

I was talking to someone who just did the full board trip and they got an included wine package ( it looks like it was a Oct, Nov, Dec special offered by Hurtigrunten ) So maybe there will be something similar next year.

I'll think I'll discount a Jan /feb trip as I need a bit more time to save up...but Nov/ Dec could be a good choice esp if it has FB and a package!

Consider the daylight hours as well. In November/December/January the days are very short (above the Arctic Circle the sun does not rise at all above the horizon so you only have a few hours of twilight). By mid-February and even better in March the days are getting longer and you have more time for enjoying the landscape during the day (and still good nights for Northern Lights). November can be a very wet and gloomy month, maybe not the best choice for a first trip (but you never know, weather statistics are often contradicted these days).

Hi, I did the southbound trip over Christmas 2016 and the cheapest bottle of white wine was very good and cost approx £46. I was on the Nordlys which has an expedition team and I asked one of them when was the best chance to travel, allowing for more light but still with a chance to see the Northern Lights. He said late Sept Oct but bear in mind there will not be much snow, or February March but feb is usually the coldest month.

We were very lucky and saw the lights twice. Even with the low light of December, as we aproached the artic circle the light was sufficient to see the stunning scenery for quite a long time.

I took my kindle, but didn't read much as wrapped up warm I spent most of my time on deck at the back of the ship, loved it. Downside is the cost of most things in Norway but views are free. Enjoy!