Northern Lights

[sealegs14]

My sister and her DH are hoping to take a cruise for their joint 50th birthdays. He's not so keen about cruising but prepared to give it a try. His ambition is to see the northern lights! Is there a recommended cruise route and time of year where they are most likely to have success?

Thanks

[RachelG]

If he wants to actually SEE them, the cruise will have to be in winter (or at least late fall). And unfortunately that is not when the main line cruise ships sail in the Baltic. But there is a freighter that carries passengers, Hapag-Lloyd I believe, that sails all year round along the coast of Norway.

We saw this ship at the dock beside ours where we did our Norway cruise last year. Mind you, it is not a traditional cruise ship, but it didn't look bad at all for an adventure sort of cruise.

[LHT28]

You could also try Hurtigruten not your tradition cruise ship

http://www.hurtigruten.com/norway/

 

You could also see them in the North of Scotland if your timing is right ;)

[travelite]

My sister and her DH are hoping to take a cruise for their joint 50th birthdays. He's not so keen about cruising but prepared to give it a try. His ambition is to see the northern lights! Is there a recommended cruise route and time of year where they are most likely to have success?

Thanks

 

Food for thought:

Winter is the best time. Packages including air to both Norway and Finland are very reasonably priced during winter. Consider a 3 or 4 night package and take a cruise at another time. Another option: purchase an open jaw ticket - fly to Norway or Finland, spend a few winter days (hotel rates &air fares drop for winter), then fly to a Med. port to begin a cruise, fly home at the end.

[Giantfan13]

as has been well said already, the spring and summer months are not the time to see the Northern Lights from the Baltics.

You will be lucky if it gets dark at some ports, let alone dark enough for stars and other things.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[kaisatsu]

Tromsø is one of the popular places to go to see the Northern Lights, and they have a lot of very useful information on their tourism website:

http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/useful_info_articles_the_northern_lights.html

 

I believe the Hurtigruten coastal ferry markets special Northern Lights trips, but since it's dark for so much of the day in the late autumn and winter, you won't be able to enjoy the coastal scenery the way you normally would on the Hurtigruten.

 

And since there's never a guarantee that you'll get to see the lights (and if you do, it will usually be at night), most people recommend that you go somewhere where there's something else to do/see while you're there - museums, dog sledding, etc.

[Globaliser]

And since there's never a guarantee that you'll get to see the lights (and if you do, it will usually be at night), most people recommend that you go somewhere where there's something else to do/see while you're there - museums, dog sledding, etc.

One option is to go and stay at the Icehotel near Kiruna in Sweden. This is also where the world's best Icebar is: best because you can actually stay there all evening like any proper bar, and not get thrown out after 45 minutes. There are lots of winter activities available in the area.

[sealegs14]

Thanks for all the great ideas and websites. I've past them over to my sister so she can convince her husband!! Good luck!

[squarevanman]

This year I took the Hurtigruten MS Nordstjernen on the full coastal voyage from 20th February. Daytime daylight was fine for coastal scenery. However as always its hit and miss with the Northern Lights and they were only visable for a very brief period. On the Hurtigruten you can sign up to be notified should the lights appear during the night and they will knock on your cabin door to wake you up. I enjoyed the experience so much that I have booked to go on the other older ship MS Lofoten next March.

[coleridge]

Hi, we are booked with Vantage and will board a coastal steamer with Hurtegrutin on May 18. I have a question as far as bringing wine on board. Did anyone bring their own wine or other alchol on board and did you bring it from home or did you do duty free and if so,where? Was there a problem bringing it on board.I have read various things on this subject. We like a drink before dinner and the prices I have read are frightful.

 

Any advice?

 

Coleridge:o

[travelite]

Hi, we are booked with Vantage and will board a coastal steamer with Hurtegrutin on May 18. I have a question as far as bringing wine on board. Did anyone bring their own wine or other alchol on board and did you bring it from home or did you do duty free and if so,where? Was there a problem bringing it on board.I have read various things on this subject. We like a drink before dinner and the prices I have read are frightful.

 

Any advice?

 

Coleridge:o

 

The prices on alchol all over Scandinavia are extremely high. We learned that local residents take ferries that serve liquor between countries so they can party and drink for less. I don't know if the prices on alchol will be less on the Hurtegrutin also. I would email the company and ask them directly what their policy is concerning bring wine and other beverages.

[squarevanman]

Alcoholic drinks are expensive on board but compatible to shore based bars. I understand Norway has 25% VAT on alcohol. Some passengers purchase drinks in the ports at special shops (name eludes me but I think its something like vinopolis) and take it on board. Of course you can drink it in your cabin but they do say not in lounges or bars. Although I know that one person on my trip poured a glass of wine in cabin and took it to dinner as the waiter/waitress could not tell it wasn't purchased in the bar.

[kaisatsu]

The alcohol tax in Norway is indeed high. I've been told that it's a fixed rate based on alcohol content. So hard liquor is taxed more than beer and wine, and the tax on wine is around $13/bottle. And the normal restaurant markups are on top of that, of course.

 

Since every bottle is charged roughly the same tax, this actually works out sort of affordably if you usually drink very high-priced wines, since I'm told the tax doesn't scale with the price. So a bottle of 2-buck chuck would cost you $15, but a $150 bottle of Burgundy would only be $163.

 

In Norway, the only place you can buy wine is at the official liquor stores called the Vinmonopolet ("wine monopoly").

 

As far as I know, the Hurtigruten doesn't sell duty free alcohol, because it's a domestic ferry. The "booze cruise" ferries cross over to Denmark and Germany.

 

If you want to take some alcohol along, I would suggest buying it at Duty Free and bringing it into Norway. If you fly into Oslo, there is a Duty Free shop in the baggage claim area, before clearing Norwegian customs, and they will seal your bags to allow you to carry them onto connecting flights elsewhere in Norway if you ask. The per-person Duty Free limits are 3 liters of wine (4 bottles) or 1.5 liters of wine and 1 liter of spirits. You can also take 6 cans of beer in addition to the wine and spirits.