Would you cruise on a Holland America Norway cruise over the holidays?

[RuthC]

Thanks, Maureen. That was pretty thorough!

I could manage breakfast and lunch (might have trouble with what I bet are early hours, though), but dinner sounds tough. I don't know if I could enjoy that.

 

You've given me plenty of food for thought (if everyone will pardon the expression). Now, back to the topic---sorry to derail the thread. :o

[RMLincoln]

oops, fish was char not chad. m-- too late to edit.

[RuthC]

oops, fish was char not chad. m-- too late to edit.

I knew that as soon as I read it. ;)

 

We were served char on a full day shore excursion in Iceland once. It was take it, or leave it, so I ate it. Delicious! Better than salmon, I thought.

[PathfinderEss]

No........ Summer sure but not winter. :o

 

I'm with Sails on this one, to cold.

[RMLincoln]

I'm with Sails on this one, to cold.

 

My issue with the solstice time of year is that it will be too dark to enjoy the scenery. I'm not sure how far north a winter cruise might go (probably not as far north as the Hurtigruten to 72 degrees north latitude) but if the sun is setting in the mid afternoon we'd miss a lot of the beautiful scenery.

 

As for too cold, that depends a lot on personal comforts. We were there is October and during the southern parts of our cruise the temps were what I'd call cool, 40s. I don't think it gets a lot colder in the southern ports due to the tempering of the ocean waters and the Gulf Stream has a positive impact. But the temps in winter will be less due to less sunshine and will vary less, not warm up a lot during the day.

 

I wore jeans-type pants with a thin merino wool layer underneath. On top I wore a thin silk turtleneck layered with a light no-collar knit top most days. For being outside more than a few minutes I added a scarf, a light fleece jacket and a hooded rain jacket/windbreaker. (When we got to the far north I added more.)

 

The northern lights were thrilling! and I'd love to see them again but I would not do this cruise in late December. Plus getting there could be miserable....

m--

[SilvertoGold]

Yikes!

We've had 25 degrees C in Haines and Juneau in May! Nearly cooked in t-shirts.

 

Well, you see, where I live 25 C is hot. Typical summer temps here are more in the 17 - 20 C range.

 

Freezing, to me, is 5 C or less. Alaska in June/July is not often that cold.

[cruisemom42]

I would certainly consider it. Have been looking at ways to see the northern lights, and this would certainly rank among the more pleasant ways....:D

[Alphen]

Thank you for sharing all your opinions, since Fred Olsen has mannaged to get a (small) ship there, obviously there is a market for this cruise!

[Randyk47]

Nope. A cold weather cruise is not happening in this household. Where we live and work was driven by escaping the Frozen North 12 years ago and there's no going back and that applies to vacations. We just don't do cold well.

[donaldsc]

In general, I would never cruise or even travel anywhere over the holidays. However, that one sounds interesting. Doubt if I could convince my wife to do it, however. I could not even convince her to go with me when I spent a week in Fairbanks and points north on my aurora photography trip - can't figure out why (LOL!!).

 

DON

[serendipity1499]

Probably would not interest us in the Winter, but the summer would be ideal..

 

For many years we have spent Christmas Eve with dear Friends.. My Friends wife is from Flekkefjord, Norway & she always makes some typical Norwegian Dishes.. For the first time her Uncle & two cousins from Flekkefjord will be with us tonight..

 

We're looking forward to our Christmas Eve together.. I'll ask them what they think about this cruise..

[Barrheadlass]

I just sailed on Hurtigruten this very month, Dec. 1-12 on the Trollfjord.

Maureen gave you lots of very accurate info, about food, etc. so I won't repeat it. The cruise was interesting, but it is one I would never do in December again. It was just too darn dark...light only between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. I never nap on cruises, but this one sure made me sleepy.

It was not particularly cold either...my husband remained here in Massachusetts and gave me daily reports...it was often just as cold here as in Norway, or even cooler. I brought 2 pairs of "long johns" and never wore them. Never wore the boots I brought, either. It rained nearly every single day, too. I did buy ice cleats for my shoes and used them several times.

Sailing over the arctic circle was fun...we participated in a ceremony which involved getting ice water poured down our backs! And seeing the northern lights was a spectacular experience! It made the trip worthwhile. So, no, I wouldn't sail with HAL in Norway in the winter.

Edited December 25, 2014 by Barrheadlass

[Alphen]

I just sailed on Hurtigruten this very month, Dec. 1-12 on the Trollfjord.

Maureen gave you lots of very accurate info, about food, etc. so I won't repeat it. The cruise was interesting, but it is one I would never do in December again. It was just too darn dark...light only between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. I never nap on cruises, but this one sure made me sleepy.

It was not particularly cold either...my husband remained here in Massachusetts and gave me daily reports...it was often just as cold here as in Norway, or even cooler. I brought 2 pairs of "long johns" and never wore them. Never wore the boots I brought, either. It rained nearly every single day, too. I did buy ice cleats for my shoes and used them several times.

Sailing over the arctic circle was fun...we participated in a ceremony which involved getting ice water poured down our backs! And seeing the northern lights was a spectacular experience! It made the trip worthwhile. So, no, I wouldn't sail with HAL in Norway in the winter.

 

Thank you for your contribution.

 

I am aware of the fact that the period of daylight is short, but I was assuming it would be winter out there, sailing through snow white fjords in stead of rain pouring down :confused:

[sail7seas]

For daylight only between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. would be very hard on most of us who even on the shortest day in December (Winter Solstice) are accustomed to at least 3 more hours of daylight. I would feel 'light deprived' which certainly would impact my enjoyment.

[iancal]

Too cold, too dark.

[serendipity1499]

[quote name='RMLincoln']My issue with the solstice time of year is that it will be too dark to enjoy the scenery. I'm not sure how far north a winter cruise might go (probably not as far north as the Hurtigruten to 72 degrees north latitude) but if the sun is setting in the mid afternoon we'd miss a lot of the beautiful scenery.

As for too cold, that depends a lot on personal comforts. We were there is October and during the southern parts of our cruise the temps were what I'd call cool, 40s. I don't think it gets a lot colder in the southern ports due to the tempering of the ocean waters and the Gulf Stream has a positive impact. But the temps in winter will be less due to less sunshine and will vary less, not warm up a lot during the day.

I wore jeans-type pants with a thin merino wool layer underneath. On top I wore a thin silk turtleneck layered with a light no-collar knit top most days. For being outside more than a few minutes I added a scarf, a light fleece jacket and a hooded rain jacket/windbreaker. (When we got to the far north I added more.)

The northern lights [I]were[/I] thrilling! and I'd love to see them again but I would not do this cruise in late December. Plus getting there could be miserable....
m--[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"]We spent Christmas Eve with our Friends & their family from Flekkefjord which is on the Southern Norway coast & they agree with you.. They said that time of year between Dec to Jan you may not have any daylight.. They said the farther North you go daylight is non-existant..

I would rather view the scenery & see these towns in Norway, therefore my answer to the OP's question would still be No..[/SIZE]