P & O Northern lights and Fjords excursions

[caroljayne]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and relatively new to cruising. I am going on my 3rd cruise next Feb 2017 with P and O to the Norwegian Fjords and in search of the northern lights. I have just been looking at the excursions and am wondering if anyone has done this cruise in February and what the chances are of us seeing the lights on the ship/versus booking the excursion 'in search of the northern lights' at £135 per person?

Thanks

[jimgri]

My wife and I did the same cruise in March of this year on Oriana and saw the Northern Lights from the back of the ship on both nights in Alta, although the Lights were weaker the second night. We think we were probably lucky but we took a gamble rather than spend over £500 for P&O excursions (2 people x 2 nights) with no guarantee that you will actually see them! You can find some photos from the cruise, including the Northern Lights, on my Flickr page here.

[Sussexboy]

Some great pictures there, brought back some good memories. Like you we saw the lights from the back of the ship while supping cognac. Much more civilised than sitting on a freezing cold golf course trying to operate your camera in the dark with umpteen pairs of gloves on :)

 

That said, our chums from dinner went on the trip and got much better pictures than us. Trouble is, nothing is guaranteed.

[Southendweather]

Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures jimgri. We did the Fjords last May/June on the Arcadia and had some of the best summer weather they have known, we were so lucky sailing the Fjords while sunbathing on deck. Even thoug I have an interest in the weather this is no guarentee of getting good weather ;)

 

I guess by the time you get to March the days are starting to lengthen out. A thought for the future all the same.

 

Keith (Southend)

[Scriv]

Well, we are on that cruise and we have booked the In search of the Lights excursion on one night and will stay the other night on the ship.

 

Yes, there is the risk of seeing nothing, but for us, the fun is just as much the chase and being out there in the cold looking out for them . Am all set with me thermals lol.

[caroljayne]

Thank you all for your replies. Lovely photos gimgri. I realise the question is a bit like ' how long is a piece of string' but it's useful to get others opinions :-)

[jimgri]

Thanks all for the kind comments about the photos :) We had a fabulous trip. The only disappointment was that the captain skipped Stavanger as high winds in Alta kept us at our berth for another 12-18 hours.

[P&O SUE]

Fantastic photos Jimgri, thanks for sharing :)

[ctlt]

We are also going to Norway in Feb on the Oriana (our first cruise) to hopefully see the Northern Lights and were wondering the same thing. Do we spend £135 each on the off chance of seeing them or do we hope to see them from the ship. Looking at your fantastic pictures, I think we have our answer. Thank you.

[jimgri]

One thing to bear in mind is that it is easy to be disappointed when viewing the Northern Lights (as my wife was!). The human eye tends to see the lights in faint colours and the sky often looks milky white/grey with a hint of colour to it, although the further north the stronger the colour. Camera sensors have a wider dynamic range than the human eye so pick up all the bright colours, especially when using long exposures, high ISO settings, and a tripod which is obligatory. For those of you who haven't taken photos of the Northern Lights before, I recommend this tutorial on 500px.

[caroljayne]

Jimgri, sorry for my misspelling in my last post. I was unable to edit to correct!

Also thank you for the really useful photography information. I will definitely have a read of the tutorial. I have a canon 550D and tripod, just wondering if you have any lens suggestions, Im thinking wide angle would be best?

[jimgri]

No worries, caroljayne. I would definitely go with wide angle + wide aperture to capture as much sky and light as possible.

[caroljayne]

No worries, caroljayne. I would definitely go with wide angle + wide aperture to capture as much sky and light as possible.

 

Best practice with some fireworks this weekend :-)

[jimgri]

Indeed! :)

[ctlt]

We are going to Norway on Oriana in Feb. Where is the best place to get currency? Before we leave or on board. Thanks

[Mysticalmother]

We are going to Norway on Oriana in Feb. Where is the best place to get currency? Before we leave or on board. Thanks

 

Definately NOT onboard! If you have an M &S credit card they are usually quite competitive, or just shop around the travel agents, or the Post Office. You wont need a huge amount of local currency as just about everywhere takes credit/debit cards, even for small amounts. And Norway is very expensive, eg 4 small beers and 2 packets of crisps....almost £40... in 2015

[ctlt]

Definately NOT onboard! If you have an M &S credit card they are usually quite competitive, or just shop around the travel agents, or the Post Office. You wont need a huge amount of local currency as just about everywhere takes credit/debit cards, even for small amounts. And Norway is very expensive, eg 4 small beers and 2 packets of crisps....almost £40... in 2015

 

Crikey!! Won't be having many of those then! Thanks for the help.

[Host Sharon]

I did this cruise in 2014. We had two photography briefings on board - one from the ship's photographers and one from Glodexplorer who operate the tours.

 

I have posted photos here https://get.google.com/albumarchive/114801993219771801790/album/AF1QipNTvm4_BPATO0LmTHoM_sZjWs3wki7iVXaz5rsU

 

You can see the difference between those shot on Oriana at Tromso (city light pollution) and those from Kautokeino.

 

Best advice - acclimatise your equipment - ship photographer cracked very expensive lens!

[plumduff68]

Thanks all for the kind comments about the photos :) We had a fabulous trip. The only disappointment was that the captain skipped Stavanger as high winds in Alta kept us at our berth for another 12-18 hours.

Don't be dissapointed. You didn't miss much!!

We went on our first cruise to Norway. Beautiful place but wouldn't rush back to Stavanger. We enjoyed the Oil museum (my dad worked in the oil industry for years) but it wouldn't be somewhere I'd have missed going!

Katie

 

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Forums mobile app

[Slugsta]

We are also doing the February trip. Thanks for the warning about the lights maybe being disappointing to the naked eye, I will try to bear that in mind.

 

We have booked the excursion for our first night in Alta and will keep our fingers firmly crossed! I only have a basic point and press camera, no tripod, so am not going to bother trying to take good photos. I will buy one if we get a good sighting.

 

I got a warm hat and gloves for Christmas, not much else I need now :)

[Lanky Lad]

Great pictures and very artistic.

 

I am looking forward to the trip even more now. Less than 8 weeks :)

[David Owl]

My wife and I did the same cruise in March of this year on Oriana and saw the Northern Lights from the back of the ship on both nights in Alta, although the Lights were weaker the second night. We think we were probably lucky but we took a gamble rather than spend over £500 for P&O excursions (2 people x 2 nights) with no guarantee that you will actually see them! You can find some photos from the cruise, including the Northern Lights, on my Flickr page here.

 

Excellent pictures. We have been thinking about this destination and your pics might have just swung it. A few questions :

 

We are also considering March. I know sea conditions are infinitely variable but you mentioned high winds in Alta. Did this make the trip uncomfortable.

 

How much time did you spend on land. Presumably boots are necessary but what about wellies.

 

We are looking at the Aurora. Do you, or anyone else, have an opinion about the ship.

 

Thanks

 

David

Edited December 30, 2016 by David Owl

[silver surfer 2010]

We are on the Aurora in 2018 - leaves around 9th March. Having done this cruise in 2014 I would not advise wellies , the snow is totally different and not wet but quite dry. Good boots are a better bet, A pole for stability is very handy but the grips for your boots are not recommended as they can be very slippy on the gangplank and you would not be popular on indoor carpets.

The Aurora and Oriana are sister ships and both are very stable and very comfortable ships.

A video camera is no use either

[Host Sharon]

Snow boots are best and don't forget to allow room for thermal socks. I used Yaktrax grippers which are coiled and not spiked, so worked well indoors and out.

[lostboys]

Without a doubt book the northern lights excursion. Yes its quite pricey but the organisers are experts and if theres the slightest chance of their being an aurora they will find it. We were on Oriana in March last year and had a fantastic excursion where we seen and photographed the lights for the majority of our time there, an experience we will never forget. You might see the lights off the ship but the best chance is to get away from any light pollution and if you are travelling that far it would be silly not to give yourself the best possible chance of seeing them.