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Advice on 2023 Cruise to see Northern Lights and Excursions


cruiser1085
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I am in the early planning stages to cruise the coast of Norway in 2023 with my husband--the year I have read the Northern Lights will be really good.

 

I've done a little research and December seems like a poor time to go: too much chance of rain. Which month is best month between September and March and why? 

 

Cruise length: Is the 7 day cruise the best--going South I've read. Is 11 to 12 days too much time to be on a cruise?  (They have a Northern Lights guarantee if you do the longer cruise). Seems you stop at different ports going South versus North. 

 

Also, what excursions are best? I realize many ports only have a few minutes stop. We love the outdoors. I'm thinking dog sledding would be fun.

 

Do you have a favorite port and why?

 

I read to avoid the lower level as there can be too much noise from the port activity. Is this true? 

 

I also read to choose a newer boat for viewing decks. Do you have a favorite ship and why? 

 

I apologize if this information has already been covered. I've been away from this forum for a few years and am just now starting to plan again. Thank you in advance for your input and any tips you care to share. 

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You’re already quite well prepared. Here you have my thoughts - others will add their experiences.

Difficult to say which month is the best. Might be rain in Bergen but when going north definitely snow. January to March are probably the three most popular months for Aurora hunting because they bring long dark nights. Solar storms are expected to have more activities in 2023.
In the Arctic, January is a time of renewal as the sun reappears above the horizon but it can be very, cold. Aurora might more likely appear in colder nights.
In February the weather is improving and in March, the temperatures begin to rise. There might be less clouds to obscure the Aurora.
Spring and autumn Equinoxes (around 20 March and 20 September) is told to have greater Northern Lights activity, not because there are more solar activities during this period, but due to the Earth's angle relative to the Sun the magnetic field does not protect the Earth quite as well.

Personally I think the 12 day return voyage is too much of the same. I do prefer the north bound from Bergen to Kirkenes - as you say most stops are short (15 minutes) - one longer stop each day. North bound stops in Trondheim, Ålesund, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg. Link to sailing plan (select appropriate month)
My preferred ports are Ålesund and Tromsø. Excursions are dog sledding, King Crab safari and North Cape ( a must).

Be prepared for rough seas in particular day two from Bergen.
You should plan for some days in Bergen and Kirkenes pre- /post-cruise. Some excursions can be done in Kirkenes.
Ships are quite different - have a look at the deck plans (Link to ships) - MS Kong Harald- one of the bigger ships with a nice panorama lounge. As ships are different the cabins are also very different- again study the deck plan and read the description of the different categories.
Avoid port side mid ship - noise from loading cargo during night port stops. A cabin close to an exit might be a good choice - easy to get out on deck when northern lights are announced.
It can be very cold at the outside decks when viewing the Northern Lights. South of Tromsø from the bow of the ship - further north from upper deck.
A lot of information in this forum however just ask your questions offerings are different from other cruise lines. You might want to compare prices at the Norwegian web with the US prices. Also have alook at terms and conditions / payment and cancellation - different ffrom US to Norway.
Here is review of a my January voyage.

PS: did pass Colorado March 2020 - Californian Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco.

Edited by hallasm
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4 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

They have a Northern Lights guarantee if you do the longer cruise)

Yes, and some terms & conditions:

Only a 6 or 7 days Original Coastal Voyage cruise, in an unspecified inside twin cabin on a full board basis.

The offer cruise must be booked within 28 days of your original Cruise's return date

Offer excludes flights, hotels, transfers, all onboard expenses, excursions, and luggage handling.

Northern Lights Occurrence is defined as a sighting from the ship which is recorded by the ship’s deck officers and which is announced to passengers on board at any time during the night.

 

If you stay some additional days for excursions in Kirkenes (Dog Sledding, King Crab Safari, Snow Hotel, Russian Border and more) you will also be able to see the Northern Lights in Kirkenes.

Edited by hallasm
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3 hours ago, hallasm said:

You should plan for some days in Bergen

We did the roundtrip pre-C and had booked the Bergen to Kirkenes that COVID canceled. We were going to fly into Oslo, spend a few days, take what's supposed to be glorious train ride to Bergen and spend a couple of more days. We had a couple of outstanding meals in Bergen.

 

As always you give great info. Thanks as always also.

 

Oh, here's a photo. Color not enhanced. This was in March.

 

IMG_6772 - Edited.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/28/2021 at 1:36 PM, cruiser1085 said:

Thank you all for your thoughts. I will be incorporating them into our planning. 

You probably know this, but just in case - there is another company that will also be operating the coastal journey:  Havila.  

 

They are having some startup delays and issues with ship deliveries.  But their pricing is great and their ships (on paper) look super.

 

 

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one major stop each day - most stops are 15 minutes - 34 port stops along the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes.

you’ll have day lights the first days of your voyage - from Bodø ‘polar night’ - twilight from 10 am to 2 pm - still a lot of activity and excursions in ports.

Highlights of the voyage is Northern lights, dog sledding, king crab safari and North cape - all done while dark. 
You can get a feeling for the activities and excursions from my blog - January 2019 voyage.

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As much as we tend to agree with hallasm and also truly value his comments, we don't agree about about one thing: the length of the RT.  We did that a few years ago, and... we would have gladly done it again right then!

 

The landscapes are often breathtaking.  We just loved everything.  And we weren't on one of the new ships (which didn't exist then, of course).  We were on the Trollfjord, and really enjoyed it.  (We love the name.)  Maybe because we knew it was a "ferry", we were really surprised with how nice everything was.  But it's "all about the scenery" and also the Northern Lights.

 

NOTE:  Those "lights" are not captured by the human eye as vividly as they are by cameras.  We were VERY glad that we knew that in advance, so we weren't disappointed.

 

We had carefully chosen "March", after looking at all sorts of reports, including weather and cloud cover in particular.  We are especially glad that we chose the RT because even though March "tends to have" less cloud cover, we had it almost non-stop on the NB trip.  Heading back on the SB, skies cleared, thank goodness. 🙂

Also about the timing, the ship could NOT go *into* the Trollfjord, although we did sort of peak into that narrow mouth.  It would probably be a lot of fun to be able to go into it.  At the least, see a video of that!  (Apparently there are avalanche precautions that preclude sailing in during part of the year, alas.)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trollfjord#/media/File:Mind_the_gap_Trollfjorden.jpg

 

Do try to take that train from Oslo to Bergen.  We had read so much about it.

At the beginning of that train trip, although everything was very nice and pretty, we began to wonder if we were expecting too much...  And then... and then... we got to the amazing part.  It was other worldly.   Going from Oslo to Bergen was the "right" direction, at least for us.  The best came toward the end, starting with the very best, and then there were gorgeous scenes til the end at Bergen.  (I'm not sure how much one would see of the peak viewing if it were during the dark...?)

 

Likewise, IF someone were not doing a RT, we'd recommend NB.  The scenery just keeps getting better and better.  We had chosen March rather than October (we had judged those two months to be best chances for our interests), because we wanted to have as much snow as possible, so the end of winter rather the end of summer seemed to make more sense.  And we also wanted to have "some daylight and some night".  But it depends upon your personal schedule and also whether you want to see winter landscapes or not.

Although we were curious about 24 hour nights or 24 hour days, we didn't time our trip for either of those.

(We had done a Vancouver-Alaska cruise in June, and although it was indeed quite something how late the sun and sunlight stayed... that cruise never gets near the Arctic Circle, so no "midnight sun" or such.)

 

We really do have a "repeat" on our "to do" travel list.  It was indeed "that special" (for us), although we realize it will never be as magical as that first time...

 

GC

 

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  • 2 months later...

By now there are two operators on the coastal route that sail according to the same fixed sailing schedule on the 11 nights from Bergen to Kirkenes and back.


Hurtigruten serves 7 out of 11 departures while Havila Voyages serves 4 departures.
Havila, however, is currently sailing only one of their four departures - during March an additional ship will be on the route and during 2022 they will have the remaining two ships delivered.

it may be a good idea to see what the two companies have to offer and check prices.

 

Edited by hallasm
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12 minutes ago, hallasm said:

By now there are two operators on the coastal route that sail according to the same fixed sailing schedule on the 11 nights from Bergen to Kirkenes and back.


Hurtigruten serves 7 out of 11 departures while Havila Voyages serves 4 departures.
Havila, however, is currently sailing only one of their four departures - during March an additional ship will be on the route and during 2022 they will have the remaining two ships delivered.

it may be a good idea to see what the two companies have to offer and check prices.

 

 

Given that these Coastal RT cruises also perform a local and critical service for local residents (personal travel plus some/many goods), is Hurtgruten still covering those other 3 departures, or are services cut back?

 

GC

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1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

….or are services cut back?

Unfortunately yes. Hurtigruten has transferred ships to their expedition branch and the missing Havila ships therefore mean canceled departures - not the big problem as long as there are restrictions due to Covid-19.

Edited by hallasm
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  • 1 month later...

Hoping hallasm or someone else knowledgeable can help clear up some confusion for me.

 

We booked an Antarctica cruise through the Norwegian site at significant savings from the US site, so are looking into possibly doing the same thing for a Northern lights cruise.

 

The US site has a 12-day, “Astronomy Tour,” (https://www.hurtigruten.com/destinations/norway/astronomy-voyage/),

that I can’t find on the Norwegian site. 

 

Am I just missing it, or is this just a different name for one of the cruises listed on the .no site? Is anyone familiar with this cruise?

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1 hour ago, karen11g said:

The US site has a 12-day, “Astronomy Tour,”

This ‘Astronomy Tour’ is at one of the ordinary departures - there will be special astronomy  sessions/lessons for the participants of this tour - Se more details

- I believe the y also offer special Astronomy Tour at the Norwegian web - I’ll check.

Edited by hallasm
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1 hour ago, karen11g said:

maybe seeing Northern lights isn't as interesting for Norwegians

The voyages which are offered as  ‘Astronomy Voyage’ are available for everyone. You can book these dates at the Norwegian web. Normally there are free lectures each day at all voyages - I do not know if the Astronomy lectures are exclusively for the guest at an ‘Astronomy Voyage’  - at the end the exclusive visit to the Northern Lights Planetarium in Tromsø might the only extra.

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What’s confusing me is the itinerary description of the one called “Astronomy Cruise” doesn’t list the 34-port detail that the other cruises do (how many minutes/hours are spent in each of the 34 ports). It reads like something different, like a cruise with fewer stops.

 

So you’re saying that’s not the case? It’s actually the same as on the Norwegian site with the 34 ports? Would you mind providing a link to the same cruise on the Norwegian site?

 

Thank you!

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3 hours ago, karen11g said:

It reads like something different, like a cruise with fewer stops.

It is a Bergen to Kirkenes voyages with the 34 port stops - only difference is the Astronomy Team and the lectures for those specific voyages.

All Hurtigruten departures have exact the same sailing schedule - on longer stop each day and then many only 15 minutes stop - Link to sailing plan - please note the different seasons. It will not be possible to leave the ship at the shorter stops.

From  the UK site”Voyage along Norway's coast under the dancing skies of the Northern Lights, visiting 34 ports”

 

3 hours ago, karen11g said:

Would you mind providing a link to the same cruise on the Norwegian site?

As said theses voyages are the standard sailings arvthe Norwegian site - you need to go to the Norwegian Site and then search for the voyage for the specific day.

In 2022 the Astronomy Tours are at  MS Nordnorge September 23 + November 17 and MS Trollfjord  October 17, + November 19 - search for those days!


 

4E0E4626-74D7-410E-AC98-02E2C58E8E03.jpeg

Edited by hallasm
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Just a thought for those who are interested in a coastal cruise including more time at some of the sights/cities: MS Maud is doing voyages out of Dover, following in part the coastal route. You'll find more information on Hurtigruten's web site (expeditions). Unfortunately quite pricey, too, similar to the regular coastal route, but perhaps an alternative to look up. Every day there are included activities from walking tours to boat trips to city walks or concerts.

Personally we prefer the regular coastal route because we love to watch loading/unloading and following the coast line very closely to small towns and villages. But it might be an alternative for some.

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20 hours ago, karen11g said:

You've cleared up my confusion!

Important to ask question about Hurtigruten.

While their expedition cruises are like other expedition offerings the voyage along the Norwegian Coast is different - also a bit more complex after Havila Voyages has started to serve four out the eleven round trips and still missing three of their four ships. 
Hurtigruten also has Norwegian coastal expedition cruises from Dover and Hamburg with fewer and longer stops - originally an expedition cruise from Bergen in addition to the coastal voyage - but so far postponed due to Covid.

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46 minutes ago, hallasm said:

but so far postponed due to Covid.

As far as I know, both expedition ships MS Maud and MS Otto Sverdrup are currently running!  Maud out of Dover, Otto Sverdrup with mostly German passengers out of Hamburg. MS Fridtjof Nansen was supposed to do the same route and expedition character, but is laid up due to an accident and will not run this route this winter.

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1 hour ago, grayjay said:

As far as I know, both expedition ships MS Maud and MS Otto Sverdrup are currently running! 

Yes, Thea are sailing - the plan was to have a 12 day expedition criuise out og Bergen in addition to Dover and Hamburg.

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  • 1 year later...

Thank you again for everyone's input. We are planning a Northbound voyage in March of 2024. 

 

Is it okay to ask about things besides the cruise itself? i.e. Favorite restaurants in Bergen? We plan to stay a couple nights there before the ship sales.

 

Has anyone done a dog sled ride in Kirkenes? 

 

Are exclusions best booked from the ship, or can you book things at the (few) ports where there is time to go on one? I'm thinking back to an Alaska cruise where it was better to get off the ship and book excursions--of which there were plenty. 

 

Do cell phone cameras do an okay job photographing the Northern Lights, or should I borrow my friend's "good" camera. 

 

Favorite things to do/see in Bergen?

 

I want to do a King Crab excursion but have no desire to be on snow mobiles as one of you did (just personal preference)--are there other options? 

 

Has anyone else done the train from Oslo to Bergen? 

 

And flights from Kirkenes back to Bergen. Did you book on your own or through the cruise line. 

 

Any tips on what time of year to book our flight from the US to Norway--do prices drop at certain times of the year? 

 

And how easy is it to get from airport to hotels and to/from cruise ship in Bergen and Kirkenes.

 

Thank you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You can ask all questions related to your cruise - you can also find useful information in the Northern Europe Forum.

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

Has anyone done a dog sled ride in Kirkenes? 

Use  Barents Safari

 

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

Are exclusions best booked from the ship, or can you book things at the (few) ports where there is time to go on one?

My advice is to book through the ship for ports of call - or just walk trough the cities - you’re relatively short time in each port and the range of excursions and operators is limited. A must is North Cape in Ålesund.
In Kirkenes you can use Barents Safari

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

Do cell phone cameras do an okay job photographing the Northern Lights, or should I borrow my friend's "good" camera. 

You can use a cell phone - personally I’ll use a camera with a tripod and wide angle lens.

 

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

I want to do a King Crab excursion but have no desire to be on snow mobiles as one of you did (just personal preference)--are there other options? 

If you plan to stay more days i Kirkenes it should be possible - contact Barents Safari.

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

Has anyone else done the train from Oslo to Bergen? 

Highly recommended - if you have an extra day make a detour from Myrdal to Flåm and stay a night in the Flåm/Myrdal area.

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

And flights from Kirkenes back to Bergen. Did you book on your own or through the cruise line. 

Book yourself - in particular if you not plan to stay in Oslo after your trip. SAS and Norwegian Air have daily services to Oslo.

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

Any tips on what time of year to book our flight from the US to Norway--do prices drop at certain times of the year? 

No experience- I’m normally book early when going to US 

2 hours ago, cruiser1085 said:

And how easy is it to get from airport to hotels and to/from cruise ship in Bergen and Kirkenes.

Both very small cities - I did walk - In Bergen I can recommend to stay close to Bryggen Wharf - I normally stay at ‘Det Hanseatiske Hotel’ 

In Kirkenes only two hotels in city and the Snow Hotel which is outside the city  - I’m recommend Thon Hotel - walking distance. Shuttle to the airport.

 

Edited by hallasm
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