Best time for Northern lights cruise

[Tikka234]

Hi looking at maybe doing a northern lights cruise, the options are November of March which is best?

What's the pros and cons .

Daylight? Temp? Weather?

Do the excursion vary between November and March

Any tips or advice would be great 

Thanks

 

 

[davecttr]

longer darkness in November

[pete14]

27 minutes ago, davecttr said:

longer darkness in November

During the day too!
 

We have already pre reserved for November 2023 on Aurora. Our last Northern Lights cruise was enjoyable despite not seeing the lights because of clouds every night, Gale force winds, a missed port because of the weather and snow. That was November a couple of years ago but 2023 could be the complete opposite. It will be cold but as they say in Norway, there is no such thing as cold, just poor clothing. I think Norway is beautiful any time of year.

[Selbourne]

I’m prepared to be corrected here but, from memory, when I did some research on this before booking our first Northern Lights cruise, March gives you a better chance than November.

 

It is, however, pot luck. We did two Northern Lights cruises two years running, both in the same week in March. The first time we had spectacular displays for three nights. The second time they didn’t appear at all throughout the entire cruise, even though we had some clear skies. You have to put in the hours on deck. Patience pays. Loads of passengers missed them as they went to all the shows etc and popped their heads out periodically. “Anything happening?” they would ask. “Well”, we would reply, “you’ve unfortunately just missed a spectacular 30 minute display that ended 5 minutes ago”. The bridge make the odd announcement but we saw a good half a dozen displays that they didn’t announce.  
 

If you go expecting not to see the Northern Lights you will still have a lovely cruise. The scenery (cruising down fjords with ice on the water and snow on the decks) is magical and the towns are lovely. Naturally they cope with huge amounts of snow whereas we grind to a halt with half an inch. The planes still take off from Alta airport (next to the berth) in a blizzard with snow on the runway! It’s amusing to see the fuss that the Indian staff all make as they absolutely hate the cold (they find the U.K. too cold). It’s a fabulous cruise, very different to any other, and I recommend it.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Selbourne

[Host Sharon]

I sailed on one of P&O's first Northern Lights cruises in March 2014. We had two great sightings. It was -25 C at one point but it is a dry cold so not too bad at all with the right clothes. It still ranks as one of my favoruite cruises ever.

[Tikka234]

Thanks for all you replies, 

see Arcadia sails up there second half October 2023 is there any snow around on ground or on mountains in October? Are there any snow day s

thanks

 

[jaydee6969]

We should be returning now from a Northern Light trip on Arcadia.  We are also looking to try again in 2023 and undecided between October and November.  I have a felling if you particularly want snow on the ground then March is the time.  I stand by to be corrected though.

 

Currently snow on high ground and not at sea level.

 

Have a look at live cams from the area to get an idea.

Tromso:-

 

Narvik-

 

 

I know its not on the itinerary, but is useful as a guide

Geirangerfjord-

 

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Tikka234 said:

Thanks for all you replies, 

see Arcadia sails up there second half October 2023 is there any snow around on ground or on mountains in October? Are there any snow day s

thanks

 

As I posted earlier, the Northern Lights cruise in November 2019 had snow and lots of it (together with permanent cloud and gale force + winds).

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

18 hours ago, Tikka234 said:

Hi looking at maybe doing a northern lights cruise, the options are November of March which is best?

What's the pros and cons .

Daylight? Temp? Weather?

Do the excursion vary between November and March

Any tips or advice would be great 

Thanks

 

 

Northern lights are also dependent on the moon phase and the 11 year solar cycle. We worked this out for our last cruise and we came up trumps on 3 nights. Feb/March is usually the better months. Approx 12 days after full moon. Best time is 11pm to 2am, but remember in northern Norway the temperature will be around -28 deg C, so wrap up warm. With regards the 11 year solar cycle, best years next is 2024 to 2026, with 2025 being the best.

We were also amazed that what you see with the naked eye is not what you see in a photo. Photos are so much better as the eye cannot catch 8-15 seconds of light and hold it. If there is any camera tuition on board which is usually free…go!!. Also practice before at home on the stars or whatever at night. For the basics, you will need a tripod. Camera settings will be as a ball park anything from ISO 400 to 1600 and shutter speed will be anything from 8 seconds to 20 seconds (hence needing a tripod).

Excursions: We were so pleased in Alta we arranged our own excursion for the lights. P&O usually stop 2 nights in Alta (this also gives time to do dog sledding privately). The P&O excursion was 15 minutes down the road to a car park and had very little in the way of northern lights and lasted about 2 hours. We went on a private tour which was only slightly more money but we were out for nearly 5 hours chasing the lights and had well over 3 hours of lights and covered some 50 miles in land. We were also given hot drinks and food on ours. The tour was for only 4 persons. If you want to know details, please ask.

Edited November 6, 2021 by CRUISENSNOOZE

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

On 11/6/2021 at 8:22 AM, Tikka234 said:

Thanks for all you replies, 

see Arcadia sails up there second half October 2023 is there any snow around on ground or on mountains in October? Are there any snow day s

thanks

 

Alta in northern Norway is just getting its first snow flurry (Check out Alta live cam on YouTube) and its 7th November. The problem with October and November is it can be very cloudy and wet looking due to the snow arriving. Towns down south like Bergen will be a few weeks behind and also can disappear from these areas during March.

[jh1809]

More chance of clear skies in March than in November, I think.

[Happy afloat]

I'd opt for March.

I spent 5 winters in Norway whilst in the army, with most of March near Tromso and further north.  Had the good fortune to witness the lights on many, many occasions during this time. 

Stunning scenery, lovely people. Very cold 🥶! 

[Josy1953]

 

On 11/5/2021 at 9:06 PM, pete14 said:

During the day too!
 

We have already pre reserved for November 2023 on Aurora. Our last Northern Lights cruise was enjoyable despite not seeing the lights because of clouds every night, Gale force winds, a missed port because of the weather and snow. That was November a couple of years ago but 2023 could be the complete opposite. It will be cold but as they say in Norway, there is no such thing as cold, just poor clothing. I think Norway is beautiful any time of year.

We did the Northern Lights cruise in November 2019 on Aurora and loved it even though we only saw the lights one evening when we spent the entire evening on deck.  We did a trip from the ship one evening but didn't see anything despite standing outside freezing for 4 hours.

We are currently debating whether or not to try again next year.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Josy1953

[pete14]

10 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

 

We did the Northern Lights cruise in November 2019 on Aurora and loved it even though we only saw the lights one evening when we spent the entire evening on deck.  We did a trip from the ship one evening but didn't see anything despite standing outside freezing for 4 hours.

We are currently debating whether or not to try again next year.

I think you should. Even though the weather on my last Northern Lights cruise was dreadful, the cruise itself was good.

[keeven2]

How about February half term? More cloudy than March ? 

[CRUISENSNOOZE]

10 hours ago, keeven2 said:

How about February half term? More cloudy than March ? 

Our last cruise was end Feb/March and we saw the lights on 3 nights, but we did book the cruise as it coincided with a new moon. This is not a 'given' but it worked for us last time and hope to work again when we book the next time!!

[tring]

On 11/6/2021 at 2:35 PM, CRUISENSNOOZE said:

Northern lights are also dependent on the moon phase and the 11 year solar cycle. We worked this out for our last cruise and we came up trumps on 3 nights. Feb/March is usually the better months. Approx 12 days after full moon. Best time is 11pm to 2am, but remember in northern Norway the temperature will be around -28 deg C, so wrap up warm. With regards the 11 year solar cycle, best years next is 2024 to 2026, with 2025 being the best.

We were also amazed that what you see with the naked eye is not what you see in a photo. Photos are so much better as the eye cannot catch 8-15 seconds of light and hold it. If there is any camera tuition on board which is usually free…go!!. Also practice before at home on the stars or whatever at night. For the basics, you will need a tripod. Camera settings will be as a ball park anything from ISO 400 to 1600 and shutter speed will be anything from 8 seconds to 20 seconds (hence needing a tripod).

Excursions: We were so pleased in Alta we arranged our own excursion for the lights. P&O usually stop 2 nights in Alta (this also gives time to do dog sledding privately). The P&O excursion was 15 minutes down the road to a car park and had very little in the way of northern lights and lasted about 2 hours. We went on a private tour which was only slightly more money but we were out for nearly 5 hours chasing the lights and had well over 3 hours of lights and covered some 50 miles in land. We were also given hot drinks and food on ours. The tour was for only 4 persons. If you want to know details, please ask.

 

 I did look at some reliable websites about the appearance of the lights as you appear to have done.  I do not remember all the fine details, though do not doubt you are correct re those.  I do remember though that because if this it is more likely you will see the lights around the time of the equinoxes, so March should be better than November.  We were there in March, about the time of the equinox and did have sightings.

 

It was quite easy to look up the details on websites which give that sort of details.  There is also a sort of alert system where it is possible to look up the chance of seeing them on individual days at specific locations.  Very little in advance regards that, but also is a way of determining the best location to see the lights on a particular day, which is presumably what the tour operators look at when they decide which location the will take their trips to.  If you book a ship's trip, (and presumably a private one), you will be taken to one of a number of venues.  One tends to be very nearby, but equally you may be taken s distance away by coach.

 

The coaches can be very hot as you will be very well clad, so make sure you can take some outer layers off easily when on the coach (a big coat), to make the journey more tolerable.  Alta is better than Tromso overall as less cloud , though I did see them from the ship as we were sailing back south.

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by tring