Viking Venus In Search of the Northern Lights February 29, 2024

[saabdued14]

Hi, Alan here. Relatively new to Cruise Critic. Will be on this cruise, and looking forward to it very much. To be honest a bit disappointed there was an itinerary change that I am not certain, might result in one less port above the arctic circle for prime NL viewing. New to cruising and maybe changes like this are common-place? Regardless my excitement will be building over the next 14 or so months. 

[Peregrina651]

Alan, welcome to Cruise Critic.  I'm not sailing with you. But want to give you a quick tour of CC to help you on your way.

 

Roll Calls, which is what this is, are a way to meet and socialize with folks who will be sailing with.  Most people look for a roll call much closer to sailing time, so expect things to be quiet here for a while.

 

The Viking Oceans forum is the place to ask questions about Viking cruises in general and to ask questions of those who have already done the Northern Lights itinerary. The audience here is much much larger, so getting answers to questions will be a lot easier than asking them on the the roll call.

 

In other words, you should follow both your roll call and the Viking Oceans forum to learn as much as you can about sailing with Viking.

 

Wishing you a Bon Voyage!

 

 

[Moonlion]

2 hours ago, saabdued14 said:

Hi, Alan here. Relatively new to Cruise Critic. Will be on this cruise, and looking forward to it very much. To be honest a bit disappointed there was an itinerary change that I am not certain, might result in one less port above the arctic circle for prime NL viewing. New to cruising and maybe changes like this are common-place? Regardless my excitement will be building over the next 14 or so months. 

You should be fine with the new itinerary.  On our January 2022 Northern Lights cruise, we saw the lights while at Alta (our most spectacular viewing), Tromso and Narvik - still included in the new itinerary. The previous itinerary included Stavanger and Bodo.  Stavanger is a bit too far south for optimal aurora viewing and was replaced anyway on the 2022 NL cruises with a stop at the Shetland Islands (which non of the cruises made because of high winds). Bodo was frequently missed on previous NL cruises, including ours, because of weather issues.  

[johneb2]

As Moonlion has pointed out, you will have many opportunities to view the NL, if they are out and the weather permits.  In March 2019, we found the main areas for viewing were Alta, Tromso, and Narvik.  There are several other discussions going on about this cruise.  Please search and view them, as they answer questions on clothing recommended, excursions, and overall general information.  While nobody can guarantee you will see the NL, you will see great scenery.  On average, when on our cruise, we were told about 80% to 90% do see the NL.   

[Haworth]

3 hours ago, johneb2 said:

As Moonlion has pointed out, you will have many opportunities to view the NL, if they are out and the weather permits.  In March 2019, we found the main areas for viewing were Alta, Tromso, and Narvik.  There are several other discussions going on about this cruise.  Please search and view them, as they answer questions on clothing recommended, excursions, and overall general information.  While nobody can guarantee you will see the NL, you will see great scenery.  On average, when on our cruise, we were told about 80% to 90% do see the NL.   

John is correct we were on the same cruise and got a number of excellent sightings, bear in mind that a sighting might just be that and not the truly spectacular award winning picture that you see in travel magazines

[molymoo]

The two stops they "replaced" were apparently frequent "misses" because of weather.  Eliminating them from the "get go" lessens the possibility of a "missed port" which is a big disappointment.  At least now you will have a better than even chance of being able to stick to the original itinerary.

 

[saabdued14]

My sincere thanks for follow-up responses  (Thanks Peregrina651, Moonlion, johnebe and molymoo) to my itinerary change and NL sighting concerns as well as helping me learn my way around Cruise Critic and to access the most and best info available. 

[Frenchberet]

17 hours ago, johneb2 said:

As Moonlion has pointed out, you will have many opportunities to view the NL, if they are out and the weather permits.  In March 2019, we found the main areas for viewing were Alta, Tromso, and Narvik.  There are several other discussions going on about this cruise.  Please search and view them, as they answer questions on clothing recommended, excursions, and overall general information.  While nobody can guarantee you will see the NL, you will see great scenery.  On average, when on our cruise, we were told about 80% to 90% do see the NL.   

We were among the 10-20% (?) that didn’t see the lights ☹️.  We sailed Feb 6-18, 2019.  It was a nice cruise but we were both surprised and disappointed with the outcome.  Suggest that you book a private tour(s) to maximize your opportunities.

[SoBaycruiser]

@Frenchberet

Did you tender in Alta?  If so, how late did the tenders run?  I posted the question in another thread in this folder because we have a private excursion booked an we will be out late.

 

 

[Moonlion]

8 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

@Frenchberet

Did you tender in Alta?  If so, how late did the tenders run?  I posted the question in another thread in this folder because we have a private excursion booked an we will be out late.

 

 

On our January 2022 NL cruise, we did not tender at Alta.  The ship docked at port. 

[Frenchberet]

22 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

@Frenchberet

Did you tender in Alta?  If so, how late did the tenders run?  I posted the question in another thread in this folder because we have a private excursion booked an we will be out late.

 

 

We docked (no tender) in Alta at 8 am on February 13 and left the following afternoon at 1:30 pm.  

[SoBaycruiser]

1 hour ago, Frenchberet said:

We docked (no tender) in Alta at 8 am on February 13 and left the following afternoon at 1:30 pm.  

Thank you.  It appears we are the unlucky cruise.  I haven’t heard from anyone else that tendered.