Cold Weather Northern Lights trip

[NE John]

The recent posts of upcoming trips made me bring this up. Norway is certainly on a list of Cunard trips I’d like to take, especially all the way to Tromso. (Note that I went to Syracuse Univ and loved the winter weather up there, but that was a long time ago!)

I’m asking for any feedback about whether a colder weather trip to Norway is worth making vs a summer Fjords trip, knowing the Lights are not too available during the summer way up north. 
Is a Northern Lights voyage simply too cold to enjoy?

[sogne]

Last Nov Tromso was4°c at night in town and -1/-3° in the hills for light viewing. There little or any wind.

 

[oslofjord]

we did a northern lights on the Victoria last year in early October. The weather was rather chilly. I am from Connecticut and it was about like late November /early December weather in the Northeast. We did a rib boat tour in Tromso and in spite of all the waterproof gear (we looked like Michelin Men) some people on the tour were freezing. On an overland train trip from Narvik to the interior, we had a snow squall. This was my fifth cruise to Norway and I love the country; it was the first i did in the fall/winter. We did not really see much of the northern light (if any, I'm not sure what I was actually the lights). This may have been because we were early in the season (Oct), I picked it over the Mary's trip in early November so we would have more daylight for sightseeing. If this is your first time to the North of Norway, I would suggest that you go in early summer when the flowers are bloom and the days are sooooo very long. Yes, you have to go all the way up, preferably to North Cape, but definitely at least as far as Tromso. Love the Lyngen Alps, which you pass if you sail north out of Tromso.  If you have a chance to go to Spitzbergen, that is also amazing.  Hope you enjoy Norway 

[TheOldBear]

Check the phase of moon for Tromso [or other northern lights port visits] 

 

Last year, I did the Cunard bus tour [7 November] but the moon was near full so you never really got dark adapted, even away from artificial lights. Cameras were not impacted, so it was common to take a photo, then review to see if it was a moonlit cloud or aurora.

[3rdGenCunarder]

53 minutes ago, oslofjord said:

we did a northern lights on the Victoria last year in early October. The weather was rather chilly. I am from Connecticut and it was about like late November /early December weather in the Northeast. We did a rib boat tour in Tromso and in spite of all the waterproof gear (we looked like Michelin Men) some people on the tour were freezing. On an overland train trip from Narvik to the interior, we had a snow squall. This was my fifth cruise to Norway and I love the country; it was the first i did in the fall/winter. We did not really see much of the northern light (if any, I'm not sure what I was actually the lights). This may have been because we were early in the season (Oct), I picked it over the Mary's trip in early November so we would have more daylight for sightseeing. If this is your first time to the North of Norway, I would suggest that you go in early summer when the flowers are bloom and the days are sooooo very long. Yes, you have to go all the way up, preferably to North Cape, but definitely at least as far as Tromso. Love the Lyngen Alps, which you pass if you sail north out of Tromso.  If you have a chance to go to Spitzbergen, that is also amazing.  Hope you enjoy Norway 

 

I've been to Norway twice in the summer, and I agree that if you're only going one, or going for the first time, that's the better bet. I'm doing QV in October-November in hopes of seeing the Northern lights. Sunrise at the northernmost ports is after 8:30 and sunset is before 4 PM, so not optimal for sightseeing.

 

And yes, try to find a cruise that goes to Sptizbergen. You know all those people who brag about being in (or sailing by) Antarctica? Well, at Sptizbergen you're closer to the North Pole than they got to the South Pole. (No penguins, but you might see caribou)

[D&N]

I made a post in another thread earlier today, which needs to be taken in context.

We lived most of our lives in and around Glasgow and experienced winter temperatures as low as -19C.

 

We have chosen to live the remainder of our lives in a warmer climate.  I have a video of the only sleet we have encountered here, on morning of February 26th 2018.

We are equipped to stay comfortable on the growing number of days per year that the temperature exceeds 30C. I don't have any inclination to visit somewhere colder between autumn and late spring if it can be avoided.

 

But many folk are happy to brave sub zero temperatures to observe Wonders of the World first hand and shouldn't be put off by my aversion to cold.

 

2 weeks of dressing to the nines, dancing, eating and drinking on QM2 is about the only activity that has tempted me away from our daily routine, which I liken to being on an everlasting holiday.

[Lanky Lad]

I have done a winter cruise and a summer cruise to Norway and they are very different things. If you don't mind the cold then winter with a chance of aurora gets my vote. (I'm doing the QA trip in October 2024). This will be my third winter cruise if that tells you anything. 

[NE John]

I was looking at the extreme northern borders of Norway and see that Norway borders with Russia. I trust that good tour guides would not lead us astray!

[TheOldBear]

7 minutes ago, NE John said:

I was looking at the extreme northern borders of Norway and see that Norway borders with Russia. I trust that good tour guides would not lead us astray!

Some of the northern lights 'chase' tours say in their description that you should bring your passport. The Cunard bus tour did not leave the Troms island [but we did drive through the tunnel complex under Tromso]

[rsquare]

3 hours ago, sogne said:

Last Nov Tromso was4°c at night in town and -1/-3° in the hills for light viewing. There little or any wind.

 

For those of us on the old system, Wikipedia give an average November temperature range from 27F to 36F (basically what sogne said), with a mean of 32F, and 13.5 days in the month with precipitation (which is par for the course in western Norway).  That suggests icy streets, and indeed one of my guidebooks suggests spiked shoe bottoms (ice cleats, traction spikes) which can be attached to non-spiked shoes.  Amazon has a range from around USD7 to USD20 a pair.

 

Being on the 2024 Northern Lights cruise puts me in Tromso (as north as we go) part of 6 November and all of 7 November.  I suspect that I will have to balance the bulk of a winter coat against the bulk of my tuxedo with all its accessories; I doubt that I can do both in one suitcase.  First world problems....

 

[NE John]

9 minutes ago, rsquare said:

For those of us on the old system, Wikipedia give an average November temperature range from 27F to 36F (basically what sogne said), with a mean of 32F, and 13.5 days in the month with precipitation (which is par for the course in western Norway).  That suggests icy streets, and indeed one of my guidebooks suggests spiked shoe bottoms (ice cleats, traction spikes) which can be attached to non-spiked shoes.  Amazon has a range from around USD7 to USD20 a pair.

 

Being on the 2024 Northern Lights cruise puts me in Tromso (as north as we go) part of 6 November and all of 7 November.  I suspect that I will have to balance the bulk of a winter coat against the bulk of my tuxedo with all its accessories; I doubt that I can do both in one suitcase.  First world problems....

 

Look forward to reading your thoughts of that voyage. Are you doing the TA’s along with the Northern Lights cruise or flying just for the cruise part?

[rsquare]

4 hours ago, NE John said:

 Are you doing the TA’s along with the Northern Lights cruise or flying just for the cruise part?

The latter.  I'm travelling with a friend who has never been on QM2 and is worried about what she'll do on sea days, so TAs are not on the agenda until she forms a judgment on the Mary.