Viking In Search of Northern Lights-- start in Bergen or London?? And Port or Starboard side?

[Nlights2025]

Would love to hear opinion from those who have traveled this cruise-- would you start in Bergen or London? We are coming from California if that factors into jetlag, staying up nights for late excursions, weather acclimation, less motion sickness at start etc etc. And I've read that Viking always docks on starboard side so port side rooms might have nicer views during that time, or did that not matter at all? Many thanks!! My first cruise, very excited.

[CDNPolar]

We find that in port views are not necessarily all that you might think, especially in large ports.  We go to the top deck for views at anytime and don't rely on our balcony or cabin views, mainly because we are typically only in our cabin to change or sleep.

 

Regarding starting in London or Bergen consider this:

• If you go from London, you board and sail the same day, therefore if you want to see more of London you must go earlier and pay for a Viking pre-extension, or do it yourself.
• If you go from Bergen you are in port overnight so you have extra time in Bergen for sightseeing.

 

We always take the above into consideration and also are the flights easier on the start of the trip into London or Bergen.  We would rather do the easier flights at the beginning of the trip and save the connections and that mess to the return home.  For us, (Canada) we can have direct flights to London, but we would have to connect coming home from Bergen, or going to Bergen.  The direct flight going means less chance of lost luggage at the beginning of the trip.  This is what I mean by "easier" flights.  There are too many things that we might consider in making this decision, so for us it is not just cut and dry.

 

(We typically fly in one day early, and foot the bill for a hotel night so that we are assured that we make the embarkation and sail away.)

 

As far as booking a starboard or port side cabin, if you look at the itinerary, the ship loops around.  I would say that if starting in London, we would want a starboard side cabin as you would be viewing the coastline all the way to Alta, and then the ship turns and your cabin would be looking out to sea all the way back to Bergen.  You are seeing the complete coastline all the way up to Alta.  This would be our choice.

 

Perhaps even a starboard side cabin even starting in Bergen, but you are going to miss the coastline approaching Amsterdam and possibly England.

 

Half the fun of Viking cruises for us is the planning.  Have fun planning this as you are going to get lots of advice from the Viking cruisers here on Cruise Critic.

Edited October 12, 2023 by CDNPolar

[The Other Tom]

We always try to fly in 2-3 days before to get acclimated to the time.  That way, when we're on the ship, we're ready for our cruise.  On our NL cruise, we flew into London 4 days early and used that time to tour London on our own.  Then we embarked and flew home from Bergen. 

If you do your own flights, allow some time on the end as well due to potential weather delays.  Several sailings of the NL cruise last year were delayed.  

Port or Starboard makes no difference.  By the luck of the draw, we got a port room and were pleased with the views.  

 

[Meander Ingwa]

I am doing this trip in Jan and live on the west coast.  London is a much easier flight.  Plus, well I love London so having 4 days on my own before is simply a bonus.  The downside is the port of Tilbury which is not entirely convenient, but the train +cab or  Underground+cab option doesn't bother me.

 

At the end I have  a one way flight back to London.  This maximizes the price advantage of booking a round trip ticket from the same city.  The flight from Bergen or Oslo is inexpensive.  The train ride from Bergen to Oslo is considered one of the worlds best.

 

I am planning extra days in London after because, aside from being London< the Northern Lights trip from earlier this year ( Feb) was almost delay 2 days returning to port from stormy seas.  That way I can buffer my return flight from ship delay.

 

I didnt bother with side of ship.  The balconys will be of no use and for viewing the land and seascape and watching for lights, you want panorama views provided by the up top lounges

[Breckski]

We were in the aft so had great views of the fjords.  But of your two options, I'd say starboard if going London to Bergen and opposite if going other way.  Just b/c if traveling north you see land more on starboard.  To us the ports were irrelevant relating to side - nothing spectacular to see.

 

When we did this cruise we lived on the east coast so flights to London are super easy.  Non-stop, arrive early in the morning and minimal jet lag.  So, we flew in on departure date.  Actually, needed to waste some time before going to the port since the flights arrive pretty early in the morning.  I normally don't want the risk from arriving on the day of departure, but I was comfortable with this risk due to London being the city.  But for you, coming from CA, I'd get there a day or two or three early.  Jet lag will be worse than from the east coast.

 

If you haven't visited London, do so.  It's a neat city and very easy to navigate since you speak English.  We love London over the holiday season if that coincides with your departure.  It's decorated much like NYC.  

 

[Mich3554]

We are booked on this cruise this coming Jan, going Bergen to London.  We have been in Bergen several times, London not so much.  While I’ve scheduled us to fly in a few days early, I scheduled much more time in London.  I’d rather get the more complicated flights over early.  our flight home was direct, but the airline now has us connecting in MSP.  Not so happy with that as that gives us a 4 pm arrival in SEA, which means we are going to have to deal with traffic.  Our original flight had us landing at noon.
 

Our cabin is on the starboard side.  

[jrkstl]

We did the NL cruise this year and loved it very much!

 

Regarding port vs. starboard, I don't think that it really makes a difference. Plenty to see from both sides, but as others have said, you'll want to be up front or on top to view the scenic areas.

 

We began in Bergen and ended in London so that we could stay a few nights and enjoy all that London has to offer. We like to have something to look forward to after a cruise as disembarkation can be a real bummer.

 

Things to know about this itinerary - the schedule for ports, etc. can and probably will change due to Mother Nature. We only got as far north as Narvik, since there were big storms in Tromso and Alta. If you're subject to motion sickness, please come prepared. Cruises in this part of the world are known for the ever-changing North Sea, and it can get rough. I didn't have an issue with it personally, but it was much more intense than I ever expected. Two of our group, even prepared for the possibility didn't fare as well. All turned out good, but know before that it can be a crazy ride 🙂 BTW, this was our first ocean cruise, so now that we survived the North Sea, we'll probably be okay cruising most other parts of the world. Also keep in mind that seeing the Northern Lights is very hit or miss. We did actually see them one time, but apparently the group both before and after our cruise got multiple opportunities. And know that sometimes the NL are not as visible to the naked eye, but seen better via a camera lens.

 

Would totally do this cruise all over again!