Norway: winter clothing, shore excursions

We are doing the same cruise in February 17 :) We went to Copenhagen in January of this year and, in temps of -15C, I was miserable. I don't want to spoil any Northern Lights experience because I'm too cold to function.

 

However, as we are now both retired there is no wage coming in and we have to be sensible with the pennies, so I don't want to spend a lot on things that won't get used again. We live on the south coast of England and, although nothing like Australia, we don't get a lot of very cold weather here.

 

I have put loads of things on my Amazon 'wish list', I have a birthday and Christmas between now and the cruise. I have added the long-lasting hand and foot warmers too! I will keep an eye on sales etc and hope not to break the bank :)

No need to break the bank. If you go to Mountain Warehouse, or similar, you can buy thermals quite cheap. I suggest a high neck, then you can wear your normal jumpers on top.

 

 

 

I have put loads of things on my Amazon 'wish list', I have a birthday and Christmas between now and the cruise. I have added the long-lasting hand and foot warmers too! I will keep an eye on sales etc and hope not to break the bank :)

We're going on northern lights cruise in March

Try mountain warehouse as they are having a 50% sale on. I've bought ski gear really cheap, probably sell it on eBay after

I haven't broken the bank either - all my stuff has been in sales or discounted from places like Mountain Warehouse and M&S and Go Outdoors. It is pleasantly surprising what is out there at a very good price :)

I haven't broken the bank either - all my stuff has been in sales or discounted from places like Mountain Warehouse and M&S and Go Outdoors. It is pleasantly surprising what is out there at a very good price :)

Or even Aldi.

Thank you everyone, most of the stores mentioned are near where my parents live so we can have a shop before we go on the cruise.

Cheers

Rachel and Vicky

No need to break the bank. Aldi are brilliant for cheap ski wear and I bought very cheap waterproof over-trousers online to wear over trackie bottoms I already had. The only real extra was the thermal underwear - I guess Heatgen is similar to grade 4.

There were however extras needed if you want to photograph the Northern Lights. A tripod is essential, as is a remote control and a camera with manual settings. The onboard photographers held a couple of presentations on how to do it - you can't get them with phones, ipads or point and shoot cameras I am afraid.

We are doing the same cruise in February 17 :) We went to Copenhagen in January of this year and, in temps of -15C, I was miserable. I don't want to spoil any Northern Lights experience because I'm too cold to function.

 

However, as we are now both retired there is no wage coming in and we have to be sensible with the pennies, so I don't want to spend a lot on things that won't get used again. We live on the south coast of England and, although nothing like Australia, we don't get a lot of very cold weather here.

 

I have put loads of things on my Amazon 'wish list', I have a birthday and Christmas between now and the cruise. I have added the long-lasting hand and foot warmers too! I will keep an eye on sales etc and hope not to break the bank :)

Hi, My husband, grown up son and I did this trip last year and had a great time aboard the Oriana.

We didn't really see much of the Northern lights only catching a glimpse from the ship. I think the best way to enjoy this trip is to think well if I see them fantastic but if I don't I will just enjoy the lovely scenery.

We went on the search for the Northern lights trip and for the three of us was very expensive and we saw nothing but maybe you will .

The other trips we did were

1 Reindeer sledging - A lovely trip which includes a delicious traditional meal and a gentle sledge ride with beautiful scenery.

1. The Ice Hotel - lots of great photo taking of this place which is a potato field in the summer and rebuilt every winter. If I did this cruise again I would stay overnight. If you can think about doing the' Overnight At the Ice Hotel' excursion it's expensive but other cruisers who did it said it was worth it.

3. The dog sledging - Great fun and goodness the dogs do fast. My husband and son loved the speed, but I was on a sled with another lady cruiser and was terrified I was going to come flying off around the corners. I think for me it was a little like the Madeira wicker basket ride an experience just done the once. The dogs are very friendly and you can pet them after the ride.

As for the temperatures well my husband asked around about this and was given the advice that It wasn't as cold as you might think BUT I'm glad we ignored that because it was very cold and I did bring thermals and snow boots and grippers. Host Sharon layers post is spot on.

Another fun thing about these cruises are the drink specials. Hot toddy or Mulled wine. I have lovely memories of sitting in the crows nest with my warming drink and looking out at the wintery scenery.

Enjoy your cruise we did.

Hi Redabby

Can you remember how much any of the excursions you have mentioned were? Just trying to work out a budget and savings plan etc, as we have flights to factor in as well! I realise they will have gone up a bit by the time March 2018 comes around!

Thanks you everyone's help as well it's been great.

Kind regards

Rachel

Just returned from fjords trip on Azura and can really recommend Land of the Trolls excursion it was eight hours and it was by far the best shore excursion we have taken since we started cruising.

The views were simply stunning I think it was £82 but included a wonderful lunch . We went from Alesund but I know it operates from Andalsnes too hope you have a great trip.

Hi Redabby

Can you remember how much any of the excursions you have mentioned were? Just trying to work out a budget and savings plan etc, as we have flights to factor in as well! I realise they will have gone up a bit by the time March 2018 comes around!

Thanks you everyone's help as well it's been great.

Kind regards

Rachel

The trip out to the middle of nowhere for Northern Lights spotting was the most expensive - well over £100 but to my mind, worth it as there was no light pollution to spoil the effect. They employ a specialist company - GLØD Explorer - who work out the best chances of seeing the lights and take you to one of about three potential locations. We also had the bonus of a fabulous coach ride of around an hour and a half through stunning scenery - frozen waterfalls, ice-covered rivers and animal tracks through the snow - wolverine and such.

If you go to the company's facebook page and search for Oriana 2014 - there is a timelapse video of our tour/sighting.

Just found my excursions booklet for 2014

Northern Lights £135, Husky sledding from Tromso £165, Husky adventure at Alta £180, reindeer sledding & Sami Camp from Alta £120, Reindeer sledding from Tromso £182, Overnight in the Ice Hotel £369 (no toilets - have to walk across snow to other building!)

Thanks Sharon for the pricing info, as we're thinking of booking this trip, and it gives an idea of additional costs to budget for, as we'd defo book certain tours.

I notice this trip is in Alta for 2 nights, I wonder if that means the Northern lights tour will run both nights to give more chance of seeing it?

Thanks Sharon for the pricing info, as we're thinking of booking this trip, and it gives an idea of additional costs to budget for, as we'd defo book certain tours.

 

I notice this trip is in Alta for 2 nights, I wonder if that means the Northern lights tour will run both nights to give more chance of seeing it?

Probably - we had two evenings in Alta as well, because we considered changing our lights tour to the second night which had a better forecast - thank goodness we didn't! There were 4 tours on both nights - between 8pm and 11.30pm. The four coaches stayed there the whole time and came back as they filled up so you could return earlier if you wished.

Probably - we had two evenings in Alta as well, because we considered changing our lights tour to the second night which had a better forecast - thank goodness we didn't! There were 4 tours on both nights - between 8pm and 11.30pm. The four coaches stayed there the whole time and came back as they filled up so you could return earlier if you wished.

Great, as we'd prob book both evenings, as it would be our main goal of the trip. It's reassuring to know that my husband could return before me if he started to suffer with the cold (he does now after an illness 5 yrs ago) though we'd take very warm clothing (I've got some from Antarctica a few years ago; my down jacket fits him) and plenty of 'hand' warmers for various places, which are great! I remember I was one of the few in Antarctica who never got cold. I think this may become my holiday in 2018 for my 50th birthday...

Great, as we'd prob book both evenings, as it would be our main goal of the trip. It's reassuring to know that my husband could return before me if he started to suffer with the cold (he does now after an illness 5 yrs ago) though we'd take very warm clothing (I've got some from Antarctica a few years ago; my down jacket fits him) and plenty of 'hand' warmers for various places, which are great! I remember I was one of the few in Antarctica who never got cold. I think this may become my holiday in 2018 for my 50th birthday...

I did Antarctica last year (January) and although some of the clothing came in very useful it was nowhere near as cold as Northern Norway in March! On our northern lights tour it hit -26C. Having said that, with the clothing I listed earlier in this thread I was toasty. I only realised quite how cold it was (and of course the colder it is the more chance there is of seeing the lights) when I stupidly took my glove off to adjust my tripod and nearly stuck my fingers to the metal! hence the need for silk glove liners.

I love cold weather cruising - a great birthday present to yourself.

Thanks for the tours prices, Sharon. That has really helped our planning :)

I did Antarctica last year (January) and although some of the clothing came in very useful it was nowhere near as cold as Northern Norway in March! On our northern lights tour it hit -26C. Having said that, with the clothing I listed earlier in this thread I was toasty. I only realised quite how cold it was (and of course the colder it is the more chance there is of seeing the lights) when I stupidly took my glove off to adjust my tripod and nearly stuck my fingers to the metal! hence the need for silk glove liners.

 

I love cold weather cruising - a great birthday present to yourself.

Yes, Antarctica (back in 2008 to 9) wasn't quite that cold but I've been down to -18 a few times. Loved it as it was a dryer cold than the norm UK cold. Didn't feel too cold, but silk thermals and under gloves are essential :) I think this cruise will be booked... Maybe with a future cruise credit this Christmas... Thanks for all your info and advice :)

We are doing the Northern lights cruise on Oriana in February. Any help and advice will be welcomed. This is our first cruise so we are complete novices. What is the best clothes to pack - both warm clothes and on board smart clothes. What excursions do you recommend - and what to avoid.

We did the dog sledding tour in Alta which was very enjoyable.

Clothing wise you need layers as has already been said. We wore thermal base layers from Mountain Warehouse, some outdoor activity trousers and coat (warm lined, light and wind proof - Decathlon is good for these) and a shirt and fleece jumper. Some days these were helped by a padded gilet as well. You need good footwear that you can fit ice grippers to when you get further north. For those chilly morning sails in the fjords you will need hat, scarf and gloves as well. Minus 15 with a 12 knot wind chill is very bracing!

Oriana at that time was still reasonably formal in the evening, I don't know if it has changed. So there were casual evenings, smart casual and then 3 formal (black tie) evenings.

Casual - polo shirt/nice shirt and nice trousers for men, skirt/trousers and top or reasonably smart dress for ladies.

Smart Casual - as above but jacket required for men, blinked up version of above for ladies.

Formal - DJ or lounge suit for men, sparkly cocktail dresses, ball gowns, tops for ladies. One formal night is usually black and white themed.

If you are intending to take photos of the northern lights then a tripod is essential. Guess who forgot theirs!! Still it is a good excuse to go again......

Thanks. Really looking forward to it. :)

Is it worth going on the northern lights tour or can you see them just as well from the ship?

Is it worth going on the Northern lights tour or can you see them just as well from the ship?

Is it worth going on the Northern lights tour or can you see them just as well from the ship?

Ah now there's a question.. We saw them from the ship and someone who did the trip said it was the most expensive cup of chocolate he had ever had as they saw nothing and as some of the crew who went were also forever taking pictures with their mobile phones the light pollution was awful. I have been told by others they did trip from ship and it was great. as there are not many companies who do this trip the ship usually books them out so getting a private trip can be difficult, same with the dog sledging. Can throughly recommend the ice hotel. As others have said layers layers layers are best, the only extra clothing we purchased were thermal vests, socks and for me thermal tights.

Have fun it's a great cruise.

We had a great view of the lights from the ship in the harbour at Alta while drinking brandy on the rear deck bar. It was a brilliant day. Smoked haddock for breakfast, dog sledding, venison for dinner and northern lights and brandy for a nightcap. Couldn't ask for more.