Northern lights question..........................

Hello to my fellow cruisers; My wife and myself have been on over 15 cruises now and are now getting more fussy and particular on where we cruise. Having said that has anyone done a cruise to see the "Northern Lights"??? If so may I ask first of all was it worth it and second of all can you recommend a particular cruise, ship, time of year, etc etc???? Iam having a hard time finding anyone at the cruise lines that has good solid answers. I find in all HONESTY that they hire tons of people that work out of their homes and do it as a part time gig. Any and all advice would truly be appreciated. And any and all cruises that you can be "specific" on would be very helpful. When you google the question lots of strange companies come up and Iam always concerned about trying to deal with somebody in a very far away foreign land. No, Iam not a redneck but prefer somebody in the USA. THANK YOU TO ALL. ;)

The best northern lights will be in the winter, and the further north you go, the better chance you have of seeing them. Several years ago we did a late fall cruise on the Hurtigruten (a Norwegian ferry line that also offers cruise like arrangements). We started in Bergen and ended in Kirkenes. Most days above the arctic circle we had 4 or 5 hours of day light, so the long nights meant we had good chances to see the northern lights.

The ‘British’ cruise lines, P&O, Fred Olsen and ‘Cruise & Maritime’ all offer Northern Lights cruises in winter. We did one with P&O and were very happy with it, especially since we did see the lights. You cannot count on it! It was in March, which is a good compromise time of year, since in mid-winter there is little daylight as you go farther north.

Hurtigruten is, as mentioned above, a Norwegian ferry line which these days offers cruises along the Norwegian coastline. I am sure they can be booked through a US office, as can the British ones. If you cannot locate their agents in the US, try emailing the companies to ask them.

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Thank You very much to both parties above. I appreciate very much the information. Happy crusing to you.

Aside from the ferries, the cruise season in Northern Europe typically ends too early for the Northern Lights. Because of the extreme changes in daylight between summer and winter, you really need a trip that's after the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, so that you have enough full darkness. More of these later season dedicated Northern Lights cruises have started appearing in recent years, so there's more choice than there used to be, but it's still not a huge market.

The auroral activity band doesn't actually center around the pole, so in northern Europe you have to be at much higher latitudes for peak activity than you would in the western hemisphere: http://auroraforecast.gi.alaska.edu/?area=NorthPolar This typically means northern Norway, especially around Tromsø.

While I have been lucky enough to see an amazing auroral display from a ship, if the Northern Lights are the real focus of the trip, I would actually recommend a land-based trip over a cruise. The single biggest factor in being able to view the lights is having a clear sky. Cloud cover = no visible aurora. When you're on a ship, there's only so much last-minute repositioning they can do to try to get to an area with clear skies. In the cities that support aurora tourism, the guides keep close watches on the weather radars, and the hilly terrain creates enough micro-climates that they can usually find places that have a break in the clouds. Staying in the aurora zone for a few days multiplies your chances tremendously, so even if you're looking at cruises, be sure to look at how many days you're actually spending in the optimum latitudes.

Lastly, there are some ship-specific issues when it comes to Northern Lights. Light pollution can have a big effect, so try to find out if the dedicated Northern Lights cruises are willing to extinguish areas of external ship lighting to support aurora viewing. And if you're hoping to photograph them, a ship is absolutely not the place to do it. You need such a long exposure that it's incredibly difficult to get a good shot. If you're under way, you have the vibrations of the engines coming through the decks, and even if you're at anchor in calm waters, the slight movements of the ship make it difficult even for long-time aurora experts to shoot cleanly. It's far easier on land, where you can take advantage of a tripod or just set your camera down to take a long exposure.

My recommendation would be Hurtigruten in mid-March. I flew to Norway, took the train across to Bergen, and the full round trip. Mid-March gives almost 12 hours daylight so you see plenty of scenery, but also is still winter so the mountains are covered in snow. If you can do it our way, following a snowstorm all the way up and down the coast (or so it seemed), the snow is always pristine and fresh!

You don't get long on shore at most places, but the ship does run special tours that leave at one port and meet up again at the next.

Just a bit off the subject. We did a north board Alaska cruise several years ago, and we had a flight out of Anchorage, late August, at midnight. We read here on CC that IF you have a chance to see the Northern lights, make sure you are on the left side of the plane. At the airport, we changed our seats to the left side. Well, I know everyone says you can't see the Northern Lights in August, but we had a crisp clear night and we were treated to an amazing, hours worth of display. Even the Captain of the plane remarked it was unusual, but he had to compensate because everyone on the plane was looking out the left side.

We did a 10 day cruise and land to Alaska and this was the thing we talked about the most, seeing the Northern Lights.

So, it may not be likely, but you just never know. So to anyone flying out of Alaska or maybe any other northern city, find out which side of the plane will face North and try and sit on that side, you never know.

Cheers

Len

Land based Northern Lights tours are usually more successful than water based tours as buses/jeeps/etc are more "nimble" and can chase faster and to different places than a ship can get to.

WOW, again I want to say a "BIG THANK YOU" to all that have posted. You all have educated me a ton. After reading all the posts a second time it really sounds like a cruise is NOT the answer. Again, I thank everyone. Let me also say that this is "TRULY A GREAT WEBSITE" as everyone is so nice, polite, and very helpful. Wish we could all cruise togethor!!!!!!

Land based Northern Lights tours are usually more successful than water based tours as buses/jeeps/etc are more "nimble" and can chase faster and to different places than a ship can get to.

Yes, that is why the ships offer evening excursions led by the local experts, who can take you to the spot which is most likely to have clear skies and the best chance of seeing the lights. The ships usually stay in Tromso for one night and Alta for two nights, to maximise the chances.

Of course, if you go and stay in Alta for a week, your chances are even better. However, I think it would get a little boring in the daytime!

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Lastly, there are some ship-specific issues when it comes to Northern Lights. Light pollution can have a big effect, so try to find out if the dedicated Northern Lights cruises are willing to extinguish areas of external ship lighting to support aurora viewing. <snip>

Thank you Kaisatsu! You introduced a thought that had crossed my mind.

We are booked on a Princess first.... 'Northern Lights' dedicated cruise which sails next year. I wondered how watching the Aurora Borealis could play out on a ship with lots of lights.

As I have time, I have been researching online how this could play out. But your comment made one thing clear... We all need to contact Princess to verify that when the aurora viewing opp happens, not only will they indeed make the all-call and extinguish the lights, but will make an all-call announcement when it happens :)

If you are considering a land trip you may want to check out Aurora Sky station in Abisko in Northern Sweden. Combine it with a stay in Kiruna and Jukkasjärvi Icehotel or continue from Abisko in to Norway.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/the-worlds-most-illuminating-experiences/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2767898

https://www.auroraskystation.com/

https://www.icehotel.com/sv/

https://www.visitkiruna.com/

https://www.kirunalapland.se/en/travel-here/train/

I love Tromsø and find that there's plenty to do to fill a few days (sightseeing around the city, dogsledding, cross-country skiing, etc) even if the lights don't cooperate, so it's usually my top suggestion for northern lights trips.

And a pro-tip for the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi -- If you plan to stay overnight inside the ice hotel itself, consider booking a snow room, rather than an ice room. All of the rooms themselves are open to the public during the day, so you can still see them, hang out, and take photos. After hours, you're probably unlikely to be hanging out a lot in your sub-zero room. (Maybe in the ice bar, though!) Once we'd prepped for bed, it was a pretty quick huddle down into the sleeping bag and lights out. The snow rooms don't look as pretty (hence the lower price), but since we were asleep, it would have been pretty much the same experience!

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/shetland/

I just got back from a British Isles cruise on the Jade and was hoping to see the Northern lights when we were near Kirkwall. I stayed up till 11:30 on a cold night but couldn’t see anything because of the cloud coverage. The captain had made mention that some people said that they saw a display the following evening.

I used that website to track activity but I gave up too soon as activity was low when I checked in Belfast. (Free wifi)

viking ocean . . .