Do I need a balcony Norway/Northern Lights cruise?

[TN-Mountains]

I really want to do a Northern Lights cruise next October, but the prices are coming in higher than I like.  Before I give up on the idea for 2023, I thought I'd revisit my options to see if there is anyway to trim costs.  I've been pricing the cruise with an unobstructed balcony stateroom and the Princess Plus fairs (drinks, wifi, crew appreciation).  I thought about ditching the Princess Plus, but last time I cruised (2008) I recall how quickly those things add up purchasing a la carte.  Crew appreciate and wifi are a must (kids will be left at home with Nana).  I can do without a lot of alcohol, but I like specialty coffees and juice.  With the already over inflated prices + gratuity, I'm guessing 1-2 beverages/day is the break even point, no?   That leaves the stateroom.  Are balconies a must for this type of trip?  I've had both windows and balconies on past cruises.  If I cruise the Caribbean again, I've always said I could skip the balcony if it saves a lot of money.  My Alaska cruise I didn't consider rooms without a balcony, but that was in May/June.  Will it be too cold in October to really use the balcony?  Should I just look at Ocean View rooms instead?  I'd love some opinions on this!  

 

BTW--This is my first time posting.  I hope this question hasn't been asked a 1000 times!  I didn't see anything when I did a search.  

[CCJack]

Certainly a balcony would be nice as there is a lot more to see from your cabin than on a Caribbean cruise.   Although it will be chilly in October,  it will also be cold (or colder) on the deck as opposed to your balcony.  The sail in to fjords can be a couple hours so it is nice to view from your room.  An ocean view would be an otion if you are looking to save money.  One option is to book ocean view then keep an active watch on price fluxuations and switch to balcony if the opportunity is there.   

 

Are you pricing through the cuiseline?   We like to book through one of the big box wharehouse clubs,  saving a few hundred $ on a cruise line this.   

Edited October 13, 2022 by CCJack

[hallasm]

Cruising Norway during winter you’ll not use a balcony - and you’ll probably not be able to see the lights from a balcony - to really answer your questions you need to post the itinerary and date . Might depend on cruising the deep fjords but not common on northern lights cruises - and it will likely also be dark- depending on time you might have polar winter and no sun over the horizon at all.

Personally I would not use the balcony during winter and dark.

[TN-Mountains]

7 hours ago, CCJack said:

Certainly a balcony would be nice as there is a lot more to see from your cabin than on a Caribbean cruise.   Although it will be chilly in October,  it will also be cold (or colder) on the deck as opposed to your balcony.  The sail in to fjords can be a couple hours so it is nice to view from your room.  An ocean view would be an otion if you are looking to save money.  One option is to book ocean view then keep an active watch on price fluxuations and switch to balcony if the opportunity is there.   

 

Are you pricing through the cuiseline?   We like to book through one of the big box wharehouse clubs,  saving a few hundred $ on a cruise line this.   

Thanks for your reply.  I didn't think about the decks being colder than the balcony.  I guess the dividers do provide a wind break, so that is a good point.  One of my concerns with an ocean view is that the windows are above the bed in the photos.  If that is the case, I can't imagine that would be comfortable for extended viewing.  

 

I've searched several sites for pricing, but mostly Princess's website, since it seems more straight forward and easier to search.  At first glance it looked like some other sites were cheaper, but they just tack on the fees at the end instead of up front.  I checked Costco, but they were $500-600 more for this sailing.  (You get most of it back on a Costco card.)  It is possible that their cabins are a higher category than the ones I'm looking at on Princess.   They were over budget so I didn't bother digging into the details.  Once I find something within budget I'll search Costco again and drill down deeper into the details.  

[TheOldBear]

Two comments

 

First, Mrs Bear _always_ wants a balcony, so we _need_ a balcony wherever possible.

 

Second, remember that travel agents [even $BIG_BOX_STORE agents] are not discussed by name on these forums.

 

Our upcoming Norway and Northern Lights sailing is booked for a QM2 'sheltered' balcony - and these do give you an area of calm on the balcony, even when the winds outside of the aperture are a brisk force 11

 

[TN-Mountains]

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

Cruising Norway during winter you’ll not use a balcony - and you’ll probably not be able to see the lights from a balcony - to really answer your questions you need to post the itinerary and date . Might depend on cruising the deep fjords but not common on northern lights cruises - and it will likely also be dark- depending on time you might have polar winter and no sun over the horizon at all.

Personally I would not use the balcony during winter and dark.

Thanks for your insight. You hit on my points of concern for a winter cruise.  I'm also considering a different cruise of Norway in June. I'm thinking a balcony would be used during the long summer days, but would love your thoughts on that too!  Both itineraries are shown below!  

 

This is the itinerary for the Oct 4-18 sailing:  

1.      Southampton (London), England

2.      At Sea                 

3.      Stavanger, Norway

4.      At Sea                 

5.      At Sea                 

6.      Tromso, Norway

7.      Alta, Norway (Water Shuttle Required)

8.      Alta, Norway (Water Shuttle Required)

9.      At Sea                 

10.   Lofoten Islands (Gravdal), Norway (Water Shuttle Required)

11.   At Sea                 

12.   Alesund, Norway

13.   At Sea                 

14.   At Sea                 

15.   Southampton (London), England

 

And, the itinerary for the June 17-July1 sailing:

1.      Southampton (London), England

2.      At Sea                 

3.      Bergen, Norway

4.      Molde, Norway

5.      Trondheim, Norway

6.      At Sea                 

7.      Honningsvag (for North Cape), Norway

8.      Tromso, Norway

9.      Lofoten Islands (Gravdal), Norway (Water Shuttle Required)

10.   At Sea                 

11.   Alesund, Norway

12.   Olden, Norway

13.   At Sea                 

14.   At Sea                 

15.   Southampton (London), England

[TN-Mountains]

29 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

Two comments

 

First, Mrs Bear _always_ wants a balcony, so we _need_ a balcony wherever possible.

 

Second, remember that travel agents [even $BIG_BOX_STORE agents] are not discussed by name on these forums.

 

Our upcoming Norway and Northern Lights sailing is booked for a QM2 'sheltered' balcony - and these do give you an area of calm on the balcony, even when the winds outside of the aperture are a brisk force 11

 

Oh no!  I did read the rule about the travel agents.  Since it was a big box I didn't think of them as a travel agent, but you're right!  Is there a way for me to edit my post?  I didn't see one or would.

 

Is there a trick to knowing which balconies are sheltered when reading the deck plans?  

Edited October 13, 2022 by TN-Mountains

[TheOldBear]

On the QM2 all the balcony cabins in the main hull [decks 4, 5 & 6] below the promenade deck are 'sheltered'.

There is an aperture in the ships hull, and the rest of the frontage is the ship's steel hull.

 

The disadvantage is that when you sit on one of the provided chairs, you cannot see the horizon - but you have splendid view of the sky.

 

I think another name for this style is the 'cove balcony'

[ontheweb]

40 minutes ago, TN-Mountains said:

Oh no!  I did read the rule about the travel agents.  Since it was a big box I didn't think of them as a travel agent, but you're right!  Is there a way for me to edit my post?  I didn't see one or would.

 

Is there a trick to knowing which balconies are sheltered when reading the deck plans?  

There are three little lines to the right of the post number. If you click on that, one of the things that comes up is edit, but there is a limited time after posting you can do that. I'm not even sure if edit comes up after the time. I'm sorry I do not know the exact time limit.

 

Report also comes up. You could "report" yourself only asking to rid the post of the travel agency name apologizing for including it.

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, TN-Mountains said:

I'm also considering a different cruise of Norway in June. I'm thinking a balcony would be used during the long summer days, but would love your thoughts on that too!  Both itineraries are shown below!  

Just note that none of your listed cruises include the deep fjords - not much to see from a balcony. Even in June you might find it very cold - realize that you’re traveling quite far north - both cruises are Arctic cruises  - northern lights in October and midnight sun in June/July.

In Honningsvåg you might expect 50˚F in July and 30 ˚F in October.

[CCJack]

Hallasm correctly pointed out the daylight issue that I did not think about in my initial reply.  when I booked our Norway (not northern Norway) cruise and then a couple years later our Iceland cruise I intentionally booked as close to June 21 as I could - we were within 10 days of summer solstice for both.  I just really enjoy the near 24 hour daylight.   We had deep fjords and I was up a 4:30 to see the beautiful sail in - it was daylight and very beautiful.

 

My opinion TN-Mountains is I would much prefer the June sailing, you would have 24 hour sun.   Although there are no deep Fjords on those trips, those Northern stops look really beautiful to me (although I have never been to them, I enjoy looking at the 4k drone videos on youtube.) -   You may want to check sunrise and sundown times for your october dates and locations just so you know.

 

Good luck planning...

 

 

[ljandgb]

That part of the world gains/loses about 13 minutes of daylight per day. That can make a huge difference for how much daylight you'd have to see ports, etc, on the November cruise.  I think it would be VERY cold sitting out on a balcony in the dark.

 

I've not done a NL cruise, but I've heard to also consider that ambient ship lighting will sometimes make it harder to see the lights.

 

[TN-Mountains]

Thank you all for your replies!  Your thoughts are much appreciated.  After considering all your input, I broadened my scope and looked at some different itineraries that focused on the fjords (14- day Icelandic & Norwegian Fjords) rather than the northern lights/midnight sun.  My husband was more excited about this itinerary.  He used to live in Alaska and has seen the Northern Lights on many occasions.  I booked a premium oceanview cabin since it was substantially cheaper than a balcony.  It looks like this category of cabin has a small sofa/loveseat and a chair near a picture window.  What do y'all think of this itinerary?  

 

14-Day Icelandic & Norwegian Fjords

Wed, Jul 12         Copenhagen, Denmark

Thu, Jul 13          Skagen, Denmark

Fri, Jul 14             Haugesund, Norway

Sat, Jul 15            Alesund, Norway

Sun, Jul 16           Shetland Islands (Lerwick), Scotland

Mon, Jul 17         At Sea                 

Tue, Jul 18           Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Wed, Jul 19         Akureyri, Iceland

Thu, Jul 20          Grundarfjordur, Iceland

Fri, Jul 21             Reykjavik, Iceland

Sat, Jul 22            At Sea                 

Sun, Jul 23           At Sea                 

Mon, Jul 24         Liverpool, England

Tue, Jul 25           At Sea                 

Wed, Jul 26         Southampton (London), England

[CCJack]

I think it looks real interesting.    July better than October.   Copenhagen i think would be a great departure Port.   5 countries in 14 days !.   Only slight drawback is only 2 Norway stops,  as Norway is one of my favorites.   I think it would be a great trip.   

[hallasm]

14 hours ago, TN-Mountains said:

I broadened my scope and looked at some different itineraries that focused on the fjords

Really interesting itinerary but no deep Norwegian fjords included. Ålesund and Haugesund in Norway are both Coastal cities.

[Capt_BJ]

FWIW the two most frequently visited 'deep fjiord' ports are Geiranger and Flam with Flam being less frequent of the two. There are a few others but these are the two most visited. G is about a 50 nautical mile transit for open water .... Flam around 90 ..... 

 

Flam is also famous for its railroad "described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world" ... only 20km long and an easy excursion trip a short walk from the pier/tender landing ....

 

 

Geir' is known for 'Seven Sisters waterfall ..... seen on the approach ....

 

Geir' 

 

Flam

 

 

[Travelbird22]

I just want to see the Northern Lights- is it possible on a Norwegian cruise? I’ve been in summer, and the Fjords are breathtaking, but now I just want to see the Northern Lights. And is a window cabin sufficient? If balconies are sold out?

[Hezu]

1 hour ago, Travelbird22 said:

I just want to see the Northern Lights- is it possible on a Norwegian cruise? I’ve been in summer, and the Fjords are breathtaking, but now I just want to see the Northern Lights. And is a window cabin sufficient? If balconies are sold out?

It is possible to see northern lights while cruising on Norwegian coast, but there are few caveats:

- First and foremost you need dark and clear skies to see auroras and thus summer months are out of question and even other times of year cloud cover can prevent seeing anything

- The phenomenon does not occur every night, although further north you go more common it gets

- With naked eyes, auroras, especially faint ones, may look less spectacular than in photos

 

I have no experience on observing auroras during a cruise, but I would guess windows and to some degree balconies may not be the best places to observe as especially faint northern lights appear only in northern horizon and your cabin may be facing wrong direction then. Thus I would assume that better options for observing auroras would be on outdoor decks or even better on a dedicated port excursion as then it would be easier to go hunting for auroras (or good conditions to observe them) further away from the coast.

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, Travelbird22 said:

I just want to see the Northern Lights- is it possible on a Norwegian cruise? I’ve been in summer, and the Fjords are breathtaking, but now I just want to see the Northern Lights. And is a window cabin sufficient? If balconies are sold out?

The possibilities to see the northern lights from a balcony are quite limited - it is best seen from the upper open decks. It is often announced from the bridge when there are Northern Lights.

Several cruise lines have an overnight stay in Tromsø or Alta with the option of shore excursions. It increases the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights as you are brought to an area by bus with the best possibilities (cloudless).

I was on a Nordlys voyage with Hurtigruten and in all cases it was necessary to go to the outer deck to get the full benefit - remember warm clothes - it is very, very cold on the outer deck at night in wintertime in Northern Norway at sea.
Personally, I would not book a cabin with a balcony - limited use when it is windy and cold.
Northern lights are seen from September to March (early April)

[kaisatsu]

2 hours ago, Travelbird22 said:

I just want to see the Northern Lights- is it possible on a Norwegian cruise? I’ve been in summer, and the Fjords are breathtaking, but now I just want to see the Northern Lights. And is a window cabin sufficient? If balconies are sold out?

A cruise ship isn’t really the best option for chasing the aurora. You need clear skies, and land-based chasers around places like Tromsø know the microclimates and have much better chances of finding clear skies even on somewhat overcast nights. Cruise ships are fairly fixed in their sailing routes due to maritime traffic coordination.

 

If you do see them, they are most likely to be with overhead or towards the horizon if you’re outside the Aurora band. A balcony sighting would require luck that they are at the right location and angle. As mentioned, an upper deck with clear sight lines will be the best option. Also, the slight vibrations of the ship even on calm seas can make it difficult to take the long exposure tripod photos that best showcase them, so don’t count on getting amazing photos.

 

 

Edited to add: If your goal is just to see the northern lights, I’d recommend a land trip to spend some days in Tromsø and book a few chasing tours with the local experts.

Edited May 1 by kaisatsu

[Hezu]

2 hours ago, hallasm said:

Northern lights are seen from September to March (early April)

There is small chances to see northern lights even slightly earlier and later than that, for example today I learned that last night there would have been chances to see auroras (and even as far south as Helsinki), although sadly I personally missed this opportunity. Granted, the best viewing opportunities are still within that timeframe as fewer daylight hours offer more possibilities to view auroras without staying up whole night.

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, Hezu said:

There is small chances to see northern lights even slightly earlier and later than that…

Yes. But the further north the brighter the nights.

The possibilities of seeing the Northern Lights here in 2024 are optimal now that the Solar Cycle is at its maximum with the strongest Northern Lights.

 

Edited May 1 by hallasm

[ShawninFL]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:30 AM, Travelbird22 said:

I just want to see the Northern Lights- is it possible on a Norwegian cruise? I’ve been in summer, and the Fjords are breathtaking, but now I just want to see the Northern Lights. And is a window cabin sufficient? If balconies are sold out?

We did a northern transatlantic cruise through Iceland in August/September of 2017.  Throughout the cruise the Captain stated that we were sailing at the earliest part of the season to possible see the north lights and that although doubtful they would appear, he assured us that if they did appear, they would make a shipboard announcement, including into the cabins, to announce they were visible.  We departed Akureyri, Iceland on August 31st and that night around 2 AM we were awakened to the news we'd all hoped for, they northern lights had indeed blessed us with a visit.  It was freezing.  We had a balcony to which we could see the lights, but we still headed up on deck completely dressed and wrapped in our bed blankets and we were so glad we did.  the view from on deck was amazing as you could the north lights in the entire sky dancing around.  We got some great pictures and eventually the cold chased us back to our room.  I watched from our balcony for another 15 minutes or so as the lights began to dimmer.  It was an amazing bucket list item we go to check off.  With all that being said, I'm really trying to say that having a balcony or window cabin isn't very important as the cruise lines wants everyone to have the option to see the northern lights should they appear and they will wake you to notify as such.  And in our experience, the views on deck we're far superior to what we could see from out balcony. 

[Travelbird22]

Thank you! Very informative and helpful!

Which line were you with?