When is a better time for Norway??

[Mkripke]

Hello

 

I am looking at the Prima from Southampton to Iceland doing Brussels, Amsterdam, Norway and Iceland. I am wondering if March or August would be a better time to go? The temperature isn't an issue for me, I just want to pick the time that gives me the full experience of the landscape and scenery.

 

Thank you

 

[ontheweb]

We did that cruise this past August, and I can attest to the scenery was gorgeous. Can't comment on March.

[Oviedo32765]

Then you want to go when the sun is at its highest point in the sky and travels its longest path, causing the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year. This year's longest day will take place on June 20, 2024.

[Asawi]

Both will have their own merits, but I would probably choose August unless you really wish for snow. 

[macaroni]

You will have a better chance of seeing the northern lights in March.

[Asawi]

5 minutes ago, macaroni said:

You will have a better chance of seeing the northern lights in March.

That is a really good point! And the snowy landscape IS gorgeous!
You'll be fine either way!

[kitkat343]

Did you want ship excursions or private ones?   We sailed to Norway in late may and had a lot of trouble organizing private shore excursions since we were earlier than the normal start of the season.  In the end it all worked out but because there are very few private tour operators in Norway/iceland I’d recommend looking into this early.  And make sure there’s still space on the ship tours because someone said those sold out on the Baltic board.  
 

I don’t know where you are going but you’d want to carefully research the ports in March.  The road to the highest points is closed in the winter in geiranger and doesn’t open until late may/early June, after the big annual avalanche.  You’d want to check your ports and make sure everything you want to see is open in March (I don’t know your exact ports but if you post them on the Baltic board people there can probably let you know if there are any seasonal issues) 
 

the prima to Iceland also had specific issues with isafjordur because the government of Iceland was deepening the harbor.  That project was supposed to be completed prior to the 2023 cruise season but construction ran behind.  People on the boards have reported that the primas lifeboats cannot be used to tender, and this resulted in every single stop in isafjodur being cancelled last season.  Someone on the Baltic board just contacted the Icelandic government, which stated they plan to make an announcement about the harbor later in January, so you should also keep an eye on that if that’s one of your stops.  Other ships, including the star, were able to reach the port, but because the prima can’t tender there you’d need construction to be finished before you go.  
 

and I know nothing about Brugges, but there were some issues last summer with the prima also cancelling the stops there due to weather. You might want to look into whether or not March or august are more likely to work.  
 

 

 

Edited January 5 by kitkat343

[Mkripke]

Thank you all for your thoughts. 

[2bc cruisers]

Early summer will have more waterfalls, ie snowmelt visible.  Spring and early fall are potential northern lights viewing.  I’ve only been in Sept. was stunningly beautiful, did see northern lights. I’d love to go in early June to see more of the waterfall type views. 
 

[Sailing12Away]

We sailed the exact same itinerary on Prima this past September. Cold and rainy the first few days in Iceland and Norway, and we finally got great weather and sunny skies in the best port Geiringer. 

 

When we were in Norway we got treated to a Northern Lights show around 2:30am one evening. Amazing show, and this was in September.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Did you want ship excursions or private ones?   We sailed to Norway in late may and had a lot of trouble organizing private shore excursions since we were earlier than the normal start of the season.  In the end it all worked out but because there are very few private tour operators in Norway/iceland I’d recommend looking into this early.  And make sure there’s still space on the ship tours because someone said those sold out on the Baltic board.  
 

I don’t know where you are going but you’d want to carefully research the ports in March.  The road to the highest points is closed in the winter in geiranger and doesn’t open until late may/early June, after the big annual avalanche.  You’d want to check your ports and make sure everything you want to see is open in March (I don’t know your exact ports but if you post them on the Baltic board people there can probably let you know if there are any seasonal issues) 
 

the prima to Iceland also had specific issues with isafjordur because the government of Iceland was deepening the harbor.  That project was supposed to be completed prior to the 2023 cruise season but construction ran behind.  People on the boards have reported that the primas lifeboats cannot be used to tender, and this resulted in every single stop in isafjodur being cancelled last season.  Someone on the Baltic board just contacted the Icelandic government, which stated they plan to make an announcement about the harbor later in January, so you should also keep an eye on that if that’s one of your stops.  Other ships, including the star, were able to reach the port, but because the prima can’t tender there you’d need construction to be finished before you go.  
 

and I know nothing about Brugges, but there were some issues last summer with the prima also cancelling the stops there due to weather. You might want to look into whether or not March or august are more likely to work.  
 

 

 

We were on that Prima cruise that missed Brugge (actually the port was Zeebrugges) as well as Isafjordur. The reason given was an extremely low tide. IIRC, they said 1 foot.

[smillerholmes]

I am also researching this so appreciate any info that is noted here.  Weather, excursion or any info that can make this cruise more enjoyable...this is on my to do list for either 2025 or 2026.

 

Thanks in advance!

[kitkat343]

50 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

We were on that Prima cruise that missed Brugge (actually the port was Zeebrugges) as well as Isafjordur. The reason given was an extremely low tide. IIRC, they said 1 foot.

Thanks - I was paying attention to Iceland since that's my next big dream vacation, but with 3 young kids it's a bit hard to go all the way there unless we have a good chance of making the ports because we need independent tours so we have a better shot of keeping the kids happy and not ruining someone else's once in a lifetime trip.  When we had 2 kids we went to Norway, which was amazing and hopefully someday some itineration of my family will make it to Iceland.

[Karaboudjan]

Just a clarification - I think that the OP means May, not March.  As far as I can tell that itinerary does not run in March.  

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, smillerholmes said:

I am also researching this so appreciate any info that is noted here.  Weather, excursion or any info that can make this cruise more enjoyable...this is on my to do list for either 2025 or 2026.

 

Thanks in advance!

I did a pretty detailed day-to-day account of our trip this past September. We did a lot of private tours, so poking through that thread may help you find something useful for your planning. 

 

[Asawi]

23 minutes ago, Karaboudjan said:

Just a clarification - I think that the OP means May, not March.  As far as I can tell that itinerary does not run in March.  

That makes sense! I was actually quite surprised at March thinking it an odd time for Scandinavia.

May is fantastic! Spring has started by then and often weather is very good that time of year (I live a couple of hours drive from Oslo).

 

[schwartzy]

When we cruised the Baltic in late May we extended our trip to Norway. There were a bunch of things  that did not open until June 1st. Also, even though I brought a warm jacket, I was not expecting 0 celsius weather on May 30th in Norway and I had to go buy a warm hat! 

[figment9999]

Anytime we're planning a vacation, land or sea we try to remember that things like waterfalls, rivers etc.tend to cycle with the snow melts in the mountains.

So late summer; waterfalls and rivers are low. Spring thaws give spectacular waterfalls and deeper rivers (access).

[complawyer]

2022 we were on an ncl cruise with one of the ports being brugge. we hired a cab to take us around. he dropped us off for a few hrs in brugge. we shopped, bought way to much chocolate, had lunch inthe town square, and then the cab driver came back and picked us up to return to the ship. much less costly than any shore excursion ncl offered, he stopped whenever/wherever we wanted to take pictures, and year and a half later, my wife still is enamored over the experience.

"DONT MISS THIS PORT"!

[smillerholmes]

On 1/5/2024 at 12:52 PM, Sailing12Away said:

I did a pretty detailed day-to-day account of our trip this past September. We did a lot of private tours, so poking through that thread may help you find something useful for your planning. 

 

Yes, yes you did!  Thank you so much - will definitely check it out.

[TrumpyNor]

If OP chooses to go in March - just remember that in all ports on the itinerary then the days are much shorter. So yes, larger chance of seeing the northern lights, BUT less chance of seeing much else in the darkness that sets in rather early in March....

As a native Norwegian, who actually live above the Arctic Circle, I have two different advices:

• If the main purpose of the cruise is the hope to see the Northen Lights (Aurora Borealis), then I would choose March. 
• If the main purpose is to see lots of different scenery along the way, then I would choose the cruise in August.

[TrumpyNor]

1 minute ago, TrumpyNor said:

If OP chooses to go in March - just remember that in all ports on the itinerary then the days are much shorter. So yes, larger chance of seeing the northern lights, BUT less chance of seeing much else in the darkness that sets in rather early in March....

As a native Norwegian, who actually live above the Arctic Circle, I have two different advices:

• If the main purpose of the cruise is the hope to see the Northen Lights (Aurora Borealis), then I would choose March. 
• If the main purpose is to see lots of different scenery along the way, then I would choose the cruise in August.

Sorry, I just read the last few posts in this thread, and realized that the OP probably wrote the wrong month initially, and maybe meant MAY and August (instead of MARCH and August).

If that is the case, then I still suggest August over May, simply because the weather in the northern parts of Europe is definitely more stable in August than in May. After all, we call August a summer month, but May for us is spring time....

[jkrotaru]

8 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

If OP chooses to go in March - just remember that in all ports on the itinerary then the days are much shorter. So yes, larger chance of seeing the northern lights, BUT less chance of seeing much else in the darkness that sets in rather early in March....

As a native Norwegian, who actually live above the Arctic Circle, I have two different advices:

• If the main purpose of the cruise is the hope to see the Northen Lights (Aurora Borealis), then I would choose March. 
• If the main purpose is to see lots of different scenery along the way, then I would choose the cruise in August.

How does one find private tours/excursions?  Just booked our first cruise to Norway via Holland America for end of July.  Most easy and interesting Moderate shore excursions are already full.

 

[luv2kroooz]

Better go soon if you want to go on NCL.

 https://businessnorway.com/articles/green-cruising-norway-world-heritage-fjords-becoming-emission-free

[marys350]

31 minutes ago, jkrotaru said:

How does one find private tours/excursions?  Just booked our first cruise to Norway via Holland America for end of July.  Most easy and interesting Moderate shore excursions are already full.

 

You might want to check out Norway Excursions website. We booked tours in Geiranger and Alesund for our upcoming cruise in June. You can cancel up to 24 hours before the excursion and they also offer a refund if your ship is unable to make port.

https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/

Edited January 7 by marys350