Searching for Northern Lights weather question

[stonecruisin]

Knowing that all cruises carry the risk of weather delays and missed ports, some itineraries are "riskier" than others.  We are seriously considering the Northern Lights cruise but have concerns re: severe conditions especially in the North Sea.  It is obviously unpredictable from one sailing to the next, but I am wondering if anyone knows if sailing later in the season (March) is generally any easier than earlier.  I'd love to do this, am not concerned about the cold but have been reading a number of reviews pointing to issues with extreme conditions on the sea and missed ports. Thanks in advance!

[ClayAyers]

I'm not sure about the weather, but we delayed going until March because in January or February, the days would be so short.  It would be hard to see other things (besides the northern lights).  When we went the day/night split was about 50/50.

[stonecruisin]

Thank you for your reply.  I was in Iceland a few years ago and we went in March for the same reason. How were the waves during your trip?

[ClayAyers]

One day on the North Sea it was a little rough.  Other than that no problems 

[OnTheJourney]

Well, we were on this one..  https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/23/passengers-airlifted-from-viking-sky-cruise-ship-in-storm-off-norway.html   There's a long thread about all this on CC (Viking Sky Survivors). It was the last Northern Lights sailing of the season.

 

However, don't let all this scare you away. It was a pretty unprecedented situation for sure. It's a truly marvelous trip, amazing scenery, plus we had several real nice aurora sightings. It was also our first time with Viking and have done several since. I love what Viking offers and everything about their ocean ships.

 

The issue we ran into on the cruise happened on the way back. Of course, North Sea / North Atlantic can get rough anytime. I'd say, go and enjoy, and may the wind be at your back! We were looking forward to the extension in London but unfortunately never got that far. Hard to believe it'll be 5 years soon since that trip.

Edited January 16 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

20 hours ago, stonecruisin said:

It is obviously unpredictable from one sailing to the next,

Yes...same as crossing the Drake on the way to Antarctica, although of the two I'd place my bets, generally speaking, on encountering significantly less turbulent seas doing the NL sailing as opposed to the Southern Ocean.

[TableGirl]

I’ve booked the Northern Lights on Viking in March 2025 because I want to see the aurora borealis and I’ve read that March is the best month to see it.  AND I’ve heard there’s something “astronomically” happening in 2025 to make for excellent opportunities to see the Northern Lights.  I thought about rough seas but I think the ship stays fairly close to shore throughout the main part of the trip.  To be safe though I think I’ll be more prepared for seasickness with wrist bands - just in case.  This will be my first Viking cruise and I’m very excited about it.

[OnTheJourney]

35 minutes ago, TableGirl said:

the ship stays fairly close to shore throughout the main part of the trip.

Yeah but that's exactly where we ran into problems - in the area of Hustadvika  (Norway) right off the west coast. Wish we WOULD have been much farther out to sea since the potential danger was being driven against the rocky coastline, especially with all the engines having failed. Luckily the anchor held and after a bit we got one engine restarted. It was later determined that we came within a ship's length of grounding. What we encountered was a rather freak storm though.

https://www.dsb.no/globalassets/dokumenter/rapporter/assessment_of_the_viking_sky_incident.pdf

 

35 minutes ago, TableGirl said:

To be safe though I think I’ll be more prepared for seasickness with wrist bands - just in case.

Definitely take 'em. North sea weather - unpredictable conditions. I don't do any cruise without them. 

 

35 minutes ago, TableGirl said:

This will be my first Viking cruise and I’m very excited about it.

Yep...it was for us also! Loved it (well, except for the aforementioned storm and  how the journey ended rather abruptly). Best wishes for a fantastic trip! 

Edited January 19 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

24 minutes ago, TableGirl said:

AND I’ve heard there’s something “astronomically” happening in 2025

Solar Cycle 2025 is expected to be stronger than the previous, peaking somewhere between 134 and 177 sunspots, according to the latest model. You can track the progression of the solar cycle at swpc.noaa.gov.  Either way, aurora sightings are luck of the draw. My sister-in-law had great sightings a few months ago on a Greenland cruise. 

Edited January 19 by OnTheJourney

[Heidi13]

29 minutes ago, TableGirl said:

  I thought about rough seas but I think the ship stays fairly close to shore throughout the main part of the trip.  To be safe though I think I’ll be more prepared for seasickness with wrist bands - just in case. 

 

Being close to shore doesn't always increase the potential for smoother sailing, in fact it can make the passage more uncomfortable.

 

Depending on the wind direction, being close to shore can reduce the fetch, which prevents the build up of waves. However, in shallower water, the waves interact with the bottom, increasing in height.

[Mich3554]

We leave for Bergen tomorrow for this cruise.  Hopefully we will be able to get out to the highway tomorrow morning to go to the airport.  I have yet to be seasick, even on the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef last year when over half the ship was seasick.  (I realized I just jinxed myself here!).

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Being close to shore doesn't always increase the potential for smoother sailing, in fact it can make the passage more uncomfortable.

 

Depending on the wind direction, being close to shore can reduce the fetch, which prevents the build up of waves. However, in shallower water, the waves interact with the bottom, increasing in height.

Hi Andy, as always a great explanation! Glad you jumped in on this. Hope you're doing well. Saw no upcoming cruises listed (?)  Thought you might be on the current WC with Jim.

 

Edited January 19 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

49 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

We leave for Bergen tomorrow

LOVED Bergen - I could easily go back there and spend a bit more time. May you have smooth sailing and tight lines.  Post some pics here of your trip.

Edited January 19 by OnTheJourney

[Heidi13]

5 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Hi Andy, as always a great explanation! Glad you jumped in on this. Hope you're doing well. Saw no upcoming cruises listed (?)  Thought you might be on the current WC with Jim.

 

 

Unfortunately, due to DW health issue, our cruising days are over. Would enjoy being on a WC with Jim & Lois, but unfortunately not anymore.

[OnTheJourney]

6 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

due to DW health issue, our cruising days are over.

Oh my.  Most sorry to hear this. Might possibly be a similar situation here. DW developed health issues over the summer, had surgery in November, but not sure what level of recovery will take place. No trips of any sort planned right now. It's surely the biggest challenge to come along - in terms of prospective future travel - that we've had in our 43 years together. We were fortunate to make it through the Mississippi cruise back in October. Not getting to most of the ports turned out to be a mixed blessing since she could spend alot of time just resting onboard. Trying to do all the excursions and port stops as planned would have never worked.

 

Please take care and hope she does better soon. You sure must have some wonderful cruise and other travel experiences together to look back on. Wishing you both all the best...🙏

Edited January 19 by OnTheJourney

[KBs mum]

On 1/19/2024 at 3:09 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Being close to shore doesn't always increase the potential for smoother sailing, in fact it can make the passage more uncomfortable.

 

Depending on the wind direction, being close to shore can reduce the fetch, which prevents the build up of waves. However, in shallower water, the waves interact with the bottom, increasing in height.

Adding to that, last February we had to stay on Tromso for an extra 36 hours, (ship rocking slightly tied up, 1m swells at the dock) then set off on the inside passage. Hit a couldn't see the bow blizzard, got clear of that, wind got knarly, Captain went out to sea to get away from the rocks. 48 hours of 5m waves in the Norwegian sea followed, with spectacular bangs from bow and brief moments of allmost zero gravity. 

On the plus side the North Sea surprised everyone with a nearly flat calm

[OnTheJourney]

8 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

On the plus side the North Sea surprised everyone with a nearly flat calm

Like I said, on our sailing we never got that far - would have ended in Tilbury. Zero gravity actually sounds like a bit of fun.

[Meander Ingwa]

Just debarked in Bergen.  The North Sea was lively with this storm moving through( Ilsa)   Gusts to 100mph,   swells ...well very very high.  We were 8 hours late into Bergen.

 

We had beautiful weather in Tromso and Alta with NL visible from deck at night.

 

Good sailing to all

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

We had beautiful weather in Tromso and Alta with NL visible from deck at night.

Fantastic! Happy for all of you. Both of those are amazing ports. Loved the scenery up there.

Edited January 24 by OnTheJourney

[Shalandara]

@stonecruisin Thank you for asking this question!  I came to this board to basically ask the same thing as we are considering this itinerary for 2026 (whenever it gets opened up).  We would also be sailing with Viking for the 1st time.  We have done several HAL cruises and one Disney (please-do-not-ever-put-me-on-that-again!).

[wolfie11]

If you’re comfortable with weather maps you can go to the Ocean Prediction Center site, click on Data and Analysis, the on Atlantic.  Maps will come up for the next 96 hours.  The North Sea and the southern part of Norway are shown in the upper right up to Bergen. Over the next few days a storm is developing near Bergen showing 50 knot winds and a significant wave height around 30 feet.