Hi,

I am wondering whether anyone's traveled on this cruise before? Any experiences? What is it like in winter? I am planning to travel in Jan / Feb.

Also, I read somewhere that people with cheaper rates will need to give up their cabins in the pm. Does anyone have details on this? I am only thinking about traveling port to port (from Bergen to Tromso) and am wondering whether I would be subject to this.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks.

We only did part of it, starting at the north end - Kirkenes and getting off a couple days later in Bodo. It was the end of June and it could have been January -- freezing cold for the most part and incredibly rough. The first night out I went to the dining room and there were only a handful of us there as everyone else was sick in their rooms, including much of the crew. It seemed it was unusually ROUGH, but somehow I escaped it.

It was difficult to book part, because they wouldn't confirm until they were sure they had booked all the full tour people they could. I have no idea what you mean by vacating your cabin in the PM. If you have a cabin, you have a cabin, so far as I know.

Other than the first day of really foul weather it was fun and different. The ship and cabins are very basic (ours was supposed to be one of the largest, nicest, and newest). There was a large German group that took over the observation deck and held chairs for everyone, so it was hard getting a place to sit unless you got nasty with them and insisted on moving someone's coat and sitting down.

Don't expect much from the stops as they are mainly out in the middle of nowhere and you don't really have enough time to leave the ship for much. Also our stops going south were in the middle of the night for the most part.

Are you sure you want to cruise in Norway at that time of year? Aside from rough seas and winter storms, Tromso, for example, has only about 4 1/2 hours of daylight at the end of January. I have been in Tromso in winter and while it's much warmer there than at a similar latitude (70 N) in North America at that time, I wouldn't choose it for a holiday. Wait until summer when the days are long and the nights are short.

Few years ago, I traveled south bound from Kirkenes in mid-January. The first three days I had hardly seen any daylight because the high latitude. Afterward, it was couple hours pale wintery light a day.

On the whole trip,there were only 3 single passengers booking cabins, and a handful of day trippers. It was quite nice to have the whole ship almost to oneself. I don't think you have to worry about the crowd.

In the winter, the sea could be extremely rough, there were several nights I was the only passenger in the dining room. Becauses the lack of diners,the choices of buffet breakfast was quite limited.

I'm thinking of a winter trip because of the greater possibility of seeing Northern Lights. Also, thinking of going dogsledding after enjoying a quiet cruise up toward the arctic circle. I think I would like having the ship seemingly all to myself but I think rough seas may be a problem though.

Thanks for the input.

Northern Light was the only reason I went to Kirkenes and took the cruise down in the mid-winter too; unfortunately, except pitch-black/gray sky,I didn't see anything for 2 weeks.

However, the temperature was much milder than what I had expected.

You know, I hadn't even thought about the darkness issue. When we went in June it was full daylight 24 hours a day. But what is the amount of daylight in Jan/Feb? I can't imagine taking that cruise in virtual darkness. It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing. The coast is really beautiful, but if you can't see it, what's the point?

True patrick. Only 3-4 hours of daylight in winter - jan to feb or so. The logic there - for the northern lites at least - is that the darkness would make it easier to see the northern lights.

Well, noontime, have you decided to go? I have booked from Hammerfest to Trondheim, embarking on feb 6.

Cheers.

The Northern Lights are rather finicky, though. I recall a Bill Bryden anecdote where he stays in the rather boring town of Hammerfest for 16 days or so in the winter before he finally gets to see them.

I think that if you book for part of the journey, the cabin is booked for periods of 24 hours, from noon to noon. Therefore, if you arrive at your destination in the afternoon or evening, you'd need to vacate your cabin before midday, or pay for an extra night. The ships are not very busy in January or February, so there should be no problem booking at short notice, and there will be plenty of room in the ships' lounges in the daytime.

Thanks for the input. I haven't yet decided whether I'm going or not. Possible storms make me leery. Other than that, I'm fine with everything else. If I do go, it will probably be a last minute decision.