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Trollfjord access year round?


GeezerCouple
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On the full RT Norway voyages, do the Hurtigruten ships all go into Trollfjord (through that narrow opening)?

 

Or is it specific to certain ships?

Or seasonal?

 

Specifically, we are interested in whether the Trollfjord ship is likely to go there in early/mid March, 2018.

(Or is that a definite "no"?)

 

Thanks!

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It my understanding that Hurtigruten ships only are entering Trollfjord during summer when sailing north bound because it's dark when passing Trollfjord - and only sailing into the fjord in very calm weather.

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Thanks!!

 

 

 

I think we'll use the link to your video and replay it when we are "close" to Trollfjord :D

 

 

 

Amazing.

 

 

You are welcome. If weather do not allow for Trollfjord sailing this will be a good option. Do you do North or south bound trip or both?

Please study weather forecast and dress accordingly. Even in June the northern part was quite chilly!

Enjoy your trip.

 

 

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You are welcome. If weather do not allow for Trollfjord sailing this will be a good option. Do you do North or south bound trip or both?

Please study weather forecast and dress accordingly. Even in June the northern part was quite chilly!

Enjoy your trip.

 

 

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Thanks again, for ALL of your posts/reviews/videos.

They are terrific!

 

We are doing the RT from/to Bergen.

 

As for weather... we are going in the *winter* (early March, 2018).

Brrrrr.

We don't usually seek cold weather, but in this case, we are taking one of the "Astronomy" cruises to try to see the Northern Lights.

 

We selected the sailing date (of the few similar sailings) because of "best guesses" about a combination of length of night ("midnight sun" isn't the best for the Lights!) and also historically less cloud cover. And no moon, but the Astronomy cruises seem to select that, anyway.

 

We realize there's no guarantee, and at the least, we'll see some spectacular scenery :)

This past March, there seemed to be a lot of "Lights" seen.

We quickly scheduled this a few months ago, once we realized that the solar cycle is just starting to head down after the cyclical peak this past year.

 

We'd love to be able to do it again, for the "midnight sun", but it's a long trip (USA), and we have a bit of a list to check off first.

We did do an Alaska cruise last June, and although we weren't anywhere near that far north, it was still pretty amazing how late it stayed light, and then... it was light again so quickly.

And that was beautiful scenery, too, of course.

 

So many trips, so little time....

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For Northern Light the cold and dark sea son is the only option. But you should also considerMidnight Sun. Maybe a shorter Hurtigruten tour (one way) and then fly Icelandair with a stop over in Iceland.

I love Caribbean cruises and also long way Fromm Copenhagen to Miami.

 

 

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My trip was the last 2 weeks of May, but they did warn us that we might not be able to go into the Trollfjord if the weather was bad. Fortunately, we were able to enter and do the full passage both going north and coming south. Coming south, I took the Sea Eagle Safari which picked us up from the ship mid-channel before we got to the Trollfjord, entered the fjord before the ship, and left before the ship, so not only did we get into the fjord, but we were able to take pictures of the ship (MS Trollfjord) both entering and leaving the fjord. It was beautiful!

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My trip was the last 2 weeks of May, but they did warn us that we might not be able to go into the Trollfjord if the weather was bad. Fortunately, we were able to enter and do the full passage both going north and coming south. Coming south, I took the Sea Eagle Safari which picked us up from the ship mid-channel before we got to the Trollfjord, entered the fjord before the ship, and left before the ship, so not only did we get into the fjord, but we were able to take pictures of the ship (MS Trollfjord) both entering and leaving the fjord. It was beautiful!

 

Which excursion is this, and is it offered in early March?

That could be the best of both worlds, although it must be more dramatic to transit the entry to Trollfjord in a larger ship!

 

Replying to a comment a few of you left on another thread, our "Plan B" if we happen to be unfortunate enough not to see any serious Northern Lights (even one time will be fine!), is to scoot to Iceland on short notice when solar activity is predicted to be high. (We can get there fast from East Coast USA.)

Sort of like we are heading elsewhere in late August for just a couple of days for the Total Solar Eclipse. (If it's cloudy, we'll try to find clear skies with a rental car, and if not, it's supposed to be dramatic even with cloud cover.)

 

We hope that by March, there will be enough daylight that we'll get some nice views of the coastal beauty, etc. That's one reason we didn't go in, say, January. But also, apparently (historically, no guarantee) March has less cloud cover.

 

I'm sure it will be a wonderful adventure no matter what :)

 

Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Sea Eagle Safari is excursion 9C (day 9 of the RT voyage) from Trollfjord to Svolvær, starting 24 March. Early March will be to early (we are going mid February... so we will have to go again later in the year because that's an excursion I really want to do, it is on the agenda for 2019 :D if Australia falls through).

 

You will have enough daylight to enjoy the scenery (IF the weather allows and the coast isn't hiding behind clouds), Kirkenes has 9/10 hours of daylight early in March plus hours of twilight. Even in December when it's "dark" you still get to enjoy the view, it's not pitch black dark (at least not all day long). We were in Kirkenes a few days before Christmas when the sun is "down all day" but they still get hours of twilight which makes for lovely views (unless of course it's raining all day long for 9 1/2 days of the 11 day trip, with 30 foot waves :o, we are hoping for "better" weather this time).

 

We had lovely lights in Iceland in late August a couple of years ago. Not overly strong (grey-ish) but very, very active. December in Norway (a decade ago) we had strong lights (bright green) but not very active. Luck of the draw.

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  • 6 months later...

We were on MS Vesteralen R/T from Bergen during mid to late Oct 2016. We entered Trollfjord in daylight on the northbound leg and also at night on the southbound. It was as others have so nicely posted here, just magical. We even saw the Northern Lights during the nighttime entry. My wife says it was her favorite, by far......:)

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We were on MS Vesteralen R/T from Bergen during mid to late Oct 2016. We entered Trollfjord in daylight on the northbound leg and also at night on the southbound. It was as others have so nicely posted here, just magical. We even saw the Northern Lights during the nighttime entry. My wife says it was her favorite, by far......:)

 

Hmmmm.... Does this mean there is *any* chance of a Trollfjord entry in mid-March?

That would be so special!

:)

 

GC

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Hmmmm.... Does this mean there is *any* chance of a Trollfjord entry in mid-March?

That would be so special!

:)

 

GC

It's as SarniaLo has so perfectly described on other threads and on her blog, March is more like winter than Oct,. so I can't say for sure. In our case it was a decision that was made on the ship as to where we would go, it depended on weather conditions. We were extremely lucky on our sailing as it was about perfect, only a little rain and some choppy seas on the last day before Bergen. We also got a very nice sail around Torghatten at Bronnesund, to see the hole in the rock from both sides at sunset. Now that was cool. Good luck, and enjoy Hurtigruten! My wife and I have done a few cruises around the world, but this was at the very top, hands down. :)

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Very unlikely to enter Trollfjord mid-March. The main problem at this season is snow falling off from the cliffs (and subsequent avalanches) which could fall directly on the ship because the fjord is so narrow. In October there is little snow, but in March it has accumulated all through winter. The best you can probably hope for is the ship peeking its "nose" into the entrance. If by some miracle you have more than that, please let us know (and take pictures!). But don't keep your hopes up.

On the other hand, I would strongly recommend, if the weather allows, to be outside (and even better at the front of the ship) for the whole sailing into the Raftsundet (which roughly ends near the Trollfjord) because it can be breathtakingly beautiful. If you feel like it, you can do the same on the Northbound journey, it will be night at the time but if there is some moon that lights up the snow it can be a very special moment. It is also your first night with decent hopes for Northern Lights so look up!

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Very unlikely to enter Trollfjord mid-March. The main problem at this season is snow falling off from the cliffs (and subsequent avalanches) which could fall directly on the ship because the fjord is so narrow. In October there is little snow, but in March it has accumulated all through winter. The best you can probably hope for is the ship peeking its "nose" into the entrance. If by some miracle you have more than that, please let us know (and take pictures!). But don't keep your hopes up.

On the other hand, I would strongly recommend, if the weather allows, to be outside (and even better at the front of the ship) for the whole sailing into the Raftsundet (which roughly ends near the Trollfjord) because it can be breathtakingly beautiful. If you feel like it, you can do the same on the Northbound journey, it will be night at the time but if there is some moon that lights up the snow it can be a very special moment. It is also your first night with decent hopes for Northern Lights so look up!

 

Wonderful. Thanks. We'll be right there watching.

And we are on the ship Trollfjord :) which has that terrific front (indoor!) 2-story observation lounge.

And we can dash outside until we need to warm up again.

 

I had forgotten about the avalanche concern, which obviously is rather unlikely at the very start of winter. Having spent some time near ski areas, where roads are blocked occasionally - and there are more frequent avalanche control techniques, including traffic halts - I should have realized that...

 

Well... we wanted to see "snow covered mountains, etc.".

We took our Alaska cruise almost 2 years ago, very early in the season, for the same reason... in that case *before* the snow started melting substantially.

DH wanted to "do it again" (and we no doubt will), but Norwegian fjords seemed like a great idea - even better - for the next winter-type trip. And the regular Alaska cruise ships don't get up into prime Northern Lights territory, either.

 

Thanks again, Sarnia-Lo :)

 

We'll be in Oslo a month from now... can't wait!!

 

GC

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Don't worry about Trollfjord (the place), it is fun to sail in but I don't think it's the highlight of the trip and you can have a great time even if you don't sail into Trollfjord.

Be aware that it is very difficult to see the NL from the inside of the ship because of the indoor lights. So try to get out every once in a while to look at the sky. The crew will usually signal the lights they can see from the bridge, but they cannot see everywhere outside (for instance, towards the back of the ship).

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Don't worry about Trollfjord (the place), it is fun to sail in but I don't think it's the highlight of the trip and you can have a great time even if you don't sail into Trollfjord.

Be aware that it is very difficult to see the NL from the inside of the ship because of the indoor lights. So try to get out every once in a while to look at the sky. The crew will usually signal the lights they can see from the bridge, but they cannot see everywhere outside (for instance, towards the back of the ship).

 

Thanks again.

 

We aren't counting on sailing into Trillfjord (on the Trollfjord ;)) but it would be nice, having watched some videos from ships that did do that. Now that you've reminded me of that avalanche concern, we won't even be expecting a chance of that, although a glimpse of the opening would probably be impressive in terms of "the ship goes in *there* sometimes?!? Reminds me of the sailing to Seward, Alaska, at Hubbard Glacier [a major highlight of that trip, with *huge* calvings, and the Captain stayed a long time and just kept spinning the ship slowly, quite close). We sailed toward the Glacier face through a large channel, with a little island to our/the ship's starboard. On the way out, it started to look like the Captain was taking us a bit "too far" to port side, with that little island starting to be dead ahead. And the channel on the other side of the little island was "obviously" (ha!) much too small for such a big ship. Maybe a motor boat would be okay... And then, there were were, heading into the much smaller channel, in a huge ship [okay, NOT a jumbo mega ship, but still... a "real" cruise ship, etc...]. There were gasps all around, as it became obvious we were indeed *not* heading into the much larger channel, where we had sailed in, :eek: but into that "oh so narrow" channel...!

But it was NOTHING like the videos of sailing into Trollfjord,because there weren't steep, high cliffs on either side, never mind *both* sides!

 

Anyway, ANY of those kinds of experiences add so much for us.

We are just very late to the "major travel" part of our lives, so we really appreciate it all the more.

 

(But then, we even enjoy "sea days", watching the water... It's ALL good :))

 

And, WE will be able to keep an eye out for NL off the aft of the ship, as we have a balcony there! Maybe we'll be able to sit out there a bit more, all bundled up, because the ship will be sheltering us somewhat from the wind.

I realized way belatedly that there is at least one other ship with forward balconies (I think??), but we wanted the Astronomy Package, and March, so... that was the Trollfjord (the ship).

 

Will the NL tend to be in the "northern" sky, or once they appear, could they be from any direction, given that *we* would already be "in the northern latituded"? That is, will it matter if the ship is heading north or south?

 

Thanks!

 

GC

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I think NL tend to appear in the Northern direction, but if the display is strong, they can be seen from many directions at once (and above your head also). I cross my fingers for a good show for you.

I was mentioning the Raftsundet because it's a very narrow passage between Lofoten and Vesteraalen, and short of the sailing in the Trollfjord, it's probably the most spectacular part of the trip in winter (for me, at least).

I'm actually writing from the Oslo-Bergen train, on my way to board MS Lofoten tomorrow night!

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I think NL tend to appear in the Northern direction, but if the display is strong, they can be seen from many directions at once (and above your head also). I cross my fingers for a good show for you.

I was mentioning the Raftsundet because it's a very narrow passage between Lofoten and Vesteraalen, and short of the sailing in the Trollfjord, it's probably the most spectacular part of the trip in winter (for me, at least).

I'm actually writing from the Oslo-Bergen train, on my way to board MS Lofoten tomorrow night!

 

What fun. We'll be on that route 2 days prior to sailing from Bergen. In addition to that time in Bergen, we'll have an extra day after the cruise. Our flight direct from Bergen to LHR en route home ended up getting cancelled [if it was seasonal, then why were we allowed to ticket it from the start?], so the new connections are through Oslo, and with the extra connection, we then needed to start earlier... hence the day after returning.

(It's awards ticketing, and since they now had no "legal" connection for us, they had to force ticketing on a sort of "non-alliance" airline out of Bergen. We could not have ticketed this itinerary ordinarily, but they had to get us home somehow :) Or maybe not; we could just stay in Norway. That might be preferable to back home in the USA these days :mad: Many places are seeming more appealing nowadays... But I digress.......)

 

We'll definitely make sure we are "watching" during the passage between Lofoten and Vesteraalen. That's a great tip. Thank you so much! (To double check, this is between which two ports?)

 

We've really enjoyed your blog. Great photos are so appreciated!

Now, let's see what DH can do with his updated iPhone. Somehow, he typically gets some amazing photos. (I manage to chop heads off, or just somehow not get "the" good shot of whatever scenery, so it's now "his" domain entirely. :) And he enjoys it. With digital, he can just erase any bad shots, unlike in the dinosaur days, the "film" was used up, good shot or not.)

Someday, maybe he'll want to tinker with a "real camera", but until then, no point in my trying to guess what type of camera he'd like, if any!

 

Where do you stay in Bergen?

We are trying a rather new hotel there, the Bergen Bors, in an historic building. There is at least one room with what seems to be an exceptional view of the harbor area.

We haven't selected a hotel for that final night, after the cruise.

 

Just went back to yuor blog, and... We are *SO* sorry for your loss!

we hope that you are able to enjoy this cruise with some special memories!

Our thoughts are with you!

(sorry - we missed this earlier, apparently.)

 

GC

Edited by GeezerCouple
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We'll definitely make sure we are "watching" during the passage between Lofoten and Vesteraalen. That's a great tip. Thank you so much! (To double check, this is between which two ports?)

On the Northbound trip, it is after Svolvaer. It will be late at night at that point, but usually the ships will go at the entrance of the Trollfjord in that direction and lit up the entrance (to be honest, you see very little, but it's an opportunity for a special "troll soup" event. You can have the soup for free - it's good, you can have a go - or buy a souvenir mug, of course). The narrowest part of the Raftsundet is right after this, so probably around 11pm or so. If you are lucky enough, there can be Northern Lights at that point.

 

 

On the Southbound trip, you will sail through Raftsundet in daylight between Stokmarknes and Svolvaer. That whole day is a gorgeous day of sailing from the moment you leave Harstad. There is the narrow, man-made channel of Risoyrenna which is also fun to watch. Probably my favorite day of the whole trip. Hopefully you have nice weather, but it's interesting also in bad weather.

 

 

In Bergen I'm staying in Thon Hotel Bristol. It's a good compromise of distance from the train station, the city center and the Hurtigruten pier, so I can walk to/from it even with luggage.

 

Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm touched.

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Entering Trollfjord is possible in October but it will depend on weather conditions on the day, and also on whenexactly in October because I think that by late October it is already dark when you arrive at Trollfjord.

October is a good season for Northern Lights, as always you need a bit of luck because you need both solar activities and clear skies above the ship. So keep your fingers crossed and look up!

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