Land of the Midnight Sun was spectacular!

[RestonCruiser]

Got home yesterday from the 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun cruise out of Southampton. The scenery was so spectacular. The waterfalls, fiords, and mountains were something to see. Norway is such a beautiful country. The weather was mostly nice. We had rain the day in Geiringer but it was not a total washout. Overcast in several ports but no rain. Bergen is absolutely beautiful. The Sapphire Princess is really nice after the spring drydock. The food and service were also pretty good as well. Did not see the Northern Lights but August is not really the best time to see them. The passengers were Americans, British, Canadians, and Aussies. I would highly recommend this cruise to Norway.

[JF - retired RRT]

Thanks for the mini review.

Would love to take that cruise, but DH doesn't like the idea of flying to Europe.:loudcry:

[Coral]

Thanks for the mini review.

Would love to take that cruise, but DH doesn't like the idea of flying to Europe.:loudcry:

 

I did this cruise in June. Someone on our cruise took a Cunard ship over to the UK and then caught our Norway trip. I couldn't do it due to time off restrictions but if you are retired......

 

It actually is an impressive cruise - ports are amazing.

[JF - retired RRT]

I did this cruise in June. Someone on our cruise took a Cunard ship over to the UK and then caught our Norway trip. I couldn't do it due to time off restrictions but if you are retired......

 

It actually is an impressive cruise - ports are amazing.

Thanks for the suggestion. He might go for that.;)

[2pbears]

Got home yesterday from the 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun cruise out of Southampton. The scenery was so spectacular. The waterfalls, fiords, and mountains were something to see. Norway is such a beautiful country. The weather was mostly nice. We had rain the day in Geiringer but it was not a total washout. Overcast in several ports but no rain. Bergen is absolutely beautiful. The Sapphire Princess is really nice after the spring drydock. The food and service were also pretty good as well. Did not see the Northern Lights but August is not really the best time to see them. The passengers were Americans, British, Canadians, and Aussies. I would highly recommend this cruise to Norway.

 

We just recently booked this cruise for 2019 so it is good to read your positive comments.

[TERESAh]

Thanks for the mini review.

Would love to take that cruise, but DH doesn't like the idea of flying to Europe.:loudcry:

We booked a cruise from Dover to Iceland next June and hope to see the Notthen Lights but we are sailing from Ft Lauderdale to Dover so just have return flight to deal with

[AF-1]

Thanks for your feedback. Am looking at doing this cruise in the future. Is there a good or bad time of year to go; so you may not have as much rain or its warmer? Thanks for your answers in advance.

[Coral]

Thanks for your feedback. Am looking at doing this cruise in the future. Is there a good or bad time of year to go; so you may not have as much rain or its warmer? Thanks for your answers in advance.

 

I have been trying to figure this out. I did a 14 night on June 23rd. We had 1 cold/gray/windy day, 1 wet day and 1 day when it misted a lot. We were told that the previous 6 weeks were very wet (thus it was lush green for us). Overall, we had great weather. When I asked people in Norway, they told me May is a good month. I am looking at June 15th next year which would put it when it was raining this year. There were several reports of shorter Norway cruises this summer that were really wet. Bergen apparently is one of the wettest European cities.

[AF-1]

Coral, thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate it

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[OCruisers]

Got home yesterday from the 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun cruise out of Southampton. The scenery was so spectacular.

 

Thanks for reporting back! We did this some years ago. So glad you enjoyed yours as much as we did ours. :D

[Lucky TGO]

:D Happy that you had a great cruise.

Tony

[Thrak]

We're booked on the Search for the Northern Lights cruise next October. It goes up to Alta, Norway. We arrive there at 10 AM one morning and leave at 11 PM the next night. Hopefully we will get to experience the sight (and sound!) of the Northern Lights. I just don't know what to expect from the weather. Hopefully Princess has enough of a clue that this is a good time frame to visit that part of the world but I have no clue at all what to expect.

 

I love reading about people's visit to this part of the world. It's a bucket list thing for me to experience the Northern Lights and my wife (well, actually both of us :)) really want to visit the fords and such. If we don't get enough of that on this cruise you know we will book another cruise such as the one you took.

[EastBay Cruisers]

Thanks so much for the review ! I'd love to do this cruise -- scenery sounds spectacular. :D - EBC

[skynight]

Got home yesterday from the 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun cruise out of Southampton. The scenery was so spectacular. The waterfalls, fiords, and mountains were something to see. Norway is such a beautiful country. The weather was mostly nice. We had rain the day in Geiringer but it was not a total washout. Overcast in several ports but no rain. Bergen is absolutely beautiful. The Sapphire Princess is really nice after the spring drydock. The food and service were also pretty good as well. Did not see the Northern Lights but August is not really the best time to see them. The passengers were Americans, British, Canadians, and Aussies. I would highly recommend this cruise to Norway.

Agree, did this voyage in June 2016. Best scenery I've ever seen on a cruise. Ports were great.

[whatcruiseisnext]

We are trying to decide between the 7 Day Norwegian Fiords cruise or the longer 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun. We looked at the further north ports and weren’t sure about those. Can you comment, please.

 

 

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[Coral]

We are trying to decide between the 7 Day Norwegian Fiords cruise or the longer 14 day Land of the Midnight Sun. We looked at the further north ports and weren’t sure about those. Can you comment, please.

 

 

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Probably not the person you asked but I loved the 14 night cruise. I would have been disappointed with only 7 nights. I did like the farther Northern ports. I liked Tromso and would have liked North Cape more if our weather hadn't been so windy but it was still pretty darn cool. If you do June 15th cruise - you will be up there when the sun never sets! We had that for 3 nights.

[whatcruiseisnext]

Probably not the person you asked but I loved the 14 night cruise. I would have been disappointed with only 7 nights. I did like the farther Northern ports. I liked Tromso and would have liked North Cape more if our weather hadn't been so windy but it was still pretty darn cool. If you do June 15th cruise - you will be up there when the sun never sets! We had that for 3 nights.

 

 

 

Thank you for you response. Was there enough to do in the far northern ports?

 

 

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[Coral]

Thank you for you response. Was there enough to do in the far northern ports?

 

 

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Most everyone in our group went to North Cape from Honningsvag. We went different ways. I used a company called Blue Puffin: http://blue-puffin.com and then went to an ice bar. I know some rented cars and drove to that area and some small villages (we stopped at some also).

 

In Tromso - I booked a private tour here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190475-d5981007-Reviews-Tromso_Individuell-Tromso_Troms_Northern_Norway.html Someone else booked a shorter tour with a different company and they were pleased also.

 

Most who went on private tours in Lofoten Islands rank that as one of their favorite days.

 

I skipped Trondheim - it was raining and I didn't find anything great that interest me.

 

I would maybe post this question on the Northern European ports board and see what they have to say. That will give you a better feel. For me, I didn't know if I would return and wanted to see as much as I could. No regrets. I am also one who won't fly to Europe for a 7 night cruise.

[whatcruiseisnext]

Most everyone in our group went to North Cape from Honningsvag. We went different ways. I used a company called Blue Puffin: http://blue-puffin.com and then went to an ice bar. I know some rented cars and drove to that area and some small villages (we stopped at some also).

 

 

 

In Tromso - I booked a private tour here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190475-d5981007-Reviews-Tromso_Individuell-Tromso_Troms_Northern_Norway.html Someone else booked a shorter tour with a different company and they were pleased also.

 

 

 

Most who went on private tours in Lofoten Islands rank that as one of their favorite days.

 

 

 

I skipped Trondheim - it was raining and I didn't find anything great that interest me.

 

 

 

I would maybe post this question on the Northern European ports board and see what they have to say. That will give you a better feel. For me, I didn't know if I would return and wanted to see as much as I could. No regrets. I am also one who won't fly to Europe for a 7 night cruise.

 

 

 

Thank you. You have been most helpful. Like you, we have never nor would ever fly for only 7 days. If we did only the 7 day cruise, we would combine with more time pre-cruise on land in a couple other European cities.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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[BarbinMich]

We booked a cruise from Dover to Iceland next June and hope to see the Northen Lights but we are sailing from Ft Lauderdale to Dover so just have return flight to deal with

I'm afraid you will not be able to see the Northern Lights in June when the days are very long and the nights very short in the Northern Atlantic. [We saw them only once on a Sept. TA and we have done at least 5 TAs in Sept. out of Southampton.] They are best viewed in the winter when the nights are long, but that is not cruise season in Norway. I have a friend who's been in Iceland when it got dark enough at night to see them, but they weren't on a cruise.

[Coral]

I'm afraid you will not be able to see the Northern Lights in June when the days are very long and the nights very short in the Northern Atlantic. [We saw them only once on a Sept. TA and we have done at least 5 TAs in Sept. out of Southampton.] They are best viewed in the winter when the nights are long, but that is not cruise season in Norway. I have a friend who's been in Iceland when it got dark enough at night to see them, but they weren't on a cruise.

 

Princess is doing a cruise next October called Northern Lights. Plus I believe Hurtigruten does cruises all year. Not your typical cruise line but people have good comments about it.

[BarbinMich]

Princess is doing a cruise next October called Northern Lights. Plus I believe Hurtigruten does cruises all year. Not your typical cruise line but people have good comments about it.

Thanks for that info! I knew Hurtigruten is active in that area, but they're quite basic compared to the Princess ships and quite expensive. The Sapphire Princess cruise (Oct. 19, 2019--12 days) does go to the northernmost ports so hopefully they'll have clear skies at least one night so they'll be able to see the Northern Lights. The 12-day Sapphire cruise is pretty expensive, too: starts at $2,329 pp for an Inside; $3,309 pp for the cheapest oceanview cabin. FYI, from what we learned on our cruise that saw the lights, the intensity/colors depend on sun spot activity (i.e. the more activity, the better the "light" show; on our cruise the lights were mostly green and we had to be up at 1 or 2 am).

[Duffysmom]

We booked a cruise from Dover to Iceland next June and hope to see the Notthen Lights but we are sailing from Ft Lauderdale to Dover so just have return flight to deal with

 

FT. Lauderdale to Dover sounds doable, please let me know what cruise you are taking. I hate flying so one way would work for us. Thanks