skipperismydog Posted December 14, 2019 #1 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I am planning a 14 day Princess Cruise of Norwegian fjords in June 12 or August 21, 2021. It is round trip from Southampton, going up to the Arctic Circle. I am wondering which date would have best weather. Would love to hear feed back from others who have done similar cruises. Of course the weather is unpredictable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriccio Posted December 14, 2019 #2 Share Posted December 14, 2019 We did the "Land of Midnight Sun" cruise on the Sapphire Princess last June over the summer solstice (June 21). We were above the Arctic Circle for 4 days and the sun never set! The weather was excellent; we had only one day (out of 14) with steady rain and that was more of a steady drizzle (it didn't stop us from renting e-bikes in Tromso). In other ports we had long sleeve or light fleece jacket weather. At the North Cape (furthest northern point in Europe) it was cold and windy but we were only there for an hour or so (long enough to take in the view and the visitors center). It was one of our favorite cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted December 14, 2019 #3 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I’ll recommend a June rather than August - more snow on the mountains in June - depending on how fat North also possible more nights with Midnight Sun - which ports and dates within Arctic Circle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 14, 2019 #4 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Agree on June or August. More daylight, generally better weather, but weather is not that predictable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate P.C Posted December 14, 2019 #5 Share Posted December 14, 2019 June, July and August are good months to visit the north. But, you can never be sure of the weather, since mother nature is always surprising us. Even more so in the past decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted December 14, 2019 #6 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I would vote fr June. But remember, weather is never guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCC retired Posted December 14, 2019 #7 Share Posted December 14, 2019 June = Longer Daylight . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted December 14, 2019 #8 Share Posted December 14, 2019 June without a doubt. Sailing on June 12th you would be as far north on the longest day (summer solstice) and the sunshine at midnight is amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evandbob Posted December 15, 2019 #9 Share Posted December 15, 2019 (edited) We booked our Norway Fjords cruise for this mid June, right over the summer solstice, should have great viewing late at "night" during the longest days of the year. Will probably lack sleep and have about no chance of seeing an aurora at this time though. BTW, did you hear about the bomb cyclone that hit Iceland last week? Yikes!! https://watchers.news/2019/12/12/bomb-cyclone-spawns-severe-blizzard-in-iceland-on-course-to-hit-britain/ https://grapevine.is/news/2019/12/13/icelandic-farmer-bravely-saves-horses-from-freezing-after-the-storm/ https://grapevine.is/news/2019/12/13/icelandic-farmer-bravely-saves-horses-from-freezing-after-the-storm/ Edited December 15, 2019 by evandbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisatsu Posted December 16, 2019 #10 Share Posted December 16, 2019 High season ends in mid-August, so a sailing that starts in late August is definitely shoulder season. It may see less crowds, but also faces the beginning of seasonal closures and the summer tourism industry has started drawing to a close. Since the crowds that come from the cruise ships typically overwhelm the smaller ports anyway, I don't think there's a tremendous advantage to traveling shoulder season on a Norway cruise, so my vote also goes to June. You don't have to worry about seasonal closures, and the possibility of seeing the midnight sun is a unique advantage. If you have a clear night, it's well worth staying up until midnight to watch the sun dip and start back up without setting. And being on a cruise, the view over the sea gives you a clear sight line to the horizon. Weather-wise, there's not a significant difference. They're about the same on average, so yearly variations will have a much bigger impact on the weather than monthly climate. Some years I've seen August be much cooler, and some years I've seen it be much warmer. And rain is to be expected and prepared for any time you're visiting the Norwegian coast! There's a very real reason that Norwegians say "There's no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising in mn Posted December 28, 2019 #11 Share Posted December 28, 2019 We are actually going in May. Wondering if you can see northern lights then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriccio Posted December 28, 2019 #12 Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, cruising in mn said: We are actually going in May. Wondering if you can see northern lights then? Doubtful since May is late spring and the northern lights are a mostly late fall and winter phenomenon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted December 28, 2019 #13 Share Posted December 28, 2019 7 hours ago, cruising in mn said: We are actually going in May. Wondering if you can see northern lights then? Really not much chance to be able to see Northern lights in May. There might be solar activity but the sun barely sets in northern parts of Norway, so it never really gets dark enough to see the light. For northern Norway the best time for Northern Lights is between late September and early April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_dont Posted January 10, 2020 #14 Share Posted January 10, 2020 June will have much better waterfalls in the fjords with the snow still melting.Definitely June. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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