For those on Northern Lights cruises 2019 and 2020

[Raptordash]

We are considering a March 2021 Northern Lights cruise or doing a land tour of either Norway or Finland to try and see Northern Lights.  Would love to read posts from Viking cruisers on the 2020 Northern Lights cruises or from 2019 cruisers on this itinerary as to whether you saw the Northern Lights and, if so, what were you able to see with the naked eye.  After doing some research on the Northern Lights I was surprised to learn that what is seen with the naked eye is not the colorful greens, pinks, an purples that you typically see in photos, but rather just white/gray cloudlike visions.  I really just want to see it with the naked eye.  

Thanks,

Marc

Edited January 5, 2020 by Raptordash

[beavergal]

We saw white except on our camera, then it was green. I understand it depends on strength of action of sun that creates the lights. We did 2019 Viking cruise along Norway in Jan. Cold and dark then but a real adventure. 

[DGHOC]

We saw green with the naked eye but the camera emphasised it. Interestingly, some people seem to be able to see the NL more so than others. I could see them forming before by husband could.

 

We did a Viking NL trip in March 2019

[Buffyr]

4 hours ago, Raptordash said:

We are considering a March 2021 Northern Lights cruise or doing a land tour of either Norway or Finland to try and see Northern Lights.  Would love to read posts from Viking cruisers on the 2020 Northern Lights cruises or from 2019 cruisers on this itinerary as to whether you saw the Northern Lights and, if so, what were you able to see with the naked eye.  After doing some research on the Northern Lights I was surprised to learn that what is seen with the naked eye is not the colorful greens, pinks, an purples that you typically see in photos, but rather just white/gray cloudlike visions.  I really just want to see it with the naked eye.  

Thanks,

Marc

Thank you for starting this thread. We will be taking this cruise in February 2021, so will also appreciate any advice from those who’ve done it. 

[Frenchberet]

We did the Northern Lights cruise Feb 6-18, 2018.  Unfortunately, we did not see the northern lights.  While we understood that sightings weren't guaranteed, we didn't think the Viking excursions were optimal, too many people and too little time.   Suggest that you book one or more private excursions to increase your chances.  Good luck!

[Paulhc]

We did this cruise in Feb. This is the only cruise I regret doing - in hindsight a land trip would have been much better.

 

My main issue was that you pay a lot of money to be on a beautiful ship with a great crew but end up spending most of the time off the ship huddled in the dark hoping to see the lights. We rushed dinner most nights at the buffet to make our excursions.

 

If your agenda is to see the lights I think you are better off on a land tour. Now, if you want to see the arctic in winter and perhaps catch a glimpse of the lights then you might really enjoy the trip - the scenery is spectacular and the day time excursions were great. Also, if you want to see the lights in as much comfort as possible and don’t care about the money this is a great way to do that.

 

Keep in mind I loved the ship and will cruise with Viking again, just for me the value proposition of eating at the buffet and spending most of the night off the ship didn’t work. Your preferences might be different and this cruise could be the right answer.

[Mibele]

I am embarking this Friday (Jan 10) in London and will report back what we see - we did not book any NL excursions - just going to take our chances seeing them from the ship or in port 🙂

[Buffyr]

25 minutes ago, Paulhc said:

We did this cruise in Feb. This is the only cruise I regret doing - in hindsight a land trip would have been much better.

 

My main issue was that you pay a lot of money to be on a beautiful ship with a great crew but end up spending most of the time off the ship huddled in the dark hoping to see the lights. We rushed dinner most nights at the buffet to make our excursions.

 

If your agenda is to see the lights I think you are better off on a land tour. Now, if you want to see the arctic in winter and perhaps catch a glimpse of the lights then you might really enjoy the trip - the scenery is spectacular and the day time excursions were great. Also, if you want to see the lights in as much comfort as possible and don’t care about the money this is a great way to do that.

 

Keep in mind I loved the ship and will cruise with Viking again, just for me the value proposition of eating at the buffet and spending most of the night off the ship didn’t work. Your preferences might be different and this cruise could be the right answer.

Thank you for this insight.  I admit, it's not what I wanted to read!  Did you do Viking expeditions or book your own?  Do you think that private excursions would offer more flexibility of time and allow you to leave the ship later?

 

 

[Jammy Bun]

We did the trip a few years ago, with Fred Olsen (British cruise line) and it is one of the most memorable cruises I've ever done.  I just loved sailing as it snowed, and watching the spectacular scenery passing by.  We went on a 'Chase the Lights' tour out into the countryside to the Finnish border, all muffled up on the buses ready to jump off whenever our guide thought a sighting might be imminent.  It was a cloudy night, so we were out for a long time (from 6pm until about 2am!) and I must say it was a little underwhelming.  Whenever the guide pointed out the lights, all we could see was white - but the photos that were taken that night by the guide, show greenish lights behind us!  

However, it was not all doom and gloom.  Twice, when sailing along the coastal waters, we witnessed magnificent displays of ever changing green swirls, for quite a long time.  Announcements were made from the bridge whenever they saw anything, and we got into the habit of leaving our heavy duty ski wear on the beds, ready for action.  It is VERY cold, and you need as many layers as you can get on.  

This is a cruise I would love to do with Viking.  I am envious of those of you who will be heading for Norway in the next few weeks.  Have fun!

 

[OnTheJourney]

I was on the same cruise as DGHOC (yeah....that one 🙂  As he mentioned, we did indeed see green with the naked eye but, as others have commented, the camera really emphasized it. My personal experience was that the best showing was NOT during the scheduled NL evening excursion (which turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment although did see the lights a second time), but rather right from the decks of the ship one evening. The crew keeps a fairly constant lookout, and so a sighting was made and subsequently announced during dessert - so off everyone went out of the dining room! Other than how things went on 3/23, the rest of the cruise was truly amazing and is one I'll never forget (and not just because of hanging 100 ft. below a helicopter!) but also for, of course, seeing the NL, but also in a big part for the winter scenery and some of the excursions we did - such as reindeer and dog sledding in particular. I am happy to share as much info as I can although there's already so much out there from various threads from past trips. Wishing you all the best of luck with the journey....

[twodjs]

We sailed in mid January 2019 and saw an amazing display of lights about 45 minutes after leaving the port of Tromso on the ship. The crew alerted us and turned off most of the deck lights. Swirling curtain-like with lots of movement and definitely in color! We chose not to take pictures but simply be in the moment. Easily seen without a camera and what a memory! Seems like it lasted 20 or 25 minutes. Suggest downloading the apps for your tablet or phone which predict how likely Northern Lights will be seen each night. Very helpful in planning. So much depends on the sun activity, cloud cover and brightness of the moon. We loved everything about this cruise.  

[Haworth]

On 1/5/2020 at 10:52 PM, DGHOC said:

We saw green with the naked eye but the camera emphasised it. Interestingly, some people seem to be able to see the NL more so than others. I could see them forming before by husband could.

 

We did a Viking NL trip in March 2019

Same trip and the same experience, we had 2 excellent sightings fro m the ship, the first after leaving Narvik and we did a private tour in Alta where we got another sighting, both lasted around 30 minutes and you could see the "lights" forming, it was magical

 

[DGHOC]

Have to agree with the previous comments, we loved everything about this cruise too.

 

We have friends who did a land based trip but the weather in Northern Norway is predictably bad in Winter so they were stymied by blocked roads and cancelled flights. The only reliable way to travel between towns was to fly and it was a bit of a hassle having multi bases.

 

The joy with Viking is that you have the comforts of the beautifully understated Scandinavian style designed ship to return to at the end of your freezing adventures and a constantly changing land and seascape. And all was just perfect on the ship! The views from the ship as it cruised up the inland passage were utterly stunning too so different from what you see if land based. Incidentally, we did of a number of the Viking optional tours that took us to the coast and inland, so saw the best of both.

 

As far as the lights are concerned it's the luck of the draw. You can be in the best positions and situations and they still might not  appear. We saw them twice from the ship and also on a private chase when we scoured the countryside, eventually settling on a frozen lake between Sweden and Finland. However, I think one of the previous trips didn't see them at all. We went with the attitude that if we saw them it was a bonus rather than an expectation.

 

Actually Viking were heavy criticised for their NL tour buses on previous trips thus we took a private tour. Friends have booked for 2020 following our experience and they have noted that Viking are offering their own small groups now and various other ways to see the lights that they didn't previously offer. They have to be congratulated as they clearly took the criticism on board and actioned change. Of course 2019 was their first year with this new trip.

 

I'd recommend you go and have a fabulous time!

 

 

[beavergal]

8 hours ago, twodjs said:

We sailed in mid January 2019 and saw an amazing display of lights about 45 minutes after leaving the port of Tromso on the ship. The crew alerted us and turned off most of the deck lights. Swirling curtain-like with lots of movement and definitely in color! We chose not to take pictures but simply be in the moment. Easily seen without a camera and what a memory! Seems like it lasted 20 or 25 minutes. Suggest downloading the apps for your tablet or phone which predict how likely Northern Lights will be seen each night. Very helpful in planning. So much depends on the sun activity, cloud cover and brightness of the moon. We loved everything about this cruise.  

 

[beavergal]

In January 2019 on our Viking NL trip someone told me about an app that would help me use my phone for the pictures. I don’t remember the name but it was really helpful. It keeps the aperature  open .  My shots were not as clean As with a tripod but the app allowed me to see the lights. 

 

 

[Raptordash]

Thanks to all for your info and opinions. It seems that the overall score from reading in this forum and also the Northern Europe Port forum is split about 50-50 as to whether you see colors with the naked eye.

I am still undecided as to whether to do the cruise or strictly a land tour.  If doing the cruise, will definitely book our own private excursions as we normally do. 

Marc

[Buffyr]

I would love some clothing advice from those who took this cruise. What strategies kept you the warmest?  We’re there clothing brands you loved hated?  And don’t forget advice for feet and hands, please. I think I read somewhere that tour operators provide snow suits?  We are desert dwellers so we don’t own much in the way of cold weather gear and plan to shop some sales 

 

Thank you in advance!

[OnTheJourney]

I second the recommendation to download and use a NL app. I got far better pics with just our iPhone than I did with my other cameras. I downloaded 2 while on the Sky - Northern Lights Photo Taker and the other My Aurora Forecast - which is great since it shows the KP values. The whole NL experience is greatly enhanced if you have a really good guest lecturer onboard. We did (can't recall the name at the moment), and he is the one that suggested several good apps, another being Celestron Sky Portal. As to clothing....the key is layering - warm outer layers but yet reasonably light weight if possible (otherwise you can wind up with a suitcase just to hold coats!). We had along good (but lightweight) thermal underwear, thermal socks (there are several brands around, sold as "heat" socks or whatever), of course good hats / gloves, then another base layer or two (but not too heavy) and then finally a good windproof outer layer. There are lots of expensive brands out there that some people had along, but we did fine with stuff from Lands End. All that being said, we went the last run in March, so obviously January / February will be colder. Funny...on our evening excursion we had the bus driver actually put on the a/c being that everyone was dressed so warm. (I took off my outer layer and was fine on the bus without it). Didn't mention shoes / boots - I'd suggest something of good quality - waterproof and with some good traction. Sometimes the pavements in town, etc. can be quite icy while walking around. Same for during the excursions. Trekking poles aren't a bad idea either. We had some and were glad we took them along. Research other threads on all this and I'm sure you'll find tons more than what has already been mentioned here. Viking does rent gear - and I looked at that - but just personally found their items to be really high priced. Since we live in a reasonably colder winter climate area here in PA (although global warming seems to be changing all that - 60+ degrees here by Saturday!), we experimented by putting on various combinations of clothing during the winter months before the cruise and walked around outside for a half-hour or so at night (luckily have no close neighbors..."just what is that, Joseph, a-walkin' around out there in the dark...is that a small bear?  No...Mary...it looks like a man to me....what's he a-doin' anyway?") 

Edited January 7, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, Raptordash said:

Thanks to all for your info and opinions. It seems that the overall score from reading in this forum and also the Northern Europe Port forum is split about 50-50 as to whether you see colors with the naked eye.

I am still undecided as to whether to do the cruise or strictly a land tour.  If doing the cruise, will definitely book our own private excursions as we normally do. 

Marc

I can't speak to a land tour, having only been to Norway on the Sky, but I must say that the cruising offered truly amazing scenery as DGHOC already alluded to. I do want to go back sometime in warmer weather to see more fjords. Regarding excursions, the ones we did with Viking were great. 

[Jammy Bun]

3 hours ago, Buffyr said:

I would love some clothing advice from those who took this cruise. What strategies kept you the warmest?  We’re there clothing brands you loved hated?  And don’t forget advice for feet and hands, please. I think I read somewhere that tour operators provide snow suits?  We are desert dwellers so we don’t own much in the way of cold weather gear and plan to shop some sales 

I can't recommend brands, as we live in UK and consequently ours are different.  As others have said, we took layers.  Thermal long johns and long sleeved vests (underwear, you may have a different term for them I think!), warm lined trousers and lightweight layered sweaters, fleece lined waterproof hiking jacket with hood, fleece scarf which you can pull up over your nose, thick warm hat with ear flaps, padded gloves with separate silk gloves under them, a pair of cheap ski salopettes bought in the sales and a pair of Moon Boots.  We wore everything we took.  One of the best buys was a box of 'Little Hotties'- small disposable handwarmers which you can stuff in your gloves or boots. They stay hot for hours. 

On our cruise we had a lecturer who discussed clothing for cold climates.  She said look in the mirror and ask your self the question "Does my bum look big in this?", and if the answer is "No" then you aren't wearing enough clothing! 

[DGHOC]

Haha, that made me laugh! Have to say I was as snug as a bug but looked like a Weeble. 

 

Do not underestimate the cold there, particularly inland. Even with all of my layers and the snow suit provided, I could feel the cold on my thighs whilst on a snow mobile on a frozen lake in Sweden. As the others have said, lots of layers. Thermal underwear is a definite as are woollen socks, hat and a scarf you can pull up over your face. We wore waterproof walking boots with good traction as the snow and ice can be terribly slippery. I think someone slipped on the ice on the first NL cruise last year and broke a bone, she had to be shipped home before the cruise even began.

[Haworth]

You can get hand warmers that can be recharged through a USB port, brilliant 

[OnTheJourney]

LOL...recharge your socks first, then your gloves, and, finally, your iPhone....

[eylarson]

Lived outside Fairbanks Alaska for three years.  Sometimes the Northern Lights were so bright I could read the newspaper walking back up the drive'  Other times not so much.  It's a natural phenomena and Mother Nature has her own schedule that we have yet to figure out.  See skipped ports due to high winds, sudden rain showers, unseasonable heat and/or cold.  

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, eylarson said:

 Sometimes the Northern Lights were so bright I could read the newspaper walking back up the drive' 

 

Wow!!  Amazing.....