Celebrity for Northern lights?

[madmedic]

I really would like to see the northern lights but can't see any itinerary for this. I recently read a review of the Iceland and Ireland cruise where they spotted the lights in May. How rare is it to see them at this time of year? I know I could do P&O or Viking from Southampton for the Northern lights but prefer celebrity.

[anniegb]

2023 has been a spectacular year for the NL in UK with visibility as far south as the CI..  However it is rare. Best season is normally after the clocks go back end of October and I think Celebrity repositions away from UK then.

A link to the CI sightings:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-65374996

 

 

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, madmedic said:

I really would like to see the northern lights but can't see any itinerary for this. I recently read a review of the Iceland and Ireland cruise where they spotted the lights in May. How rare is it to see them at this time of year? I know I could do P&O or Viking from Southampton for the Northern lights but prefer celebrity.

Impossible (well 99.9%) as X has left well before the season starts.

If you want certainty Hurtigruten with daily sailings from Bergen is your best bet. Book a 12 night cruise during its "Northern Lights Guarantee" period and if the lights don't appear you will get a free 7 night cruise to try again. No need to book the much more expensive "Hurtigruten Expedition" cruises from the UK.

Yes I know Hurtigruten is a totally different style of cruising which doesn't suit everyone but for the authentic Norwegian experience (including the Northern Lights, local food and ports that no other cruise line visits) it is impossible to beat.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Princess also does a Northern Lights cruise every year in the Fall.

 

Cruise Details - 14-Day Search for the Northern Lights - Princess Cruises

 

Cruise Details - 14-Day Search for the Northern Lights - Princess Cruises 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We did an 14 night Arctic TA on RCL last September , here was only one night that they were barely visible. 

If you really want to see it do a land trip or the trip that penguins suggested 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW here is a cool website to monitor regarding the potential for seeing the Aurora Borealis on any particular day, either near the north pole or the south pole.

 

Aurora - 30 Minute Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

FWIW here is a cool website to monitor regarding the potential for seeing the Aurora Borealis on any particular day, either near the north pole or the south pole.

 

Aurora - 30 Minute Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

 

On our cruise everyone would be excited go out on the deck  when we  got an alert that the NL maybe visible at your location , 

By the time we got there the % would drop or the night sky would be completely cloud covered 

Then the SIL from Thunder Bay got a  shared photos of the NL at her house 🤣

[Ken the cruiser]

We actually used www.auroraforecast.com in anticipation of seeing them while cruising from Iceland to Greenland.

 

 

We finally saw them around 11 pm. The picture was taken with my iPhone SE.

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

Folks interested in the aurora may want to use google to find the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute website regarding the aurora.  Very informative and will predict probabilities/possibilities of viewing all over the world.  

 

Fairbanks is a winter destination for serious aurora viewers.  Our aurora season (if my memory is correct) extends from August 21st to April 21st.  Prime viewing is October through March.  Otherwise we are just too light to see an existent aurora.  

 

We generally go to Chena Hot Springs Resort for Christmas.  The resort is always sold out for the holidays and this past Christmas there were incredible displays from the resort grounds.  

[BettyCruiser]

If you want to see the Northern Lights probably better to plan a land vacation. I wouldn’t plan a cruise just to see Northern Lights but sometimes it happens.

 

Northern Lights run on a cycle, we’re on an upswing now that peaks in 2025 I think. 
 

from a Princess Norway Arctic Circle cruise last August 

from Minnesota the night after we got home from said cruise.

 

This August we’re on an Iceland Ireland cruise, will we see Northern Lights? Maybe, but that’s not why we’re going. After reading about the May cruises I’m just hoping we get to dock at the Iceland ports. 

[swjumbo]

The previous posters have summed this up perfectly. 
One final note….. do not spoil it by going P&O.

Cheap product and completely different clientele from Celebrity.

[Guest ldtr]

18 hours ago, madmedic said:

I really would like to see the northern lights but can't see any itinerary for this. I recently read a review of the Iceland and Ireland cruise where they spotted the lights in May. How rare is it to see them at this time of year? I know I could do P&O or Viking from Southampton for the Northern lights but prefer celebrity.

There is a Princess cruise out of Southampton in mid October going up to the North Cape of Norway, but I do not believe that Celebrity has a ship there that late in the year.

 

This year was a bit unusual with pretty heavy solar activity generating all kind of Northern light activity  further south than normal.

Edited June 7, 2023 by ldtr

[the penguins]

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

FWIW here is a cool website to monitor regarding the potential for seeing the Aurora Borealis on any particular day, either near the north pole or the south pole.

 

Aurora - 30 Minute Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

 

Interesting and useful when on the ship but of no value in the planning stage.

At least Hurtigruten "puts it's money where its mouth is " book a 12 night cruise during the correct period and if the lights don't appear you get a free 7 day cruise. We did the Christmas and New Year sailing and our first sighting was on Christmas Day - magical - and for several days thereafter.

[madmedic]

5 hours ago, swjumbo said:

The previous posters have summed this up perfectly. 
One final note….. do not spoil it by going P&O.

Cheap product and completely different clientele from Celebrity.

We've done P&O once. That's enough 😃.

[madmedic]

I am leaning towards Iceland in May because it's somewhere that appeals and if we're very lucky you never know. However will wait until 2025 because we want a Sunset view rather than the IV ones that are available for next year. 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, the penguins said:

Interesting and useful when on the ship but of no value in the planning stage.

At least Hurtigruten "puts it's money where its mouth is " book a 12 night cruise during the correct period and if the lights don't appear you get a free 7 day cruise. We did the Christmas and New Year sailing and our first sighting was on Christmas Day - magical - and for several days thereafter.

True. It definitely comes in handy when you're "on the hopeful hunt" like we were last August on the Celebrity Summit. As far as Hurtigruten goes, we like the full cruise experience when we're on a cruise. But that's just us. I take it these are some of the Hurtigruten cruises you are referring to.

 

Find Your Cruise | Hurtigruten Expeditions

 

[the penguins]

48 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

True. It definitely comes in handy when you're "on the hopeful hunt" like we were last August on the Celebrity Summit. As far as Hurtigruten goes, we like the full cruise experience when we're on a cruise. But that's just us. I take it these are some of the Hurtigruten cruises you are referring to.

 

Find Your Cruise | Hurtigruten Expeditions

 

as I posted originally Hurtigruten is a totally different experience much more about the destination than the ship. The ships are tiny in comparison to say Summit but are prefect for exploring the Fjords - The ships have a large forward facing observation lounge and lots of outdoor space. 

The link you posted is for H's "Expedition Cruises" but you really don't need to go to that expense to see the Fjords - H's Classic 12 night Cruises starting almost every day from Bergen and including 35 ports - will do the job and you get more time in the Fjords.

Where the Expedition style really comes into its own is for Antarctica where the Guides, Polar Circle boats, and the total immersive experience is outstanding.

We have done both destinations with  X and H and whilst X is our cruise line of choice for both The Fjords and Antarctica H is the winner by a mile.

[mrgabriel]

Just adding that weather impacts viewing - specifically cloud cover. 

[swjumbo]

1 hour ago, mrgabriel said:

Just adding that weather impacts viewing - specifically cloud cover. 

Really? I’d never have guessed! 

[mrgabriel]

12 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Really? I’d never have guessed! 

 

No need to be snarky. This is called, "managing expectations." 

 

I work in tourism in a part of the world where people actually plan trips to see the Northern Lights. There are complaints when someone's long-planned and expensive trip takes place during weather events with cloud cover. 

[OnTheJourney]

On 6/6/2023 at 5:29 AM, madmedic said:

I know I could do P&O or Viking from Southampton for the Northern lights but prefer celebrity.

We did the Viking Northern Lights in '19 - fantastic cruise. Unfortunately, ours ended prematurely - long story easily googled 3/23/19 Viking Sky. Except for that bizarre incident, we loved it - it had also been our first Viking experience. If Viking sailed out of Baltimore or Bayonne - two ports very close to us - I'd probably use Viking most of the time over RCL or X.

[OnTheJourney]

22 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

weather events with cloud cover. 

Seeing the NL or not is totally luck of the draw. Surely plan on hopefully seeing them since that's the point of going but conversely also good to consider the possibility of not having any sightings, since it happens. The cruise itself, and the ports up that way - Oslo (where ours started), Alta, Tromso in particular - are amazing. Seeing the lights yet is the icing on the cake.

Edited June 8, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[Ken the cruiser]

54 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

We did the Viking Northern Lights in '19 - fantastic cruise. Unfortunately, ours ended prematurely - long story easily googled 3/23/19 Viking Sky. Except for that bizarre incident, we loved it - it had also been our first Viking experience. If Viking sailed out of Baltimore or Bayonne - two ports very close to us - I'd probably use Viking most of the time over RCL or X.

If I might ask, why? More specifically, what is there to do in the evenings and on sea days when compared to going on a similar Celebrity cruise in an Aqua cabin on the Apex, or any E-class ship for that matter? From what I understand the theater entertainment is pretty weak. Just curious.

[OnTheJourney]

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, why?

Overall, I like the smaller ship feel better. It just seems much quieter and more relaxed. The Wintergarten, in particular, is just such a lovely, quiet space. Quite honestly, I'll take Viking's dining room food over most of what I've had on either RCL or X. And, Viking's afternoon teas are terrific. On the Summit recently, we had no idea that they put out scones each afternoon till I sort of stumbled across it by accident. The "tea time" is not even listed in the daily schedule! I mentioned this on the survey.

 

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

what is there to do in the evenings and on sea days

We are not interested in probably 90% of the evening (or for that matter even the daytime) activities that are on the daily schedules. We very rarely stop in at a lounge in the later evening, don't do the various game-like and/or other social activities, don't do casino either. Sea day = just taking it easy and spending time on the balcony reading or else just taking some walks around the deck. So in that regard - X works just as well.

 

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

theater entertainment is pretty weak.

Not anymore. Viking is going more mainstream in terms of what they are offering. While a smaller singer/dancer cast, there were several production shows that were very well done. What I really like also is that if we don't get to a lecture or similar presentation on Viking, all of that stuff is shown on the stateroom tv, so often (since you asked about evenings) - we'll catch up by watching a recorded port talk or similar. Viking has terrific lecturers and naturalists onboard. Plus, there was a pretty decent movie channel selection. The map on the Viking tv is interactive and far superior to what was on the Summit recently. I couldn't believe how non-functional it was. Most of the time it even showed the wrong itinerary path and there was virtually no way to zoom in. With Viking, you can really zoom in and see in detail where the ship is going.

 

Now, in all fairness to X, we've only ever been on the Summit and Infinity - never on any newer ships. Our one cruiser friend, who has done lots of X cruises, says great things about the Beyond and Edge, but we've never been on those. What I like also about Viking is that ALL the ocean ships are exactly the same, so it becomes very familiar instead of spending a few days till we finally know the layout of the ship (I still often wind up going the wrong direction anyway).

 

Hope some of that helps clarify. Viking, for us, is just a more desirable product, but the big drawback is that except for going with them out of NY (which we've never done with any cruise line), every other embarkation port involves flying - which we'll do also but not near as convenient as driving to Baltimore or Bayonne.

Edited June 8, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

16 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

in an Aqua cabin

Not even sure I'd to this again - at least on the Summit. They took away a few of the amenities that we really enjoyed the first time we did it. Blu didn't quite impress us as much this time either. I only generally get to the Persian Garden once, so, not sure it all justifies the extra money.