Report on Aurora Northern lights cruise Nov 2023

[pete14]

16 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Do you still have an evening meal after that lot?!!

There are three of us Jean. We did have an evening meal, a 10 ounce fillet steak. Mind you, we had to cook it ourselves. A good job they had made the desserts for us. The ‘Great Beach House Bake Off’ may have got a bit messy. 

[pete14]

1 hour ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

Son bought a days internet to watch the GP but as it was down they also refunded him. 
I have a package so presumably need to request a refund as nothing has appeared on my account. 

We requested a refund for Sunday and as I prebooked the package, it was back in my bank next morning (£14). I do believe that unless you have a dodgy device to provide channels others can’t access, that the GP was not available to us online, certainly not on Sky. Sport24 plus had it but it didn’t seem to be available to us and the picture quality for that channel in cabins is worse than dire. 
 

Thanks for your report which embellished my musings. 

[FatBoy20]

14 hours ago, jh1809 said:

Glad you're having such an enjoyable cruise, Pete. "I know select dining is not cheap..." That's the only thing in your reports that I would disagree with. I think it's amazingly cheap. You wouldn't get a meal in a typical High Street Indian for what Sindhu charges, and of course Sindhu's quality is fat better.

Not that cheap when you have already paid for the meal in the Cruise Fare!.

[RJHNorthyorks]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

We requested a refund for Sunday and as I prebooked the package, it was back in my bank next morning (£14). I do believe that unless you have a dodgy device to provide channels others can’t access, that the GP was not available to us online, certainly not on Sky. Sport24 plus had it but it didn’t seem to be available to us and the picture quality for that channel in cabins is worse than dire. 
 

Thanks for your report which embellished my musings. 

Just been to guest services and they have actioned an internet refund for the day it was down but nothing for when it’s just poor. 
I’m sure I read somewhere that peninsular club members are meant to get % discounts on drinks. Do you know anything about that please Pete? 

[Gettingwarmer]

1 minute ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

Just been to guest services and they have actioned an internet refund for the day it was down but nothing for when it’s just poor. 
I’m sure I read somewhere that peninsular club members are meant to get % discounts on drinks. Do you know anything about that please Pete? 

The discount depends on what level you are on and doesn’t apply until you have used up all your OBC. 

[zap99]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

We requested a refund for Sunday and as I prebooked the package, it was back in my bank next morning (£14). I do believe that unless you have a dodgy device to provide channels others can’t access, that the GP was not available to us online, certainly not on Sky. Sport24 plus had it but it didn’t seem to be available to us and the picture quality for that channel in cabins is worse than dire. 
 

Thanks for your report which embellished my musings. 

I have the skyF1 app. If you are not in the UK, you can't watch it unless you set up a VPN.

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, FatBoy20 said:

Not that cheap when you have already paid for the meal in the Cruise Fare!.

I suppose you could look at it that way. But if you took that idea to extremes, presumably you'd never buy a coffee on board, as you could always get one from the machine in the buffet. I suppose if you had enough of your OBC left to cover it, you could even argue that Sindhu was free. 

[Bill Y]

5 hours ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

I actually research ports myself but always find ships port information talks and info additionally helpful. 
we asked at shore excursion’s and we’re told P and O no longer provide port information and we certainly haven’t come across anything on this cruise that comes close to our experience on other cruise lines. 

We too used to enjoy the port presentations, they inspired us to book excursions that we otherwise would not have considered and suggested things that we could do on our own. Since these presentations have ceased they have left a hole in the entertainment schedule on sea days.

 

The absence of the printed port guide is another retrograde step, we always took this ashore, the map gave us confidence to wander around. The so called downloadable guides are a pathetic joke just a list of bars, cafes and restaurants that have no doubt paid to be included. We noticed these cutbacks on Ventura earlier in the year but had hoped that they were still on the smaller ships for the more traditional cruisers.

 

This points to the direction that P&O wish to go, to have very big resort ships that are limited to where they can dock. Therefore appealing to people to whom the ship in the destination as long as it’s in warmer climes. So then the ports aren’t important so the itineraries can be repeated endlessly, so presentations and guides are just an unnecessary expense and people just given a list of bars and cafes. I don’t know if this is intended to discourage their traditional customers.

[RJHNorthyorks]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

The discount depends on what level you are on and doesn’t apply until you have used up all your OBC. 

Thank you. 

[zap99]

45 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

We too used to enjoy the port presentations, they inspired us to book excursions that we otherwise would not have considered and suggested things that we could do on our own. Since these presentations have ceased they have left a hole in the entertainment schedule on sea days.

 

The absence of the printed port guide is another retrograde step, we always took this ashore, the map gave us confidence to wander around. The so called downloadable guides are a pathetic joke just a list of bars, cafes and restaurants that have no doubt paid to be included. We noticed these cutbacks on Ventura earlier in the year but had hoped that they were still on the smaller ships for the more traditional cruisers.

 

This points to the direction that P&O wish to go, to have very big resort ships that are limited to where they can dock. Therefore appealing to people to whom the ship in the destination as long as it’s in warmer climes. So then the ports aren’t important so the itineraries can be repeated endlessly, so presentations and guides are just an unnecessary expense and people just given a list of bars and cafes. I don’t know if this is intended to discourage their traditional customers.

Most ports have folk giving out maps and local information.

[pete14]

This has been the most magical morning and one that I will never forget. Breakfast was good (fruit and yogurt followed by kedgeree, then toast and jam) sailing towards Alta. Costa coffee on the drinks package with breakfast.
 

Weather was bright but oh so cold with slight windchill making it colder. As we were in a fjord, from our balcony, we could see water and a huge ‘wall of snow’ as we sailed by.

After a while, I looked out over the water whilst wondering what to do this morning and saw a couple of ‘fountains of water’ breaking the surface. Could it be possible that there were whales lurking below us? Not long after, a message from the bridge told us that whales had been sighted. We all quickly put on coats, hats and gloves and dashed out onto the balcony. We stayed there for around 75 minutes, gradually getting colder and colder but during that time, we must have seen over 30 whales, probably humpback, Orca and minkes (according to a further announcement from the bridge). A few whale spotting boats had gathered which is a fair sign of the presence of whales. On occasions, there were lines of 5 or 6 water spouts close together followed by sightings of the whales that had made them. An incredible sight and one I don’t suppose I will ever see again. I didn’t take any photos of them because I wanted to see them properly, not through the lens of a camera. Pete junior took loads though, some of which I will try to share at a later date as the best go from his camera to his laptop and then to my phone. Even though mere words are not enough to fully convey the experience, hopefully you at least have had a flavour of it.
 

Even though we were getting colder by the minute, a combination of the temperature and the equivalent of an open fridge freezer all along the side of the fjord, we had no thought of going in to warm up for fear of missing something. As we got closer to Alta, the show was over so we set about getting warm in the Cabin whilst keeping our eyes open through the window.

 

We decided to opt for lunch via room service as we continued to thaw out. Whilst eating, I looked out of the window and saw a large bird of prey being mobbed by three or four brave smaller birds. Once it had asserted its authority, it was joined by a colleague and they circled around the water in front of us looking in the water for food, probably fillets of frozen fish. As their tail feathers were white, I can only assume they were white tailed eagles. I suppose even such magnificent birds of prey have to catch their own food.

 

I have put some ‘scenery’ pictures below which I think will confirm just how cold but beautiful the surrounding actually are.

update - the uploading of pictures failed, probably due to the internet. I will try again later.

[pete14]

Some images, not all the correct way up but just put the water at the bottom and the sky at the top

[elmsliebev]

On 11/16/2023 at 8:53 PM, pete14 said:

He seems to do talks on quite a lot of cruises, including Saga. His new novel is called ‘The Captain’s Table’ (or similar) which is apparently based on some people he has met on cruises. I think one of his future talks on this cruise will feature it, rather than his experiences in schools, and of course he will be selling signed copies.

I've recently read that book, it's very funny and there are some recognizable types! 

[pete14]

11 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

I've recently read that book, it's very funny and there are some recognizable types! 

He wasn’t able to bring with him many books to sell so I may have to rely on

the kindle 

 

[elmsliebev]

2 minutes ago, pete14 said:

He wasn’t able to bring with him many books to sell so I may have to rely on

the kindle 

 

or if you have a library card and can access ebooks free of charge. 

[zap99]

3 hours ago, jh1809 said:

I suppose you could look at it that way. But if you took that idea to extremes, presumably you'd never buy a coffee on board, as you could always get one from the machine in the buffet. I suppose if you had enough of your OBC left to cover it, you could even argue that Sindhu was free. 

On our next Arvia cruise, we have enough OBC to cover our normally drinks and speciality restaurant bills, so effectively the price we paid was for all inclusive.

[pete14]

Two pictures taken at about 4:45 this afternoon. They were taken on my phone which may explain why they are faint. Hopefully some more vivid ones later.

[Stokiegolfer]

Hi Pete good to see you saw them, DSLR camera would be better - f8, 5 - 8 secs iso 100 - 200. I use Pentax with 50 mm manual focus lens.  Hoping to see if I can video this time rather than just stills, when we are there from 15th to 29tb Dec cruise.

[RJHNorthyorks]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

Most ports have folk giving out maps and local information.

Not here they don’t. 

[Educator69]

Thank you Stokiegolfer for the camera information. Really looking forward to joining you in the Christmas cruise. If anyone wants to look out for the northern lights via Alta’s webcam then this is the link https://weathercam.kystnor.no/port-of-alta

we saw them on there when you did Pete.

[Dorset cruise fan]

10 hours ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

Tromso I had booked a private tour with Tromso Arctic Reindeer - Reindeer feeding and Sami Culture. We caught the free shuttle bus from the ship which dropped us outside the Raddison Blu Hotel. The Reindeer people picked us up outside the pub next door to the Raddison Blu for a 25 minute drive with commentary to the camp. 

We really enjoyed this trip. There are 300 reindeer at the camp and a series of Sami huts each containing a roaring fire and hot drinks. We were given unlimited amounts of reindeer food and went off across the field amongst the reindeer to feed them - great fun. 

The scenery was absolutely stunning and we watched the sun going down over the mountains. It felt very cold but we were OK as we popped into the huts for hot chocolate. 
We were served a very tasty lunch of reindeer stew ( there was a veggie option) and had a 30 minute presentation about Sami culture. 
I didn’t think this trip was wheelchair friendly but there was a man in a wheelchair and the guides were very attentive and he was able to take part in everything.

On our return to Tromso we had a wander around. It’s a really pretty place and by 2 pm it was dark so everywhere was lit up. We bought gifts for grandkids , had an expensive coffee and snack and I fell over on the ice ( uninjured) before heading back to the ship for the 4pm quiz ( joint 1st but lost on the tie breaker). 

it really is treacherous under foot and good snow boots are essential. 
Last night 4 of us went to the organ recital in the Arctic Cathedral which was very enjoyable. Mr Google tells us it is not a Cathedral but a Parish Church and therefore not the most northerly Cathedral.

On our way to Alta now. Not sure what we will do there although 3 of our party are going to the Tirpitz museum which is only available through an organised tour in Winter. 

 

Snap!

[Stokiegolfer]

No problem Educator69 ensure you use a tripod. Depending on type of lens determines the iso,  can go as high as 1600 - 3200 but need to reduce shutter time. 

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, pete14 said:

This has been the most magical morning and one that I will never forget. Breakfast was good (fruit and yogurt followed by kedgeree, then toast and jam) sailing towards Alta. Costa coffee on the drinks package with breakfast.
 

Weather was bright but oh so cold with slight windchill making it colder. As we were in a fjord, from our balcony, we could see water and a huge ‘wall of snow’ as we sailed by.

After a while, I looked out over the water whilst wondering what to do this morning and saw a couple of ‘fountains of water’ breaking the surface. Could it be possible that there were whales lurking below us? Not long after, a message from the bridge told us that whales had been sighted. We all quickly put on coats, hats and gloves and dashed out onto the balcony. We stayed there for around 75 minutes, gradually getting colder and colder but during that time, we must have seen over 30 whales, probably humpback, Orca and minkes (according to a further announcement from the bridge). A few whale spotting boats had gathered which is a fair sign of the presence of whales. On occasions, there were lines of 5 or 6 water spouts close together followed by sightings of the whales that had made them. An incredible sight and one I don’t suppose I will ever see again. I didn’t take any photos of them because I wanted to see them properly, not through the lens of a camera. Pete junior took loads though, some of which I will try to share at a later date as the best go from his camera to his laptop and then to my phone. Even though mere words are not enough to fully convey the experience, hopefully you at least have had a flavour of it.
 

Even though we were getting colder by the minute, a combination of the temperature and the equivalent of an open fridge freezer all along the side of the fjord, we had no thought of going in to warm up for fear of missing something. As we got closer to Alta, the show was over so we set about getting warm in the Cabin whilst keeping our eyes open through the window.

 

We decided to opt for lunch via room service as we continued to thaw out. Whilst eating, I looked out of the window and saw a large bird of prey being mobbed by three or four brave smaller birds. Once it had asserted its authority, it was joined by a colleague and they circled around the water in front of us looking in the water for food, probably fillets of frozen fish. As their tail feathers were white, I can only assume they were white tailed eagles. I suppose even such magnificent birds of prey have to catch their own food.

 

I have put some ‘scenery’ pictures below which I think will confirm just how cold but beautiful the surrounding actually are.

update - the uploading of pictures failed, probably due to the internet. I will try again later.

It all looks incredible - what an amazing experience and reminds is of why we wanted to cruise. Not to go on a flow rider or just a resort at sea, but for adventures and to see amazing places. Must admit, it is making us ponder a northern lights cruise - something we would never have thought about before - and Aurora looks like a beautiful small ship. (Rather like an old tin can we used to know .....)

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

It all looks incredible - what an amazing experience and reminds is of why we wanted to cruise. Not to go on a flow rider or just a resort at sea, but for adventures and to see amazing places. Must admit, it is making us ponder a northern lights cruise - something we would never have thought about before - and Aurora looks like a beautiful small ship. (Rather like an old tin can we used to know .....)

She is a bit like your favourite tin can but much better. The negatives I have mentioned earlier are not the fault of the ship or its crew. The lights are being elusive tonight which is a pity but in this life, people like us can’t have everything. 

[BouncingWheel]

Sounds like you are on an amazing cruise. I am sure many more people like me wish we were on there with you. Please keep the reports coming and treasure every moment.