Cruising In Norway For Northern Lights

A Great Adventure Cruising In Norway For Northern Lights

We enjoyed our great adventure cruising in Norway for Northern Lights. In Bergen Norway, we boarded the Viking Cruises ship.  This specific trip was booked so we could try the new Viking Vela ship.

From Bergen we headed to Northern Norway and cruised down the coast of Norway. A surprise day in Stavanger provided a lovely view of the fjords of Norway. Leaving Norway we had a short stop in Amsterdam before we headed to Tilbury outside London to disembark.

An emerging winter storm in the North Sea caused an early itinerary change. But this change let us avoid rough seas. And we were delighted with how many times we saw Northern Lights from the ship.

The port stops offered a mix of Viking included tours and additional tours or ship excursions. When we were not in port, there were many activities offered on the ship. 

This Northern Lights trip was our first Viking Cruises ocean cruise. We chose a great itinerary to learn more about the Viking cruise ship offering.

Travelling To Bergen

When we planned our Northern Lights experience to start in Bergen Norway, we quickly learned we had no way to get to Bergen directly. Our elite status with Air Canada meant we always looked for Air Canada options first. We found several ways to get to Bergen with a connecting flight. While we hated changing planes in Frankfurt in Germany, we booked this flight with enough connecting time and enjoyed the great Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Frankfurt.  

We landed in Bergen and finally found our pre-arranged transport out in the taxi cab line up. The van was big enough to carry all the extra bags needed for this cold weather adventure. The only Marriott Bonvoy hotel in Bergen was the Moxy Bergen. We got an early check-in for the water view room we booked.  But we forgot how small many European hotel rooms were. 

The Moxy Bergen was a fun and funky hotel. Everywhere we looked we found something that drew our eye and got photographed.  

A Short Stay In Bergen

We planned to use our few days in Bergen to relax and recover from the time change. So when it was grey and rainy, we were not disappointed.  Although it was very strange when we found the temperatures in Bergen warmer than at home in Toronto. We wandered out and walked along the waterfront when we needed to stretch our legs. And we even found some interesting street art.

We were intrigued by the saunas with cold plunge areas that we found all along the harbour area.  But Bergen we passed on this experience. We had other Nordic spa adventures in Blue Mountain and again on a weekend visit to Quebec City later in the year. And we sure enjoyed the Nordic spa on our Viking cruise ship.

We were excited when our cruise ship Viking Vela arrived in the Bergen port the day before we boarded. A short taxi ride got us to the pier and we checked-in for our trip cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Enjoying The Viking Vela Cruise Ship

We were very happy with our larger Penthouse Veranda cabin. This trip was our first Viking Cruises ocean trip. So we explored the first day and familiarized ourselves with the ship facilities and layout.  

We booked our excursions and dining online in advance on the Viking site. Once onboard we connected to the shipboard WiFi and opened the Viking Voyager App. The interactive tv and this App provided us with a full view of daily life on the ship. We found all our reservations and we had the ability to make some changes or additions on the ship. When the online systems did not work, we visited Guest Services.

There was a good selection of activities offered onboard for both port and sea days. We loved the Nordic Spa facilities and enjoyed several relaxing visits during our trip. We even booked a massage one day. Even if we never made it to the well-outfitted gym.

There were enrichment lectures and port talks provided most days. Entertainment was offered around the ship at different times with a show put on each evening.  There was enough variety offered to provide some activity for the guests to enjoy. 

When we were not in ports when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights, we enjoyed the new Viking Vela ship. 

Crossing The Arctic Circle Cruising In Norway For Northern Lights

We always loved celebrating key milestone when we cruised. We celebrated crossing the equator on several different cruises.  And we were on our Antarctic cruise when we crossed the Antarctic Circle.  

So we did not miss the celebration with Viking when we crossed north over the Arctic Circle. We joined the long line of people for a dip in the ice filled water and started our “Order of the Blue Nose” tradition. After we dunked in the water we got our blue noses. And then a shot of Aquavit liquor. A certificate confirmed our crossing the Arctic Circle.

We made sure to celebrate crossing the Arctic Circle when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Changes In The Planned Itinerary

Cruising itineraries are always subject to the rule of Mother Nature. And sometimes to geopolitical issues. So changes in cruise itineraries were something we accepted when we cruised.

The Viking cruise for Northern Lights that went right before us ran into trouble almost immediately. Bad weather caused some damage to the ship and diverted the ship to Ålesund in Norway. The ship stayed in that unplanned port for 4 days and this meant a totally revised itinerary. They never made any ports north of the Arctic Circle. So we were uncertain what our cruise would look like when we boarded.

The published itinerary when we boarded showed the exact itinerary we booked and for which we paid for excursions. We were quite happy about this. But 2 days into the cruise the Captain advised that we would miss the first 2 nights planned for Alta. A storm moving from the UK would impact weather and the Captain wanted to be headed back south a few days sooner than originally planned. 

The Viking team scrambled to address all the changes this new itinerary required. For us, it meant we lost all of our planned and paid Viking excursions. And there was virtually no way to replace adventures on the new port schedule. We missed seeing husky dogs, a planned night visit to Mt Paeska for Northern Lights, visiting an igloo hotel by snowmobile and a dogsled ride.  

In Tromso we got on the internet as soon as we received the new itinerary and looked for private tours in both Tromso and Narvik. We ultimately managed to book one private tour from Tromso with “Spirit in the Sky” for a night Northern Lights tour.  

Our Viking cabin class provided early priority to book our Viking included excursions before the trip and we booked the times we wanted. But it appeared we were moved with zero priority to replacement exclusions in Tromso and Narvik.  We were automatically booked for an 8 am panoramic tour in Tromso … well before the sun even rose. And were booked for a 5pm panoramic tour in Narvik well after the sun set.

For the added port in Stavanger, we booked a paid Viking excursion for a boat tour in the Lysefjorden. But we could not do the included panoramic tour of Stavanger due to the timing conflict with the paid excursion we booked. 

While we appreciated the need to change the schedule for weather and safety reasons, our adventures cruising in Norway for Northern Lights turned out to be far less exciting than we planned. 

Not Discovering Panoramic Tromso

We arrived in Tromso late in the afternoon. Because of the short notice for the changed itinerary, there were no Viking excursions offered this first night. And we left port at 7pm the next day so there was no potential for Northern Lights excursions that second night either. So we were lucky when we found the last 2 open spots on the private “Spirit in the Sky” Northern Lights tour.  

We were docked well out of town and Viking provided a shuttle into town. We took the shuttle into Tromso well ahead of our tour and had a little time to walk in town. After we found the currency exchange booth, we wandered and saw a few of the sights in the town centre.

After our long night tour, we returned to the ship around 3am. YES in the middle of the night! Viking re-booked our included tour for Panoramic Tromso for the second day and moved us to an 8am start.  There was no way we could make that tour time. So we had to skip the one Viking excursion we were left with in Tromso and missed a view of panoramic Tromso.  

We were sure there was much to see around the Tromso area. But we only saw a little bit of the downtown area on our own. This was not a great start to cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Finding Northern Lights On A Private Tour From Tromso

In Tromso we found the meeting spot for the private Spirit in the Sky Northern Lights tour we booked. The mini bus held 16 people and we were all crammed in. But we were still glad we were not on a big 50 person bus. 

Our guide Nick advised that we were driving south to get out of the overcast sky in Tromso. He hoped this increased our chance of getting a good view of the Northern Lights. When we checked out this tour for other nights, we knew the tour leader had driven into Finland chasing the lights!

With one short bathroom break along the way, we finally parked by the side of the road after about 3 hours. The sky above us was mostly clear but the Northern Lights had not yet appeared. 

Seeing Northern Lights From Tromso

The group put on the snowsuits provided by the tour company. We came prepared with the gear we got for our cruise to Antarctica. So we were well prepared.

The open field had a firewood supply. Nick built a fire and set out camp stools. While we waited for the Northern Lights, Nick provided cookies, hot cocoa and coffee. Later he provided mini sausages and marshmallows to toast on the fire. We found this a fun way to wait in the field.

When we finally saw the glimmer of Northern Lights in the sky, we all headed out into the darker area in the fields. We watched as they moved around the sky and caught some great pictures. Nick set up his camera and took pictures of people with the Northern Lights. This was a great added bonus and gave us a great picture of us on this fun tour.

Note: Northern Lights photos with no RetiredAndTravelling watermark taken by Nick at Spirit in the Sky

At midnight, we started the long 3 hour drive back. We enjoyed our night tour with Spirit in the Sky when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights. But when we returned to the ship, we learned that passengers actually saw the Northern Lights from the ship. So we wondered if we really had to drive so far south on our tour.  

One Viking Included Tour In Narvik

When we planned our Northern Lights cruise, we chose exciting adventures and Northern Lights excursions in the two most northern ports of Alta and Tromso.  When the schedules for both of those ports changed, we lost all the great excursions we planned.  But because we booked these adventures in Alta and Tromso, we did not book great adventures for our stop in Narvik.  

Others who had excursions booked in Narvik had them moved to the new dates.  But those of us with nothing booked were left with the few excursions that were not full. Sadly we also found little availability for private tours. 

We were left with the Viking included bus tour for 2 hours around Narvik.  But that was scheduled for us at 5pm – well after the sun set in Narvik at this time of year.  Since we knew that passengers often did not actually show up for these Viking included tours, we were lucky to get on the 1pm bus and saw much of the tour just before sunset.

We learned much about the history of the small town on the fjord in Norway.  Narvik was bombed and “lived in” during WWII. The discovery of iron ore created a booming economy in the town for a long time. So much of the town was re-built after that time.

We visited the Narvik railway station.  A large railway system was needed to move the iron ore.  On our stop we saw an old steam engine in the yard.

Our bus tour took us up above the town to the ski hill area.  This was planned to be the site of the 2029 Alpine World Ski Championships.  From high on the hill we got a lovely panoramic view over the town of Narvik and the fjord.

Our final stop was at the Ankenes Church.  We learned that most of the people in Norway were Lutheran. At one time there were severe penalties for not being Lutheran but more religious tolerance existed today.  We were delighted when we found that a treat awaited us inside.  Local women entertained us with songs from their winter festival.  It was a lovely interlude.

When we arrived back at the port at dusk we wandered around. And found another of the interesting Nordic Spas with cold plunges near the cruise ship.

We were glad we learned more about the charming small town of Narvik when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Cruising In Norway For Northern Lights We Saw Them From Our Cruise Ship Too

We were quite disappointed when we lost our 2 days in the port in Alta. We booked great great Northern Lights excursions for this cancelled port. It was great we found a private excursion on our night in Tromso and we got some good aurora viewings.

Research in advance of our trip suggested we would likely not see Northern Lights from the ship. Many nights we were docked in port and the city lights made viewing the Northern Lights difficult. 

We signed up to be called in our cabin if Northern Lights were visible. So we were absolutely delighted with how many times we were called for viewings from the ship. We put on our multiple layers of clothing and joined other passengers on the upper decks. And got some great Northern Light shows on several nights.

We had so many great Northern Light sights from the cruise ship. That we just ignored the final call we got. But we even managed to see the lights from our balcony that night!

It was a lovely surprise when we caught so many great views from the ship when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Fjord Tour In Stavanger Along Lysefjorden

The port stop in Stavanger was added when our cruise itinerary was changed. We looked at the new excursions offered by Viking and chose to pay for a tour that cruised along the Lysefjorden for some great outdoor sights. The weather was unusually mild and sunny which gave us a perfect day in Stavanger.  

We enjoyed the sights as we cruised along the fjords. We stopped at the Vagabond’s Cave (or Fantahola) and looked up into the steep fissure walls all around us. Next we stopped under Pulpit Rock (or Preikestolen). This famous hiking spot was often visited from land. Our last stop was under the Hengjanefossen waterfall complete with a rainbow!

When we returned to Stavanger, we had time for a quick wander around town as dark set in. We saw some of the historical sights that the guide on our fjord cruise talked about. And finished the day with a colourful light show.

We had a lovely unexpected day in Stavanger when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights.

Finishing Our Cruise In Tilbury In England

Our last port when cruising in Norway for Northern Lights was Amsterdam.  We had a very short port day and were docked out in the port in IJmuiden.  

We originally planned to do the Viking included canal boat tour which meant almost an hour bus ride each way into Amsterdam. But we did this canal tour several times before. After a short visit to the port authorities to formally leave the European Union, we decided to enjoy the quiet and empty ship for the morning with a relaxing visit to the onboard Nordic Spa.  

We departed from IJmuiden about 2:30 in the afternoon and cruised on a calm and sunny day across the North Sea towards England. The ship finally docked for our departure after a major delay getting into the port at low tide. 

The port of Tilbury was quite outside of London with no easy way to get to Heathrow Airport. So we booked a transfer with Viking to the airport. And we were happy that even with the landing delay, we had lounge access for the long wait for our return flight to Toronto.

A Fun Trip Cruising In Norway For Northern Lights

We had fun cruising in Norway for Northern Lights from Bergen to Tilbury outside London, England. We were disappointed that changes in the itinerary meant we lost all the great winter Norway adventures we planned. But we got the Northern Lights sightings we booked this trip for. And a lovely unexpected day in Stavanger on the fjords in southern Norway.

We enjoyed our first ocean cruise with Viking Cruises. It was great to see the new Viking Vela ship. Many activities kept us engaged on sea days cruising along the Norway coast. And we celebrated crossing the Arctic Circle in a fun way.

Did you enjoy a trip cruising in Norway for Northern Lights?  What was your favourite part?

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