Northern Lights cruises

[pattihews]

My SIL and BIL are recently retired and want to do a winter cruise to see the Northern Lights. They have offered us the chance to accompany them at their expense — we have been very involved I the care of DP and SIL's elderly parents and this is their thank-you to us.

I've worked in Finland and Sweden in the winter and I'm struggling to find much enthusiasm for a 10-day cruise in the cold and dark. My SIL says oh it'll be lovely, we get to land at different places every day and see the fjords and look for the lights. I have memories of heavy grey days when it never really gets light, of slithering around on impacted ice and of longing for blue sky and sun.

If you've done this sort of cruise, what was it like?

I haven't but my DPs have very much enjoyed cruises with Hurtigruten.
I guess it partly depends on time of year, how far north you are going, and what kind of holiday you enjoy.

I think we're talking 10 days or longer. The example shown started in Bergen and cruised to Tromso, then returned to Copenhagen, but that isn't set in stone. It would be December, January or February.

I know people who people who know people who did the cruise and enjoyed it, but I want to hear from people who've done it themselves. What was so enjoyable about it? I want to know how they spent all those dark hours on board the ship, I want to know about the food (because in my experience Scandi food, while tasty, isn't vastly varied or particularly interesting) and about how many hours a day you spend off the ship, doing stuff — and whether those places visited wouldn't be more interesting to visit in the summer?

Why are you assuming it'll be scandi food? Cruise lines are international and I've never had bad food or service, even on the cheap cruises.

If you asked me whether I'd rather spend ten days in the winter on a cruise eating great food, with nightly entertainment or ten days at home, I know which I'd choose!

Maybe consider Vancouver to Alaska instead?

Im in Northern Canada. We get regular displays and they’ve been out every night for the last week or so.

It's free, it's a holiday. Someone else will cook for you and wash up. What's not to love.

Food: because they're looking at Hurtigruten, which prides itself on its Norwegian culinary tradition and sources much of the food from ports along the way. I've worked in Sweden and Finland in the winter and my experience of Scandi food at that time of year is that it's either salmon or venison.

Nightly entertainment: can't see anything about that. This isn't a Disney-style cruise.

Unfortunately the only say I get in it is yes or no! And if I say no I'll get a 'Why not?'

You might find this recent thread helpful. www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/4640844-anyone-done-a-fjords-cruise-and-able-to-help

Thank you. Interesting to hear that Hurtigruten food is lovely. Obviously that poster was hoping to do the summer cruise.

It would be fabulous to hear from someone who's actually done a winter one themselves.