In Search of the Northern Lights cruise from Newcastle
My favourite lounge was the Observatory with spectacular panoramic views, we had afternoon tea on our last day at sea with a string quartet playing in the background, was a wonderful way to enjoy spectacular views sailing through the fjords..
Bolette doesn’t have a children’s club but there is a pool with retractable roof and jacuzzi tubs. Bolette still felt very family orientated and very caring and we felt home from home. Plenty of board games, shuffleboard, tv’s showing sports and talks given by astronomers and experts on the Northern lights, Norwegian life & history. Live shows, twice an evening put on by Ms Bolette’s entertainment team.
Whilst on board I took visits to the spa and had amazing treatments. A massage cost £98.
Card games and in particular Bridge, tournaments are held in the dedicated card room. The entertainment team have a daily programme of activities. dancing lessons, tea dances, cooking demo's and also hosted traditional games of quoits, deck tennis & shuffleboard. Daily Times was dropped every evening for all happenings onboard.
The crew were amazing & speaking to other passengers all felt the same. Returning to the ship after excursions we were welcomed back, made to feel warm & at home with a cup of hot chocolate or something stronger.
We stayed in a lovely balcony suite, port side on Highland deck, had a separate sitting area & balcony to relax. On arrival we had beautiful flowers & handmade chocolates. Our steward cleaned & made beds each evening, left more chocolates on our pillows & towel art arrangements on our beds. Staying in a suite category gave added complimentary benefits, canapes at 5pm daily to the suite! I would highly recommend a balcony.
Breakfast & lunch could be taken in our suite or in the buffet restaurant which had amazing views, there was always a good variety of different dishes to suit everyone. The food was always a good standard.
Drinks packages could be purchased but we chose to pay as we went, prices were similar to your local pub or restaurant.
Typically, gratuities are charged at £5.00 per person, per day for guests aged 12 and over. This amount is split equally between your stewardess and restaurant waiter and is automatically added to your on-board account. Gratuities are voluntary, could be adjusted or removed at Guest Services, you are welcome to tip personally. you can also pre-pay them.
An excursion booklet was sent out to us several weeks before departure. I'd strongly advise any bookings be made asap.
Trondheim is a Fjord-side city, the third largest in Norway which has established itself as a leader in innovation and is known as Norway's capital of knowledge, it is well worth visiting and was one of the most important cities in Norway during the Viking Age. We took a leisurely walk into Trondheim from the port and passed the beautifully coloured, historic timber houses and visited the magnificent Nidaros cathedral, Norway's national shrine & northern Europe's most important pilgrimage site. The cathedral is built over the tomb of Olav the Holy, a Viking king who Christianized Norway and became the entire country's eternal king. We finished off with lunch in a local café (MacDonalds for our 9 year old) and did some window shopping. The weather was cold -4 but sunny with blue skies, snow everywhere but all paths were cleared.
Alta we took a Reindeer sleigh ride Excursion, a 15-minute coach ride from the ship, temperature -8. We visited the Sami village and were met by the tribe’s leader who welcomed us to their home. He took us into the village where sleighs and reindeer were waiting. The sleigh ride took us off into the beautiful snow-covered wilderness and was truly like a scene from Narnia. The reindeers were very cute. Sleigh ride was approximately 20 minutes. After the ride we were taken into a Lavvo, a traditional Sami home, like a wigwam tent, inside was a warm fire where they chatted to us about their traditions and sang songs and told us stories about their culture & the lights. We tried dried reindeer and were given a warm drink and local cake.
Northern lights excursion in Alta, we took a coach from the port to Paeskatun, the northern lights camp on a plateau, high up on the mountain side of Pæska. A fantastic view over the valley of Alta and the town and fjord visible in the horizon, far away from any artificial light pollution which makes an excellent location for photos and was only a 20 minutes’ drive from the cruise port. Alta has a dry climate which can provide many nights with clear skies. We were given an interesting and informative 15-minute talk about the lights, in the warm with tea, coffee and more local cake and taken outside with experts to look for the Aurora and to take photos. We saw the lights and although they were faint, we were extremely happy to have seen them.
We took a shuttle bus from the ship into the centre of Tromso & wow! It's is known as the capital of the Arctic as the sun never sets, it’s also known as the Paris of the north and it’s not hard to see why. The backdrop of beautiful snowcapped mountains on a beautiful deep fjord it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We walked to the Arctic Cathedral which is the most northern Cathedral in the world, a landmark visible from the Tromsø Sound, the Tromsø Bridge. The 11 aluminium-coated concrete panels on each side of the roof provide the cathedral’s form, reminded me of the Sydney opera house.
We ate at six which was our designated dinner time and after headed back to our suite in the hope we might get a call from the bridge to go out on deck for a sighting of the Lights. Not long had we arrived & an announcement was made, from the balcony there they were, so beautiful, all colours over snowy landscapes, lights making different patterns & dancing so clearly. Top deck was colder -20. The lights were all over the ship and stayed all night.
Short walk into Bodo a visit to the cathedral a couple of shops we headed back to the ship. My advice would be to take an excursion.
Special memories to last a lifetime..