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Sail into the Northern Lights

25th February 202425th February 2024 funtime65

Ever dreamt you could sail into the Northern Lights… well, in eight years in the Aurora Borealis capital of Scotland I never once saw the Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen

Many delights though, The Northern Bar, St Machar, Red Lion (Beastie), Blue Lamp (Lampie), Hotel Metro (‘we won’t go there) and countless others.

But I’ll have to take Mary Webb’s word for it and her knowledge of the fishing port/pre-oil city of the Fifties.

Like the heroine of Mary’s song I too have been a traveller all of my years.

And too many a sight I’ve seen although not yet the Northern Lights.

The ROL thing

It seems though that I was nearer than I thought when we cruised the Norwegian fjords with MSC and reached bonnie Bergen.

Switching tack which is after all a marine metaphor.

See I did pick something up from the captain I have since alighted on what I need, the ROL Cruise 11-nighter Northern Lights Special.

In their Classic Northern Lights sale from £1,249pp.

Now, the ROL cruise leaves out of Bergen, departing on either Halloween, November 22 and December 15.

Day 2 will be Florø-Molde where we are promised Northern Blooms.

Known as ‘The City of Roses’ it offers a fabulous mountain panorama view.

Circle of life

Day 3 will take you from Kristiansand-Rørvik and Day 4 Brønnøysund-Svolvær.

Now this is where things get really exciting and you enter the Arctic Circle.

And mark the moment with a traditional ceremony.

Brønnøysund is situated on a narrow peninsula on the mainland, surrounded by islands and water.

Captain’s call

Now the next five days are all tongue-twisters.

Day 5 – Stokmarknes – Skjervøy Day 6 – Øksfjord – Berlevåg Day 7 – Båtsfjord – Berlevåg Day 8 – Mehamn – Tromsø Day 9 – Tromsø.

Sailing along Raftsund, the Captain truly earns their money.

They may choose to take the ship into tiny Trollfjord if the weather allows.

The mountain walls will look so close you’ll think you can reach out and brush them!

To exit the fjord, the ship will rotate 180 degrees on the spot.

And we’re advised to keep an eagle-eye out for sea eagles.

Midnight sun

Day 10 will see you go from Bodø – Rørvik.

You can admire the midnight sun from Mount Ronvikfjellet or take a stroll along the chalk-white beach.

Day 11 is Trondheim-Ålesund, Day 12 – Ålesund back to Bergen, Norway.

And then disembark and transfer to the airport for your return flight to London.

To show off your pictures, Instas and videos and TikToks to friends and family.

From when you got to sail into the Northern Lights.

Countries, Europe, Sustainable Tourism

Fjords to the world

17th August 202317th August 2023 funtime65

We’ve all been left open-mouthed, like Munch’s Scream, at the beauty of Norway but today we celebrate the man who brought the fjords to the world.

It’s no exaggeration to credit JC Dahl with bringing tourism to Norway through his landscape paintings.

But I only stumbled across JC (and it was not the only thing I fell upon that day) on an MSC cruise lay-off in the fjords in Bergen.

When we took in the troll caricatures and Munch retrospective on the walls and Dahl’s panoramas at the Kode gallery.

And was tripped up by one of those shape-shifting trolls when I tumbled over a stone on our cliffside walk above Bergen.

The good news then is that the first of two Havila Polaris ships has arrived in Bergen.

Before it will head directly to Tromsø in a few days and put into service on August 21.

While the sister ship Havila Pollux will enter service from August 23.

Fjords game-changer

And this is a fjords game-changer.

Your ship accommodates 468 beds and passengers can choose whether to sail from port to port.

Or embark on a comprehensive journey along the Norwegian coast.

And here’s where things have changed with sustainability at the heart of fjords sailing.

Havila operates on a combination of liquefied natural gas and battery packs.

And that allows them to sail emissions-free for up to four hours at a time on battery power.

This means that Havila sails emissions-free in Geirangerfjorden and Hjørundfjorden.

Watch the waste

Now Havila are clearly committed to cleaning up the seas.

And cutting down on waste and, of course, leftover food is high up on that menu.

Theirs is a food concept where everything is served à la carte.

That will reduce food waste by a whopping 60 tons with four fully operational ships, compared to ships with buffet.

With the two new ships in operation, the number of departures from Bergen will double from six to 12 departures per month.

The ships dock in Bergen at 14:45 before embarking on a new journey northwards at 20:30.

Now, of course, since Thomas Cook first clapped eyes on Dahl and introduced Norway to British adventurers we’ve been capturing its beauties ourselves.

And that was always going to be a bigger draw to the award-winning photographer Mrs M was always going to pick that.

Ahead of the Med or the Gulf states.

Which is why we have our own photo homage to Dahl hanging in our wall.. bringing the fjords to the world, our world.