Our Norwegian and Northern Lights Voyage on Ambience

  “A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” George Moore   Back on Land   Our first night back on land was quiet and comfortable, but we both clearly missed the gentle vibration of the ship’s engines and the motion of the sea.   Ironically, after voyaging to Norway and the Arctic to see the northern lights, there was an unprecedented solar storm last night.  The effects of which meant that the aurora could be seen as far south as Florida and Texas, across most of Canada and almost all of Europe throughout the evening, giving way to spectacular displays. Such is the nature of our luck - though we do not feel the lesser for having set off on Ambience, for the opportunity to visit Norway or for voyaging to the Arctic Circle. New experiences are always worth the effort.   To that end, it matters little, at least to us, that we have covered the costs of going to Norway to see the northern lights, even if those s...

Ambience   in Norway and the Northern Lights   “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust , In Search of Lost Time We don’t consider ourselves travel or cruising experts. What follows isn’t a definitive guide, but a collection of practical observations and lessons drawn from our own experience aboard Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience , during a 16-night, 17-day voyage to Norway and the Northern Lights. These are simply the things we learned along the way - points that helped shape our experience, and that might help others plan a voyage that suits their interests and expectations.   1. Choose the Right Time of Year   Timing matters enormously when cruising Norway, and it shapes almost every aspect of the experience.   End-of-season sailings and repositioning voyages can be something of a gamble, particularly when it comes to weather - but they also come with clear benefits. We were fortunate with ...

  “Sailing unties the knots in my mind.” Al Noble   Stunning Experiences and Warm Welcomes   We had a surprisingly hard time writing about this journey.   Not because it lacked moments worth sharing, but because nearly every day offered more than we could easily hold, let alone distill. From morning to night, we found ourselves documenting the world around us - often capturing anywhere from 400 to well over 1,600 photographs in a single day. Some days it was the sheer number of birds passing the ship, or it was the sudden appearance of whales, or the drama of changing light along the coast, or the privilege of stepping into historic ports and walking among places shaped by centuries of human story.  Regardless, this voyage was both full and amazing.   In fact, the abundance was, at times, even a bit overwhelming. Not since trekking across our home nation on the Trans Canada Trail, or voyaging on Queen Elizabeth sailing to Alaska, have we had so many chall...

The journey, not the arrival matters.” T.S. Eliot   Morning Reflections   Not entirely unexpectedly, we slept very little last night. We were still striving to hold onto each remaining moment on board rather than surrender to the end of another voyage and another chapter in our travels. The same pattern seems to mark the end of every meaningful journey we undertake. Whether it’s walking the streets of Santiago de Compostela with a reflective sadness, lingering late into the night with friends made along the way - as we had done just hours earlier - or standing quietly on deck watching a darkened landscape slip closer, these final nights rarely offer much sleep.   Our alarms were set for 6:30 AM, and we had instructions to be out of our cabin by 7:30 AM, yet the slow motion of the ship and our desire to savour what little remained pulled us from bed at 5 AM, scarcely three hours after we had finally turned in last night.   We both quickly showered and were ready to va...