We are experienced cruisers (HAL, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Delta Queen) and enjoy new experiences. We chose an Astronomy Cruise departing Feb. 27th, 2017 from Bergen, Norway for several reasons: we wanted to travel on a ferry, we wanted a chance to see the Northern Lights, lectures on astronomy were offered by a well-known astronomer Ian Ridpath, and I wanted to see places my Norwegian ancestors lived. We were not disappointed in any way.
Breakfast and lunch are buffets with a wide offering of foods (love the little Norwegian meat balls!) but dinner is a set meal. We don't care for fish, so ate at the café on several evenings. (Very good burgers.)
On the second night out the intercom in our cabin informed us that the Northern Lights had appeared, so we dressed in our heavy weather gear and went up to the open area on deck 9. The Lights were swirling, looping, and shooting spikes up to the zenith. Everyone was awestruck. The Lights were mostly gray, with tinges of green and yellow. On subsequent nights they were even more stunning.
Cabin about 6 x12, much more comfortable than that sounds. Definitely compact, but felt spacious., 2 sofa beds can be pulled down to become beds or left down as sofas. A desk with one chair. Lots of cupboards, shelves and closets for 2 people. We were able to empty 4 suitcases and shove empty cases beneath one bed. Cozy. Two large portholes. Cabin was only a couple of cabins from the bow and above the car deck, so some noise from bow thrusters when docking or pulling away. We didn't find the noise objectionable. Bathroom small but nice, hair-dryer built in, hair and body toiletries available. Bathroom floor is tiled, with a step down to the shower that is hard to distinguish even if you know it's there. We learned to be very careful. Beds had duvets on them which were warm and comfortable but sometimes slid off in heavy seas, which we only had two nights.