Spirit of Adventure blog

Arctic Norway and Northern Light cruise is definitely one of the best ones you can go on. However, to get the best experience, the weather needs to be on your side, which so far, it has. I am so grateful for that.

Arrival into Alta was accompanied by stunning sunrise and sea smoke, which is formed when very cold air moves over the warmer water. The temperature was - 18˚C! In such conditions of reduced visibility I was very careful while approaching the pier, because none of us on the Bridge could see it until we came much closer. Although our navigation instruments are state of the art, and we can actually come alongside without seeing the pier, it was a relief once it was visible. We docked safely next to the airport, and our wind indicator was showing around 20 knots. As I normally look for the references around me, while manoeuvring, I spotted a wind sock at the airport, which was of course frozen and therefore still. Not a good reference - we all laughed.

Our Hotel General Manager, Gemma, phoned me later that morning and kindly offered me a tour to the Ice Hotel which included lunch with our Diamond Members. I accepted the offer with the great pleasure.

On the way to the Ice Hotel our guide told us that every year they have a theme for building their ice sculptures, and that nobody knows what it will be until they open the hotel for the season. This year the theme was Africa. What an experience! What’s interesting is that It takes them just about 6 weeks to build the hotel. The temperature inside the hotel was - 6˚C. Really impressive, however I prefer a warmer room temperature to sleep. The drink offered in an icy glass warmed me up a bit though. Lunch was also great, and their cheese cake was the highlight.

Kind Regards
Captain Krešo Volarić