In Search of the Northern Lights with Fred. Olsen and Go Stargazing

Name: In Search of the Northern Lights with Fred. Olsen and Go Stargazing
Start: 2025-11-03T12:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-11-17T12:00:00+00:00
Location: Liverpool Cruise Terminal

Monday 3rd November 2025 to Monday 17th November 2025

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Departing from Liverpool Cruise Terminal
Princes Parade, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 1DL

This cruise is tailored to offer you an unforgettable opportunity to witness the awe-inspiring spectacle of the Northern Lights. Watch these vibrant ribbons of colour dancing across the night sky as the Bolette navigates Arctic waters, particularly during your time ashore, with an overnight stay planned in Alta.

Immerse yourself in the Arctic way of life with a visit to a local Sámi community. Here, you can unwind in the cosy warmth of a traditional tepee-style Lavvu, interact with reindeer herders, and learn the rich cultural stories of the Sámi people. Don’t miss the chance to visit a husky yard and spend time with its friendly inhabitants. Deepen your journey by exploring the science behind the Aurora Borealis on board and during shore excursions.

In addition, you’ll be joined on board by an experienced astronomer from Go Stargazing, who will help guide you around the night skies and help you take photos of the aurora with your camera/smartphone.

Cruise organiser

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is organising this cruise

Please contact Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines directly for more details regarding this cruise.

Email: [email protected]
Website: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Twitter: @FredOlsenCruise
Facebook: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Cruise booking

For full details on how to attend this cruise, including how to book, please see the cruise's official website.

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Cruise darkness

The Moon has a big impact on the visibility of celestial bodies in the night sky. Try to plan your stargazing when there is no bright Moon at night as this is when the skies will be at their darkest.

The below chart shows if and when the skies will be at their darkest during this cruise. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing.

Mon 3rd Nov

Waxing Gibbous

91 % illuminated

Dark from 05:44 to 05:58

Dark for 0h 14m

Tue 4th Nov

Full Moon

96 % illuminated

NO DARKNESS

Wed 5th Nov

Full Moon

100 % illuminated

NO DARKNESS

Thu 6th Nov

Full Moon

100 % illuminated

NO DARKNESS

Fri 7th Nov

Full Moon

97 % illuminated

NO DARKNESS

Sat 8th Nov

Waning Gibbous

91 % illuminated

Dark from 17:46 to 18:02

Dark for 0h 15m

Sun 9th Nov

Waning Gibbous

83 % illuminated

Dark from 17:44 to 19:23

Dark for 1h 38m

Mon 10th Nov

Waning Gibbous

74 % illuminated

Dark from 17:43 to 20:51

Dark for 3h 7m

Tue 11th Nov

Third Quarter

63 % illuminated

Dark from 17:42 to 22:19

Dark for 4h 36m

Wed 12th Nov

Third Quarter

53 % illuminated

Dark from 17:40 to 23:43

Dark for 6h 2m

Thu 13th Nov

Third Quarter

42 % illuminated

Dark from 17:39 to 01:01

Dark for 7h 21m

Fri 14th Nov

Third Quarter

32 % illuminated

Dark from 17:38 to 02:16

Dark for 8h 37m

Sat 15th Nov

Waning Crescent

23 % illuminated

Dark from 17:36 to 03:30

Dark for 9h 53m

Sun 16th Nov

Waning Crescent

16 % illuminated

Dark from 17:35 to 04:43

Dark for 11h 7m

Mon 17th Nov

Waning Crescent

9 % illuminated

Dark from 17:34 to 05:58

Dark for 12h 23m

Sail on Bolette

Fred. Olsen's flagship vessel proudly bears the name of Fred. Olsen's Great Grandmother, Bolette. Exuding classic, elegant style and featuring spacious and comfortable public areas, with just 690 cabins, the flagship leads their fleet of smaller ships by example.

On-board Astronomer

Dr Emma Alexander will join this cruise as your expert astronomer and stargazing guide.

Emma has nearly 15 years of experience in amateur astronomy and has a PhD in astrophysics. Her astrophysics research has been in radio astronomy, with a particular focus on astrophysical magnetism and radio galaxies. As an experienced science communicator, she has appeared on TV and Radio (e.g. BBC Breakfast and Radio 5 Live), and believes that astronomy is for everyone. Her favourite observing challenge is to spot the young crescent Moon at Sunset (her least favourite challenge is light pollution).

On-board Astronomer

Martin Lunn will join this cruise as your expert astronomer and stargazing guide.

I studied for my degree in astrophysics with the Open University while working as a guard on British Rail between 1979-82. On being made redundant in 1986 I joined the Civil Service in London.

I was appointed Curator of Astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum in York in 1989, a post I held until I took early retirement in 2011. As a public astronomer I promoted astronomy at the York Observatory, which is part of the museum, including arranging open viewing evenings and special events. At the same time I undertook research into astronomy.

It was during my time at the museum that I became (apparently!) a leading authority on one of the world’s greatest telescope makers, Thomas Cooke of York, who amongst other achievements made a telescope for Prince Albert in 1860 and constructed the Newal Refractor, at the time the largest telescope in the world. In addition I also became a noted authority on the 18th century astronomer John Goodricke, who was deaf and without speech. He lived in York and during his brief life (he died before he was 22 years old) helped change the way astronomers look at the stars. The third topic for my work was the Middlesbrough Meteorite, which is used as a text book example of an oriented meteorite.

I worked with North Yorkshire Education Authority and the Yorkshire Museum to produce an event called ‘Earth and Space’ which ran each autumn for six years from 1992. The event was a series of interactive workshops running over a six week period, during which 6,000 children would participate each year.

In 1998 I was presented with an MBE for services to astronomy and education.

I present talks to astronomy societies, and to various institutions such as the Women’s Institute, Probus Clubs and historical societies, In 2017 I began presenting astronomy talks on cruise ships.

I was a member of the council of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2019-2022

I have made a series of short films on Youtube about the planets which can be seen on the ‘Hitch Hikers Guide to the Cosmos’ page. I also present a weekly astronomy show on Drystone radio www.drystoneradio.com which is a community radio station covering the Yorkshire Dales, East Lancashire and the Bradford area with internet listeners around the world. I also write a regular monthly astronomy column for the Craven Herald newspaper which covers the Yorkshire Dales.

Departing from Liverpool Cruise TerminalPrinces Parade, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 1DL

Cruise organiser

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is organising this cruise

Cruise booking

Cruise darkness

Mon 3rd Nov

Tue 4th Nov

Wed 5th Nov

Thu 6th Nov

Fri 7th Nov

Sat 8th Nov

Sun 9th Nov

Mon 10th Nov

Tue 11th Nov

Wed 12th Nov

Thu 13th Nov

Fri 14th Nov

Sat 15th Nov

Sun 16th Nov

Mon 17th Nov

Departing from Liverpool Cruise Terminal
Princes Parade, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 1DL