P&O Cruises, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group, says it has added a 12 night Northern Lights cruise in its 2013 programme due to strong demand. The 69,153 gross ton Oriana will sail on this cruise on 1 March, the company said in a statement.
Previously, P&O Cruises had planned to introduce Northern Lights, which take Oriana up to Alta inside the Arctic Circle in Norway, to its programme in the winter of 2014.
“Due to unprecedented interest in the North Cape cruise in March, P&O Cruises has added another 12-night cruise, also to see the famed Northern Lights. The cruise offers a unique opportunity to see the natural phenomenon with an extended afternoon and evening stay in Alta, also known as the town of the Northern Lights, “ P&O Cruises said.
Winter cruises to the North Cape have become a high yield product with strong demand, Wendy Jeffreys, spokesperson for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, told Cruise Business. The company has operated cruises to Northern Norway in the winter for several years and will be doing so in the coming winter as well.
Other companies that will operate Northern Lights cruises from the UK in the coming winter include Saga Cruises that pioneered the product about five years ago and Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which is using two ships on these cruises. The 22,080 gross ton Marco Polo will sail from London Tilbury, while the 20,186 gross ton Discovery that is operated in a joint venture with Voyages of Discovery, will sail from Bristol Avonmouth.
A look at prices of Northern Lights cruises offered by various lines shows that they are not heavily discounted, unlike many other cruises on the UK market at the moment.
