Alaska & Northern Lights

[Tananda]

Will be cruising the Eurodam in mid May so it should still be getting dark enough at night for a glimpse of the lights if there is ample activity. Can you request a wakeup call if the lights should present themselves like you can in a land based hotel? Or should we set an alarm to check in the wee hours when the skies are clear? Thanks for your help!

 

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[oceanmom]

On our Alaska cruise Sept. 2016, you could ask the front desk to put you on the wake-up call list if the Northern lights were seen. Don't know if it depends on the ship or if they still do it.

[OlsSalt]

Will be cruising the Eurodam in mid May so it should still be getting dark enough at night for a glimpse of the lights if there is ample activity. Can you request a wakeup call if the lights should present themselves like you can in a land based hotel? Or should we set an alarm to check in the wee hours when the skies are clear? Thanks for your help!

 

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Check to see where we are in the 11 year sun spot cycle to see if there will be more or fewer chances of seeing them this coming May, 2018. http://dereklow.co/best-chance-to-see-the-northern-lights-for-a-decade/

 

Looks like we are at the lower points of this 11 year cycle. We are heading up that way too in late May, had not thought about this viewing possibility, so thanks for the tip. You never know.

[kwb101]

Will be cruising the Eurodam in mid May so it should still be getting dark enough at night for a glimpse of the lights if there is ample activity.

 

The University of Alaska has an Aurora forecast page you may find handy: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

 

We were in Fairbanks and Dawson City at the end of May 2017, and didn't get much darkness at that latitude. We decided to take HAL's cruise to the Northern Isles (Iceland and Norway) next August to try and see the lights.

[OlsSalt]

Hurtigruten was actually offering a money back guarantee cruise to see the Northern Lights last year - we learned March is the best month when going the Norway route to see them.

[kwb101]

Hurtigruten was actually offering a money back guarantee cruise to see the Northern Lights last year - we learned March is the best month when going the Norway route to see them.

 

We looked at Hurtigruten just last week, and decided that, even though the time's not quite optimal, HAL is cheaper. The Hurtigruten Northern Lights cruises don't go far north, while either their 7-day one-way or 12-day round trips into the Arctic Circle give you more time up there.

 

What moved us to HAL was cabin size, amenities, and overall cost. On their refurbished ships on the 12-day itinerary, oceanview cabins were around 150 sf, and prices for late-Sept and early-Oct were at least equal to (if not higher) than HAL's larger cabins in mid-August.

 

We decided on HAL after my wife checked to see when good viewing times were north of 60 degrees, and found that we should be good in mid-August. We will be in or around Iceland for 5 or 6 nights. Good luck!

[Tananda]

Thank you for all the replies! The last time we were in Alaska was late August. We were able to see the lights from Talkeetna and they were amazing. Hopefully, we will luck out again despite being in a solar minimal.

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope you do get to see them again.

We have done quite a few Alaskan cruises and never saw them.

[Minoushka]

Northern lights are mostly seen in winter

May is spring and dayls are quite longer ..not sure you would see any

Better to go to Iceland or Northern canada in mid winter for that

We were in Alaska in June ...bright daylight till way late like 11 pm so no go

[RMLincoln]

We saw them from an Alaska cruise in latter September, last cruise of the year. Though they were not great I was still thrilled to see them at all, it was my first time. They looked like green shafts of light across the sky. Our timing was close to equinox which is a time of higher probability for seeing them. I don't know if it was a high or low time of sun spot activity. It just has to be dark so you'll have to take your look during the middle of the night, but well worth it!

FWIW, we saw them in Iceland in late October, magnificent. m--

[bigwally]

Thanks for the reminder. Seeing the Northern Lights has been on my bucket list for 35 years, but I rarely find myself in the right place at the right time of year. Alaska in early May... I may just have a decent shot!