exlandlubber Posted October 14, 2022 #1 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Hello everyone! We are considering a September 2024 cruise from Vancouver to Seward (or vice-versa) in the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights, either from the ship or on an excursion. Has anyone ever had this experience? I’ve read that the weather can be very wet in Sept. which would certainly impact visibility. Any observations or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcandkc Posted October 14, 2022 #2 Share Posted October 14, 2022 We have been to Alaska twice in August and both times were very wet. No northern lights. You would have to be very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willmschen Posted October 14, 2022 #3 Share Posted October 14, 2022 We were in Denali in early September several years ago and saw the lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mdunne48 Posted October 14, 2022 #4 Share Posted October 14, 2022 If you travel in late September and have clear skies you will have quite the show. The Explorer has a Vancouver to Tokyo sailing during this time frame that sails through the Alaskan archipelago. We will be on that sailing in 2024. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted October 14, 2022 #5 Share Posted October 14, 2022 It is luck of the draw to see the Northern lights. Besides the natural weather, you also need the cooperation of Space weather. By space weather, you need a Geomagnetic storm cause by the sun. At this time in the solar cycle, they MAY occur once per month and only last a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mdunne48 Posted October 14, 2022 #6 Share Posted October 14, 2022 However in late September, around the equinox, you have a better chance of solar flare activity due to the strong geomagnetic attraction that occurs during the equinox periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcandkc Posted October 15, 2022 #7 Share Posted October 15, 2022 8 hours ago, mdunne48 said: However in late September, around the equinox, you have a better chance of solar flare activity due to the strong geomagnetic attraction that occurs during the equinox periods. Hope your arm is healing…from your Greenland and fog neighbors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlandlubber Posted October 15, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Thank you all for your contributions. One of the best parts of sailing on the Explorer is that regardless of the weather, we have a wonderful ship for a cruise. One more question if I may: we have the option of sailing Vancouver to Seward on 9/3 or in reverse on 9/11, which of course would end on the 18th. Any pros/cons to one direction or the other? Also, the hotel that’s used for the pre-cruise in Vancouver is the Fairmont which is great. Any idea as to what’s used in Seward? That might be a factor in determining our direction if everything else is equal. As always, thank you so much for your very helpful comments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 2012_Alaska_bound Posted October 15, 2022 #9 Share Posted October 15, 2022 I always choose Seward to Vancouver so that the longer flight (and bus to the port) is on the front end of the trip. Hotel will be in Anchorage, the Hilton both times I sailed, then the morning of the cruise you take a bus to Seward. A lovely 2 hour drive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlandlubber Posted October 16, 2022 Author #10 Share Posted October 16, 2022 To 2012 Alaska bound, Wouldn’t you rather have that bus ride at the end along with a nicer hotel in Vancouver? Please let me know because I would think the opposite would be preferable and I’d love to hear your reasoning. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mdunne48 Posted October 16, 2022 #11 Share Posted October 16, 2022 On 10/14/2022 at 8:45 PM, rcandkc said: Hope your arm is healing…from your Greenland and fog neighbors. RC, the arm is getting better and stronger. Not quite to 100% yet but getting closer every day. Thanks for caring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 2012_Alaska_bound Posted October 16, 2022 #12 Share Posted October 16, 2022 I prefer the shorter flight at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mj_holiday Posted October 17, 2022 #13 Share Posted October 17, 2022 When I started thinking about a cruise to Alaska I was still working and on a business trip with people from other sites. On person I had just met was talking about his Alaskan cruise very favorably. One thing he said that stuck with me was to start in Alaska and sail down because the neatest scenery would then be in the first days of the cruise when you are fresh and ready to see everything. You will be less likely to get excited about scenery during the last couple of days. A couple years later I got the chance to follow his advice and that worked wonders. We stayed at the Hilton in Anchorage which is nice and instead of a bus to Seward we took a train which was just great. The scenery to Seward is wonderful and we had commentary given about the areas we were passing by. One picture opportunity I missed was at a lake in Anchorage with the entire shoreline filled with airplanes on pontoons and their shed for tools etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlandlubber Posted October 19, 2022 Author #14 Share Posted October 19, 2022 MJ_holiday, The train sounds like a lovely idea, but will Regent allow that as part of the included transfer? Thanks, Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mj_holiday Posted October 19, 2022 #15 Share Posted October 19, 2022 This was several years ago. It was all Regent passengers (extra fee) and we got checked in while on the train. It was a lovely ride, haven't heard about anything about this recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janecambridge Posted October 20, 2022 #16 Share Posted October 20, 2022 On 10/15/2022 at 4:46 AM, exlandlubber said: Thank you all for your contributions. One of the best parts of sailing on the Explorer is that regardless of the weather, we have a wonderful ship for a cruise. One more question if I may: we have the option of sailing Vancouver to Seward on 9/3 or in reverse on 9/11, which of course would end on the 18th. Any pros/cons to one direction or the other? Also, the hotel that’s used for the pre-cruise in Vancouver is the Fairmont which is great. Any idea as to what’s used in Seward? That might be a factor in determining our direction if everything else is equal. As always, thank you so much for your very helpful comments! Vancouver hotel on cruise in August this year: 2 nights at the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver, Deluxe Harbour room, B&B Basis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janecambridge Posted October 20, 2022 #17 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Apologies should read ‘next year’. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now