The 6 Best Cruises for Northern Lights Viewing

Table Of Content

• What Ports Do You Visit on a Northern Lights Cruise?
• The Best Time to See the Northern Lights on an Alaska Cruise
• Northern Lights Cruise: How to See the Stunning Natural Phenomenon
• Specialized Northern Lights Cruises vs. Regular Cruises
• Hike Glacier Bay National Park and more
• Look Up Into Norway's Night Sky

The arctic viewing season for northern lights cruises is from late September to late March/early April, though the best months are December through March, when there are the longest hours of darkness and many clear night skies. Generally, skies are clearest near the spring and fall equinoxes in later September and March. Some late September/early October Alaska cruises can include northern lights sightings as well. Yes, you can witness the Northern Lights from a cruise ship during dedicated Northern Lights cruises with Aurora Expeditions. These cruises navigate to prime viewing locations near the Arctic Circle, offering passengers a unique vantage point to experience the dazzling spectacle of the Aurora Borealis. The expedition vessels are strategically positioned in areas with minimal light pollution, maximizing the chances of observing the vibrant colours and dancing lights of the Northern Lights against the Arctic night sky.

What Ports Do You Visit on a Northern Lights Cruise?

Cunard is known for bringing aboard subject experts, astronomers, and night-sky photographers who add extra color and insights to the sky-transforming glory of the Northern Lights. There will be ample space on the 1,085-foot, 13-deck ship to find quiet areas to see the nighttime show. From there, it’s onward to Rørvik, an ancient fishing town, and then Lødingen, a village known for its place amongst the fjords. Then the ship continues north into the Arctic Circle and up to Alta. There, guests can take an excursion to visit a Sámi village and learn about the Indigenous and semi-nomadic reindeer herders. Then it’s back down to Tromsø, where guests can visit the Polar Museum, go snowshoeing, or try one of the world’s northernmost breweries, Mack Bryggeri.

The Best Time to See the Northern Lights on an Alaska Cruise

You’ll then have nearly a week on land in Anchorage, Denali National Park & Preserve and Fairbanks to go aurora hunting. If you spend an extra night or two in Fairbanks at the end of the trip, you’ll be in town for the autumnal equinox, maximizing your northern lights viewing opportunities. There, guests spend their days scanning the dizzying cliff sides for puffins, guillemots, and razorbills, and their nights scanning the sky for signs of the aurora. The ship then crosses the Arctic Circle as it heads to Greenland, where it spends seven days patrolling the remote northeast coast.

Northern Lights Cruise: How to See the Stunning Natural Phenomenon

The Best Time to Cruise Alaska Month by Month - Royal Caribbean Blog

The Best Time to Cruise Alaska Month by Month.

Posted: Thu, 05 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

During the winter, clear dark skies and aurora activity make Juneau an ideal spot to witness the stunning northern lights display. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, aren’t predictable, but they are more likely to display during high solar activity cycles. The sun alternates between a high activity cycle and low activity cycle every eleven years or so. Watch the Kp-index, an aurora activity indicator to find out when conditions are ideal. Ports of call on this voyage include Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan. There are also two days of scenic cruising through Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage before disembarking in Vancouver.

The lights are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere and especially in locations on the so-called auroral oval, a ring zone over the polar regions. In cruising terms, that means prime viewing is in northern Alaska (which is easily accessible on cruisetours), Norway, Iceland, Arctic Canada and parts of Greenland. No cruise can guarantee sightings as the aurora is a natural and unpredictable phenomenon. However, cruises specifically tailored for aurora viewing will optimize the chances by choosing routes and timings with historically higher success rates. While the aurora is a spectacle for all ages, consider the late-night hours and colder temperatures. Some cruise lines offer kid-friendly programs and activities to engage younger travelers during the trip.

Specialized Northern Lights Cruises vs. Regular Cruises

If you want to take an epic cruise, Uncruise Adventures can take you there. While you want to bring short and long sleeves, bring more long sleeves than short ones, especially if you visit Alaska in late September. Make sure folks clearly understand how off-the techno grid the trip is.

No matter your itinerary, UnCruise helps guests witness incredible creatures in their natural habitats, creating memories that will last a lifetime. 👆 The possible aurora activity level at the end of October, according to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. And then… I also had an Alaska cruise on a Norwegian cruise ship at the end of October.

Look Up Into Norway's Night Sky

This is why Aurora Expeditions’ Northern Lights tours don’t focus on one spot or location. The Northern Lights are most frequently visible in high-latitude regions in the Arctic, but most accessible between 10° and 20° of the North Pole in a band called the ‘auroral zone’. The Aurora Borealis originates on the sun’s surface with a massive explosion of electromagnetic matter, which projects a stream of charged particles known as solar wind into space. To take northern lights pictures on your phone, you’ll want to go into your camera settings and choose night mode.

Some venture to the Svalbard Archipelago, where the Gulf Stream flows prevent the seas from freezing in winter. The best time to see the northern lights in Iceland is as deep into winter as you can go. Late December and early January are best because they're the darkest times of the year, but the northern lights can appear as early as September or as late as March. Another option might be to stay in Alaska after your cruise, at which point you can follow the instructions above and drive as far north as you can. Our Northern Lights cruise sticks to the aurora zone in the Arctic Circle, but seeing the lights dance is only one part of your Northern Lights adventure.

These diverse activities create a holistic and enriching journey for travellers seeking the magic of the Northern Lights. Popular regions for Northern Lights cruises and expeditions with Aurora Expeditions include Arctic destinations like Norway, Iceland and the Canadian Arctic. These Arctic regions, located near the magnetic poles, offer optimal conditions for observing the Northern Lights. Aurora Expeditions carefully plans itineraries to position their vessels in prime locations, away from light pollution, providing passengers with the best chances of witnessing the spectacular light display. Enrichment is an important component of our expeditions – we hope that you will leave changed and become lifelong ambassadors for the natural world and the wild, important destinations we visit. Your world-class Expedition Team will be on hand to answer your questions about the aurora borealis and how it comes to appear in the night sky, Arctic wildlife, geological formations and the history of the places we visit.

Announcements (even opt-in late night wake-up calls) may be issued when there’s an opportunity to view the northern lights from your ship. Excursions may give you the opportunity to be transported to northern lights viewing spots by everything from buses and minivans to small boats and dogsleds. The best northern lights cruises provide plenty of opportunities for passengers to learn about, celebrate and, of course, see the northern lights. But there will also be activities geared to exploring parts of the world filled with many other natural, cultural, and man-made wonders.

If the lights appear during the night, the crew will play an announcement over the in-cabin TVs (meaning guests need to leave their TVs on all night to hear it). During sightings, staff circulates trays of hot beverages, like cocoa and toddies, to help guests stay warm on deck. Viking runs the itinerary multiple times from January through March in 2025 and 2026. Quark Expeditions’ Northern Lights–themed sailings begin and end in Iceland, where sightings of the dancing aurora borealis are common in winter.

As far as cruises go, Alaska cruises in September is a good pick because the nights are long and dark. Norwegian Cruise Line’s six-day pre-cruise adventure begins with overnights in Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage, where you’ll have the best chances to view the northern lights. Other highlights for the first part of the trip include a deluxe dome car rail journey from Talkeetna to Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad and a private tour to an Iditarod sled dog musher’s kennel. There’s no other experience on Earth quite like witnessing the northern lights. Also known as the aurora borealis, this spellbinding phenomenon — when brilliant hues of green, yellow and purple dance across the night sky — is visible in Alaska from late August to late April. Clear, dark evenings away from the ambient light of cities provide prime viewing opportunities.