gottagocit

We did a Princess voyage once from Southampton to NYC that included 3 stops in Iceland so we did travel just north of the Arctic circle. I think it was 18-19 days long but we’re very disappointed to not see the lights other than a single light glow early one am. If it was important to us to witness the phenomenon and if I had to choose between a land based tour and a cruise for Aurora viewing for the first time I would certain sky choose the land based trip. If you’re able to do both and enjoy cruising then do both but for Aurora viewing specifically there’s little doubt in my mind the land based viewing will more often than not give you a far better opportunity to see them. Of course clouds and other bad weather can always ruin the viewing experience so it’s not 100% certain of course. Fairbanks is certainly another place where the lights are usually seen but having been to Alaska a few times we opted for Tromsø. But we do live Alaska!

If experiencing the Aurora AND capturing them in photos is important to you I have a bit of advice on the subject. We did take a cruise a few years ago that traveled north of Iceland in hopes of seeing them but were disappointed to only catch a small glimmer of white light one night. We’ve wanted to see the Aurora for many years and decided last year to plan a trip that would give us the best opportunity to see them. After lots of research and seeking advice we decoded to spend a few nights in Tromso, Norway and we were not disappointed. We went in mid October after full darkness returns to the polar region and before full winter season. While actually experiencing them on each of the 3 night tours we learned so much about the phenomenon and the best ways to see and capture them with a camera. The guides/photographers running tours are experts at locating them and capturing them in photos. They also share so much info on the NL. It was an amazing experience. Consider this: During the land tours guests are sometimes driven 1-2 hours inland to find clear skies using data from dozens of other guides feedback on where the clouds are clearing. In total the tours last 5-7 hours with some companies providing hotel pickup drop off after. Once we found clear skies we sometimes waited 1-2 hours for the Aurora to appear and it often dissipated within 30-45 minutes. The guides provide warm soup, hot chocolate, warm clothes and a small fire with chairs to keep warm while waiting. The Aurora forecast websites and apps are not a reliable forecast of Aurora visibility or intensity. The naked human eye rarely sees color in them but high quality cameras with expensive low light lenses capture many times more light and fantastic colors depending on intensity. The goood ones also capture every star and constellation in the sky. iPhones are not equipped to capture them. Yes sometimes you can get lucky and capture a little but nothing like a quality camera/lens designed for night sky photography. The difference is incredible. Don’t believe me, go outside tonight and try to capture a photo of the night sky including stars or moving satellites. It doesn’t work. If it won’t capture starlight it won’t capture the Aurora effectively. The most used exposure time for the photos is 8-10 seconds which can not be successfully done from a moving ship and without a tripod without blurring. If viewing the Aurora is on your bucket list don’t rely only on the cruise to see them. Consider traveling to Europe several days before or after your cruise and travel to Tromsø (or to an lesser degree Iceland) for a few nights but book your tours well before your trip as they will likely sell out. They typically begin just after sunset and usually drop you at your hotel. Some tours are small groups with only 8-10 people and others having 30-40. Most will provide war, clothes to wear if needed for no additional cost. Tromsø is around 215 miles above the Arctic circle and in the viewing area for Aurora almost every night in the winter assuming the clouds don’t prevent it. Notice the stars in these photos. Also many of them show steaks of moving satellites and shooting stars. Write if you have any questions.

Thanks for the great feedback here. We’d prefer the larger ocean style ship I think but would consider a comfortable smaller one I suppose if required to. Will look at all of the options mentioned so far and keep looking for others that might be out there.

Princess used to have a small ship cruise on the Amazon but no longer does. I’ve read Viking does now. Any other ocean style ships with itineraries out there that include the Amazon? We’ve done a Nile cruise with the smaller river boats but would prefer one with a bit more space and size.

Hmm. Interesting. Thanks.

Aren’t you first required to be a member of AARP?

Maybe this link will help: https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=2606&recentlyViewed=true

Sorry I should have included that. It’s on the Island in March ‘26. And a 54 day r/t from LA. I believe it’s March 13 or 16.

Thanks PacnGoNow. I didn’t recall the form saying that. That would explain it. Yes it’s an actual 54 day sailing that isn’t being sold in parts. It’s a new itinerary just released for 2026 as a r/t our if LA going to/from Australia/New Zealand that was too tempting to pass up as it doesn’t require those awful 14+ hour long flights and visits several interesting places along the way. take care

I should have included that we also tried to book it ourselves online but it wouldn’t allow us to use the FCD as the deposit.

We just tried to use a FCD to book a 54 day voyage and we’re told they can’t be used for any cruise >44 days in length. The one we’re booking is not part of a world cruise which I seem to recall can’t be booked with a FCD but we’ve never heard of this. Has anyone here? We spoke to two different Princess contacts (agents) and both told us the same thing.

Awesome! Thanks so much.

Great info! Thank you guys for the useful details.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies. Very helpful! I do like what I’m seeing with respect to cabin size, style, age restrictions and more. And yes we agree Princess service and amenities have progressively deteriorated over recent years. Are there additional expenses/fees such as port fees, daily crew appreciation or taxes that are added to the fare? And how does a Viking airfares compare to what’s available directly from the airlines? thanks much

We are considering trying a Viking cruise for our next voyage after sailing with Princess for many years. I can’t seem to find any details of a loyalty program or other benefits for repeat customers on the Viking website. Is there not one for Viking and if so where can I find the details? Also I seem to recall reading somewhere a couple years ago they offer matching loyalty program levels of other cruise line cruisers. Is that true? Lastly for anyone who has sailed with Princess how would you compare the onboard experience difference between the two lines? Thanks

We haven’t had much luck getting any special deals or discounts on booking future cruises while onboard UNTIL our last voyage in April. On that sailing Simone in the future cruise planning group onboard the Emerald found us two great deals on voyages in ‘25 that were far better than we could see online. There are sometimes discount promos available if they are willing to search for them that aren’t available otherwise. Be sure to purchase a future cruise deposit before booking though. it’s very helpful that you can do that on the app now when onboard.

Lol. So true. Well unless you’re someone who wants to record videos of deck furniture flying all around, cabin windows being blown out and fellow passengers cursing the captain and Princes for putting them in such conditions while hoping the video goes viral for that coveted “10 seconds of fame” that seems so important these days…

in April of this year Columbia was still requiring anyone who visits to be “full vaccinated” and proof of such had to be shown prior to boarding the Emerald in Fort Lauderdale for our Panama Canal voyage. I have no idea if that’s still the case or not.

Be careful paying for anything else related to your booking until it’s removed. I’ve had something similar happen and the it remained there for a long time. Then later we decided to add something to our booking and when I paid for that it billed me for the item and I didn’t notice it until afterwards.

You’re welcome. I have some experience there. One final thing that might be relevant is many many many packages (did I say many. Lol) are shipped via UPS (and Amazon) but when the arrive at the destination city they are transferred to the USPS overnight for actual delivery. A tremendous number of packages receive this treatment. It’s called the morning dump of packages from other carriers. Those are then scanned at the local post office to get placed in the proper carriers work area and they are also photographed as they are scanned in. So there’s a good chance there’s a photo or two out there showing the package and perhaps showing where it was opened or at least last place it was before it was opened. You can look at the delivery details of the package and see how many times it’s scanned and/or ‘dumped’ during its trip to you from Princess. Sometimes it’s a few times other times it’s a dozen or more. Good luck. I hope they catch whoever did this.

Did the package arrive via USPS? If so you should go to your post office and register a complaint. They have investigators who will dig into it and possibly find the culprit. Most post offices have video surveillance in the sorting area and it’s a good chance they might can determine if it happened there. All mail is now photographed during sorting at the main sorting facility prior to reaching your post office and btw you can actually have the photos sent to you each day showing you what is being delivered to you that day. They will also contact you I believe after they investigate. If it happened to a USPS package it was done by a postal worker and that’s very serious. No one else can handle mail once it’s sent. Unless of course it occurs on your porch or in your mailbox after it’s delivered.

Oh yes I believe it was the 5th when we disembarked and not the 3rd. My mistake. Very interesting they drove you home. I had forgotten they were doing that in some cases. Such a dark and crazy time.

We were also on the Coral around that time but it appears maybe just getting off as you were boarding. We disembarked near Santiago (San Jose I believe) on March 3rd if I recall the date correctly. During the 4 days in Antarctica on our voyage I was sick with heavy chest congestion and coughing terribly. Had fever for about 2 days. As you said it was very early in the covid saga and no one knew what it was. The ships doctor checked me out and gave me a couple meds and suggested I stay in our cabin which I did. My wife never got sick (at least had no symptoms) nor did anyone else in our group. Luckily we had a balcony cabin and I was able to experience the awe of Antarctica from there. By the time we got to Santiago I was fine and we enjoyed 3 days there before flying home. Within a few days of getting home everything shut down of course. I followed the Coral online for some time thinking about those guest and crew still on her and wondered how everyone was doing especially when Fort Lauderdale closed its port to her later. I’m glad that’s largely behind us now and hope we never have to deal with anything like it again.

Are you saying they recognize Princess elite status in bookings with a Virgin? If that’s true I think I need to look into their loyalty program. What level does “Elite” equate to when booking with them?