Stay at a Princess lodge/hotel to see Northern Lights

[Wishing on a star]

A bit off topic!

I know somebody who has been wanting to see the Northern Lights.

I see that you can book these Princess properties, without doing a land-cruise package.

We have cruised Alaska, but not the land tour.

Where would you stay for a few nights.  And maybe see Denali if it is still open accessible late in the season.

A Princess lodge (which one?) , a Hotel (Springhill Suites, Fairbanks), Other?

 

[Guest ldtr]

From what I recall the Princess lodges tend to shutdown when the cruise season ends.  They have had problems even staffing them during the cruise season.

 

If you are going for northern lights you might try one of the lodges that are located North of Fairbanks and specialize on viewings.

 

Borealis Basecamp for example.

Edited January 25, 2023 by ldtr

[memoak]

Even if they are open no way to predict whether you will see lights on any particular day or week

[Wishing on a star]

Right now, they seem to be taking reservations for well into September.

But, the reviews, especially this year, since the restart, are not good!

I love the idea of a Princess Lodge.  But, if they can't provide the service and food...

 

We have had good luck with staying at different SpringHill Suites.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Wishing on a star

[gottagocit]

We’ve spent a lot of time recently looking into where and how best to see the Aurora. 
 

There are 4 things needed to see them. 

1) Location - You must be far enough north to be in the viewing area when they’re active.  This activity level varies from very low to very high or higher depending on sun flare activity and other factors. This website shows daily forecast for activity levels for the upcoming 21 days for several regions of the world including Alaska. it also shows exactly where it may be visible directly overhead or on the horizon for that day (not taking into account cloud levels) and will show Fairbanks in Alaska is almost always directly under overhead visible band even on days of low activity. I believe the Princess lodges close for winter before the darkness allows observation.  https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

 

2) Clear skies - Pretty self explanatory but must also be away from the glare of city lights or even hotels etc unless activity level is very high. 
 

3) Complete darkness - Regions that are far enough north to typically see them usually has  24 hours of daylight during the summer and gradually transitions to limited to eventually full darkness overnight. Typically there is not enough total darkness to see the, until mid to late September and gets progressively better (more hours of darkness) into the winter before turning back towards less darkness until late March to early April. This website gives you several looks at the amount of daylight, twilight and full darkness any place in the world for any day of the year and can be very helpful.  https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/norway/tromso?month=11&year=2022

4) You need luck to be able to find clear skies during cloudy conditions sometimes by rambling or searching for such area when the weather isn’t cooperating. A good guide service offering northern light tours can help with this. 

For several reasons we’ve opted to travel to Tromso Norway this fall to try to see them as they’re also almost always in the path of visible activity if weather allows. We will stay 5 nights in that region to give ourselves the best chances to see them before visiting more of the area to the south and East while in the neighborhood.  

 

hope this helps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by gottagocit

[BettyCruiser]

Lots of good northern lights last summer visible in northern MN. No need to travel to Alaska or Norway.

[jaycruising]

You can also book Northern lights tours in the Yukon, you generally want to do them when it is cooler that is when they are most active, but we had a few fantastic days in July and August this last summer. Note I spend my summers North in Canada (not Alaska North). It is a different experience seeing them there, then in lower regions they encircle you there. 

[gottagocit]

1 hour ago, BettyCruiser said:

Lots of good northern lights last summer visible in northern MN. No need to travel to Alaska or Norway.

Yes occasionally the Aurora activity is very high and can be seen in the lower 48 and that’s wonderful if you live there and can be there on those rare occasions. However it’s not practical to plan a vacation there in advance for the purpose of seeing it and expect it to be visible here on your travel dates. To have a reasonable expectation to see them on a short trip you need to plan to visit an area where they’re almost always visible if there’s clear skies and when darkness is expected at night. 

[Northern Aurora]

12 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

A bit off topic!

I know somebody who has been wanting to see the Northern Lights.

I see that you can book these Princess properties, without doing a land-cruise package.

We have cruised Alaska, but not the land tour.

Where would you stay for a few nights.  And maybe see Denali if it is still open accessible late in the season.

A Princess lodge (which one?) , a Hotel (Springhill Suites, Fairbanks), Other?

 

 

 

First, educate yourselves about the aurora.  The University of Alaska Geophysical Institute website is great start.  

 

Consider the Chena Hot Springs Resort which is about 60 miles outside of Fairbanks.  Little light solution. And if folks don't see an aurora there are other interesting attractions.

[Coral]

19 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Right now, they seem to be taking reservations for well into September.

But, the reviews, especially this year, since the restart, are not good!

I love the idea of a Princess Lodge.  But, if they can't provide the service and food...

 

We have had good luck with staying at different SpringHill Suites.

I don't think it is limited to Princess hotels. Hospitality issues are everywhere.

[AKStafford]

23 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

I see that you can book these Princess properties, without doing a land-cruise package

There's nothing offered on a "land-cruise package" or cruisetour that can't be booked independently, often for cheaper.

[Northern Aurora]

10 hours ago, Coral said:

I don't think it is limited to Princess hotels. Hospitality issues are everywhere.

 

 

Alaska is experiencing a severe labor shortage in general and the hospitality industry has been particularly  hard hit due to the J1 VISA issue.  Prior to last summer any one could stay at a Princess Lodge.  We have stayed at their Denali property a number of times, at the McKinley View property when driving back to Fairbanks from Seward, and at the Copper River Princess.  

 

But during the 2022 season the situation changed and only folks who were on a Princess land tour could stay at their properties.  And if my memory is correct Princess didn't open two of their five properties at all in 2022.  

[islandchick]

If you want to go to see the northern lights in Alaska then I suggest staying at Chena Hot Springs just outside of Fairbanks.  You will need to go during the winter to see them 

Edited February 6, 2023 by islandchick