Viewing Northern Lights from a HAL ship?

[OlsSalt]

Has anyone taken a HAL cruise and seen the Northern Lights? 

 

We are on the late Sept two-week Noordam Alaska cruise which includes Sitka and Valdez.  Early darkness, small towns, edge of the viewing zone, and a good year in the 11 year cycle has Roll Call members hoping we see them 

 

It was recommended to ask Guest Services for a wake-up call, when the bridge spots them.  Any other tips? 

What are the good viewing spots on the ship. Our Roll Call will greatly appreciate any information you can pass on. 

Thanks. 

[POA1]

Space Weather has forecasts for most lat / long coordinates.

[Mary229]

The very top deck as far forward as you can be - you will often find us up there on clear nights.  At one time on some ships it was called the star deck.    On our VOV years ago the captain dimmed the lights in that area for a brief time to enjoy the aurora.   You are lucky, the sun is very active this year.    

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Don't forget to turn your flash off on your phone.

[jakkojakko]

Only if the ships exterior lighting is dimmed/off, which is rarely done.

[AKJonesy]

Here is the website we use and make sure to check the HOURLY forecast model:  https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

[OlsSalt]

28 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

Here is the website we use and make sure to check the HOURLY forecast model:  https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

 

This is the best website we found too - great link. Thanks.

 

Hopefully it will tell us whether to sleep in that night, or have the puffer-coat ready to throw over the PJ's and get out on deck. 

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Has anyone taken a HAL cruise and seen the Northern Lights? 

 

We are on the late Sept two-week Noordam Alaska cruise which includes Sitka and Valdez.  Early darkness, small towns, edge of the viewing zone, and a good year in the 11 year cycle has Roll Call members hoping we see them 

 

It was recommended to ask Guest Services for a wake-up call, when the bridge spots them.  Any other tips? 

What are the good viewing spots on the ship. Our Roll Call will greatly appreciate any information you can pass on. 

Thanks. 

 

Certainly wish you all the best for seeing them.

 

However, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. In 35 yrs working this coast, I have only seen them once or twice. The biggest detriment is we have a very low percentage of clear nights, as starting in September we get a succession of frontal depressions rolling in.

[YourWorldWithBill]

13 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Has anyone taken a HAL cruise and seen the Northern Lights? 

 

We are on the late Sept two-week Noordam Alaska cruise which includes Sitka and Valdez.  Early darkness, small towns, edge of the viewing zone, and a good year in the 11 year cycle has Roll Call members hoping we see them 

 

Hope you get lucky! Last year in September we did the package that ends in Fairbanks, and were fortunate. In addition to the sun's activity, it's better if the moon is not full.

[Mary229]

4 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Hope you get lucky! Last year in September we did the package that ends in Fairbanks, and were fortunate. In addition to the sun's activity, it's better if the moon is not full.

Same here but Fairbanks is in the optimal zone though this year they are predicting lights all the way down to Nebraska 

[YourWorldWithBill]

22 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Same here but Fairbanks is in the optimal zone though this year they are predicting lights all the way down to Nebraska 

Yes, I know that people in the northern states have seen them in recent months (a few months ago). I agree that there's should be a decent chance.

 

One suggestion, @OlsSalt, is not to depend fully on Guest Services giving a call. We've experienced that not working as expected! I'm not sure what the best way is.

[OlsSalt]

Valdez tourism teases us with a two-fer northern lights and the Big dipper. In fairness they also warn about the high probability of over-cast skies.

[vicd1969]

I was very lucky to get to see the Northern lights during my very first cruise in mid September 2010, I think after Glacier Bay. It was not the bright lights that the tourism photos suggest, but it was still visible to the naked eye. The Captain warned us early that evening there was a possibility, but it was well past 10 pm when it happened, and no ship-wide announcement was made - probably because half the ship was already asleep lol. I was very much in the early stages of my photography hobby when I took some photos.
 

Edited July 30, 2023 by vicd1969

[OlsSalt]

9 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Hope you get lucky! Last year in September we did the package that ends in Fairbanks, and were fortunate. In addition to the sun's activity, it's better if the moon is not full.

 

Fairbanks is ground zero for the highest visibility, right in the magnetic pole axis.

 

Did a land trip years ago to see them in Fairbanks, and stayed at Chena Hot Springs outside to Fairbanks - hoar frost on all the trees,  bubbling hot pools, very short days, carpeted in December snow but dog sled rides were available, and hay bales stacked up in the middle of the airstrip to view the northern lights- quite a package.   Brrrrrrr.....

Edited July 30, 2023 by OlsSalt

[rover16]

What are the chances if you are in an aft veranda and southbound from Glacier Bay or Sitka in late Sept.?

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, rover16 said:

What are the chances if you are in an aft veranda and southbound from Glacier Bay or Sitka in late Sept.?

 

When it's overcast, as it is most days, your chances are zero, regardless of where you are on the ship.

[VMax1700]

On the Rotterdam last year, the Master said that we would have good opportunities for Northern Lights Watching (as opposed to Northern Lights shape throwing 😉) while we were off the coast of Norway heading towards Iceland.  It was suggested we go to one of the upper decks (I think it was Deck 10 Panorama Deck) and he turned off nearly all the outside lights for our improved viewing experience.

[YourWorldWithBill]

17 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Did a land trip years ago to see them in Fairbanks, and stayed at Chena Hot Springs outside to Fairbanks - hoar frost on all the trees,  bubbling hot pools, very short days, carpeted in December snow but dog sled rides were available, and hay bales stacked up in the middle of the airstrip to view the northern lights- quite a package.   Brrrrrrr.....

We considered going to Chena Hot Springs, but finally decided just to try our best at the spot that a tour operator used. Of course, in September it would have been a bit more comfortable for us.....

[shipshape sam]

We saw northern lights on a Celebrity cruise a few years ago.  It was in early September.  The Captain did make an announcement and it seemed like everyone was on the top decks.   We were heading toward Juneau that night.

 

For us with just our eyes the lights moved around, but were  (to our eyesight) not very bright.  On the ship, we were frustrated with so many people taking 'flash' pictures!  I ask one women how did the picture come out.  She said it was just dark.  I just smiled and walked away.

 

We did a 2 week land trip to Alaska in 2022 arriving Aug 15th in Anchorage.  We spent our 1st 5 days south of Anchorage and then headed towards Fairbanks with a stop in Denai for 2 days.  Once in Fairbanks, the published start of the season ( I think for tours, etc) was August 21st.  We had planned our trip that we would be with a new moon in Fairbanks.  First couple nights lots of clouds and some rain.  Then just some clouds and then our last 2 nights of 6 in Fairbanks area, we had clear skies and great viewing of aurora.   So we saw the northern lights in late August. It was cool at night, but did not stop us from being out there 3 hours each night.  Plan for some layers.

 

Assuming you are in September, the most important issue is clear skies.  A new moon does not hurt.  

We experience again, that watching the aurora was very interesting and that with the naked eye, it is muted (at least when we were there).  We also were taking time lapse pictures and movies and the color was WOW!  On our trip, we were at a Bnb and they rang our phone around 11 pm  each night and we were outside till about 2 am each night.  

 

We for sure want to go again and will plan to spend more time in Fairbanks.  There are things to do during the day.  Our Bnb was between Fairbanks and Chena.  We too had the big dipper in some of the pictures.  If you imagine a 360 degree field of view, I think we saw the aurora in about 270 degrees or 3/4 of the night sky.  No one was using a flash, which was a nice change.  The rule of thumb, we have read about is that you need 5-6 days to allow for cloud cover.  What a shame if you are there only 2-3 days and do not see aurora due to clouds.  Obviously, it could be cloudy for 6-7 straight days, but you want to give your self the best chance to see the aurora and see more than just one night.

 

Wishing you the best!

Edited July 30, 2023 by shipshape sam

[YourWorldWithBill]

A tip for everyone taking pictures of the Aurora: If you have a fairly new Samsung or I phone, the pictures will look better than what you see with the naked eye. Also, if you really want good pictures, get a Samsung 21 Ultra or later. In our group we were the only ones that got good pictures. I did a YouTube video of the pictures.

 

Just as @shipshape sam said, the big dipper was in some of our pictures. Although I agree that more days are better, they say that if you are in Fairbanks for three nights, your odds of seeing the Aurora are 80%. We saw them one night out of our three.

[OlsSalt]

The Noordam is doing its last 14-day Alaska run starting Sept 17 - Vancouver up to Sitka and then down the Alaska Coast ending Oct 1 back in Vancouver.

 

Fingers crossed we get  break in the overcast skies.  Maybe while lounging in the Thermal Spa looking  out their vast windows ........... yes, an aft-view cabin would be terrific for this cruise. 

 

The only sure bet seeing the Northern Lights on the Noordam is the late night disco by the same name,  that did not get converted into the much more serviceable Gallery Bar on this Vista ship.

[visagrunt]

Chances are very slim.  HAL ships only tends to get north of 60 in summer and light conditions are very poor for aururae.  In May through July there is no true astronomical night as the sun does not get more than 18 degrees below the northern horizon.  As you move into September the sun will get low enough, but the likelihood of overcast will increase, as well.

But an equally troublesome issue is light pollution from the ship itself.  If there are good forecasts for aururae and the sky conditions cooperate and wind conditions make it safe to do so, it would still be up to the captain to douse the exterior lights on one of the top deck areas for a viewing opportunity.

[OlsSalt]

Our port stops in Anchorage and Valdez get us closer to the striking zone.  

[OlsSalt]

We have an interesting possible window - an at-sea day between Anchorage and Valdez - Sept 23. Only a new moon those days to get in the way, and prior reports do indicate the captain can turn off the lights on a selected viewing deck. 

 

8pm departure from Anchorage and 6pm departure from Valdez. Where will we go doing that sea day - can the captain look for less overcast skies, like they do for solar eclipse cruises? 

 

Thanks for the reminders about camera flash interference. Hopefully a gentle reminder to other guests, should be strike it lucky.

[YourWorldWithBill]

From everything being posted here and other spots about the conditions, I would think you have a good chance, and you can hope that on a top deck with no cloud cover, light pollution from the ship wouldn't be too much of an interference, as @visagrunthas a good point about the light.