Northern Lights early September questions

only have one night and I know hit and miss on the lights... but hubby wants to try

 

Anyone have thoughts about the excursion via HAL or have recommendations for who we should book with?

 

Our date is 9/2/19 for this...

 

And yes I will post on the HAL forum to see who did the excursion via the cruise line!

 

Thanks for your help in planning!

HAL has an excursion specific to the northern lights during the Alaska cruise season? Even if you have clear skies and stay up late enough for it to be dark enough to see them, they aren't out all of the time. There were a few posts from this year that some folks saw them from the ship in September while sailing the inside passage. One post noted that they told the purser's desk to put them on a call list should the lights appear in the middle of the night. Some Fairbanks hotels will do the same.

We are doing Y1L with HAL Land/Cruise and in Fairbanks they list a 4 hour from 10pm - 2am to see them..

 

Here is the brochure description

You'll be picked up from your Fairbanks hotel and driven to one of the best viewing locations in the Fairbanks area. Our yurt is carefully selected to ensure that guests can gaze upon the Northern Lights with ease. Outside of Fairbanks and away from the city lights, these wide-open areas ensure a perfect way to take in Alaska's winter sky.

Share the evening with a knowledgeable guides and learn all about these dancing lights. Enjoy the sights from inside the yurt, or even step outside to snap some photographs of the brilliant sky .

 

Pricing is $115 each...

 

Pricing seems reasonable but I’m trying to understand if this option is what we should go for or utilize a 3rd party.

 

And yes I know it’s unknown till much closer on if any possibility but figured we should try

A quick Googling turns up this tour, also $115, that sounds remarkably similar to the cruise one... very likely this is the one HAL is reselling and at no markup! Given that, I'd just book via HAL if you're keen since they likely have much nicer cancellation terms. Check the weather and likelihood of Auroras though - unless it's clear weather AND a decent Aurora prediction I'd be cancelling this tour two or three days beforehand when the predictions should be pretty accurate, not so much from the cost front as the loss of a big chunk of sleep time.

 

Unless I was VERY confident of seeing something good, I would not jeopardize the next days sightseeing by risking falling asleep on the bus! Frankly unless your touring schedule has you in town all day next day, AND you don't have any morning activities planned, it's a bad idea to do this. You are trading in a POSSIBLE Aurora viewing for a DEFINITE something-else-doing next morning (if it's a typical cruise tour 'get up at oh-dark-hundred hours' next day to ride the bus somewhere else, you may be operating on just 2-3 hours of sleep...)

 

Overall though, there's a reason that most of the 'real' Aurora tours are later in the year and multiple-days in duration. If this is an important thing for you rather than just a 'We can do that? Cool, as long as it doesn't wreck any other plans then sure!' opportunity excursion, I'd look at booking a mid-winter trip to the Yukon/Alaska/Iceland instead. Your $115pp would put a nice dent into the cost of a long weekend in Reykjavik!

I would suggest signing up for alert services. Google aurora alerts or see http://www.aurora-service.org/aurora-alerts/

Also keep in mind that ship lights can destroy your dark adaptation - your ability to see faint stuff.

I would suggest signing up for alert services. Google aurora alerts or see http://www.aurora-service.org/aurora-alerts/

Also keep in mind that ship lights can destroy your dark adaptation - your ability to see faint stuff.

 

That’s a great tip for when we are there... THANKS

 

Unless I was VERY confident of seeing something good, I would not jeopardize the next days sightseeing by risking falling asleep on the bus! Frankly unless your touring schedule has you in town all day next day, AND you don't have any morning activities planned, it's a bad idea to do this. You are trading in a POSSIBLE Aurora viewing for a DEFINITE something-else-doing next morning (if it's a typical cruise tour 'get up at oh-dark-hundred hours' next day to ride the bus somewhere else, you may be operating on just 2-3 hours of sleep...)

 

!

 

Another good consideration... looking at the list we leave for Denali the next day at 9:30! Great point to consider

Unless I was VERY confident of seeing something good, I would not jeopardize the next days sightseeing by risking falling asleep on the bus!

Might really depend on your age and level of excitement. I've seen two great aurora in Texas, March 1983 & end of Oct. 2003. I would definitely loose some sleep to view another one. Unfortunately, we'll be in Alaska in May when the true dark skies are mostly non-existent.