Northern lights in Alaska from a cruise ship?! Maybe! (Aurora borealis) ⛰ Alaska cruise tips

Hi there!

If you’re doing an Alaska cruise in September or October, there’s a chance that you can see the northern lights.

Yes really, it’s possible to see the northern lights from a cruise ship!

But many factors have to line up perfectly in order for you to see them!

With the biggest factor of all… LUCK!

Because you really need to be looking at just the right time when there are the right conditions!

With the biggest condition of all… an opening in the sky! If it’s totally cloudy, your chances of seeing the northern lights are exactly 0%!

So you shouldn’t do a cruise to Alaska in September or October with the expectation of seeing northern lights. Consider it a bonus if you do!

I’ll tell you below what the northern lights cruise ship experience was like on my late season Alaska cruises. (Spoiler alert: some people took amazing pictures of northern lights with their phone!)

 

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In general, the best time to see northern lights in Alaska (on land) is said to be from late August to early April.

This means that the best time to do an Alaska cruise to see northern lights would be late August, September, October, or April.

The problem with doing an Alaska cruise in September or October though, is that these months can also be the worst months to do an Alaska cruise in terms of weather. This means cloudy skies likely.

In order to see the northern lights, you need to be able to see the sky! And you can’t do that if the sky is full of clouds!

 

This also means it’s a good idea to pack a rain poncho and puffer jacket for an Alaska cruise in the fall! Well, it can be a good idea to have these things no matter when you cruise, but it can be especially important for a fall cruise!

 

In 2024, there were people in cruise facebook groups posting their pictures of northern lights they saw during their Alaska cruise in April and even into early May.

In early August, I also saw posts with pictures from a few different people who reported seeing northern lights. One person specifically mentioned that the pictures were taken at 3:30am. This goes in line with another post I saw where someone said the best time to have seen them on that particular night was between 3am and 4am.

So, you never know!

 

If you are inspired to see northern lights in Alaska under optimal conditions on land, then you want to go to Fairbanks in winter!

For the best experience, you can consider chasing northern lights tours from Fairbanks.

I’m a Viator partner and you can read reviews there.

 

🏔

 

 

Early September cruise

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On my Princess cruise in September, there was a northern lights photographer on the cruise ship who did northern lights talks.

Look for Alaska expert enrichment talks in the daily activity schedule if you’re doing a Princess cruise to Alaska!

Well, he showed us a picture he took of the northern lights on the first day of our cruise! 😲

I didn’t feel that bad about missing it because it seemed like the northern lights were very faint.

The things we tell ourselves to make us feel better. 🤣

 

👆 Princess cruise activity schedule on the Princess app during an Alaska cruise: Enrichment talk by a northern lights photographer. It was a show and tell really. He showed us some of the amazing pictures he took of northern lights all across Alaska!

 

The night he saw the northern lights was the night of September 2 into September 3.

We might have still actually been in Whittier cruise port when he saw them, since we had a late departure and didn’t leave until like 1 or 2am. (We were waiting for the late arrivals who were on a delayed train from Denali as part of a Princess cruise land tour package.)

 

👆 In addition to checking the weather forecast for your Alaska cruise, you can check the aurora forecast that the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks puts out! Spot Anchorage and Juneau!

 

👆 Sometimes the aurora forecast indicates that northern lights can be seen in the common Alaska cruise port of Ketchikan! “Aurora activity will be high. Weather permitting, highly active aurora displays will be visible overhead from Utqiagvik to Bethel, Dillingham, and Ketchikan, and visible low on the horizon from King Salmon.”

 

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Mid-September cruise

Then later that month in mid-September, there were people who posted to Alaska cruise facebook groups the pictures they got of northern lights from a cruise ship. I remember from one particular night, there were people from at least 2 cruise ships that saw the northern lights the night they were sailing out of Skagway.

It was particularly disappointing because I was on one of those cruise ships and missed seeing it!

I had actually looked at the sky around 7:30pm that evening when we were still in Skagway, and I had consciously decided it would be pointless to look for northern lights that night because the sky looked like it was becoming pretty cloudy. I figured there would be too many clouds to see anything. Well, weather can change!

That was the night of September 19 into September 20. One person who posted pictures reported seeing them around 1am.

I should have looked at the sky again later that night just to see what the cloud situation was, and then I could have further decided from there if I wanted to actively look for the northern lights that night. (So, do that!)

Another problem with seeing northern lights from a cruise ship (or anywhere in Alaska) is that you need to be awake until late! Like maybe even until 3am, or later. Although it can clearly be worth it to start looking earlier, like around 1am, if you happen to be up at that time!

So if you have a port day the following day, then you have to decide which is more important. The POTENTIAL to see northern lights, or being well-rested for your next port day. 🤪 So you might need to sacrifice your sleep in order to see the northern lights.

So even though I was on cruises in September in which people saw the northern lights, I didn’t see them myself. But, there WERE people who saw them!

 

End of October cruise

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And then… I also had an Alaska cruise on a Norwegian cruise ship at the end of October. And I did see them during that NCL cruise! …Well, kind of.

But for an Alaska cruise in October, it seems like it was a very unusual cruise in terms of weather. Rough weather is normal in October, but we had good weather the ENTIRE cruise! So there were plenty of clear skies. (You can see what it was like for me when I was in Juneau at the end of October.)

And there were at least 2 nights that people saw northern lights.

I was sitting in the buffet area of the cruise ship one day when I saw someone nearby flipping through pictures on their phone. I wasn’t even that close to them, but I could see the BRIGHT GREEN streaks on a black background and I was like 😲 did you see the northern lights?!?!?! 😲😲😲

Yes, they did. They showed me their pictures and they were amazing!

It turns out when they saw them, it was more like early morning. One of them happened to look out to the sky at 3am and saw them!

Overnight we were sailing away from Juneau and towards Icy Strait Point. This was October 25th into October 26th.

He said they could be seen in some capacity from 3am to 7am, although towards 7am it became even more faint.

I understood that what they saw with their own eyes was whitish with maybe a greenish tint, and it was like a wispy cloud that swept over the sky off in the distance. Then, looking in that direction with the camera in night mode, it looked like an incredible streak of green across the sky, as I saw in their pictures.

The following night (night of the October 26th into the 27th), I stayed up and went out onto the open deck to look for northern lights.

And I was able to see the northern lights… through my phone. 🤣

I saw the vibrant green much better when looking at the pictures on my phone than I did actually looking at the sky with my own eyes.

Does that count as having seen the northern lights?! As long as you have the picture, it counts, right? 🤣

 

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Taking pictures of northern lights with your phone

I know, my northern lights pictures aren’t GREAT 😅 but you can also consider it the reality of the potential of seeing northern lights from a cruise ship in Alaska!

And also, you might have a better sky and/or better phone! I have seen some really great phone pics of northern lights.

To take northern lights pictures on your phone, you’ll want to go into your camera settings and choose night mode.

 

👆 Look for the night mode in your camera settings to take better pictures of the northern lights on your phone.

 

If you’re doing a late season Alaska cruise, you can obsessively keep checking the University of Alaska Fairbanks Aurora forecast to determine what type of chance you have to see the northern lights during your cruise!

 

👆 Spot Juneau in Southeast Alaska! Even if low aurora activity is predicted, as long as the thin green line is below where you’ll be, you might want to head out onto the open deck overnight to look for northern lights! 

 

👆 The possible aurora activity level at the end of October, according to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

 

There are also free and paid aurora apps. I met a fellow visitor to Alaska during a glacier boat tour in Whittier on September 2 before I got on my Alaska cruise who said they had the paid version of one the aurora apps and one night it went crazy making noises to wake her up, indicating to go out and check the sky! So, you might want to look into getting an aurora app too!

 

If you’re considering doing a late season Alaska cruise for the CHANCE of seeing northern lights (and you understand it is indeed a CHANCE), then you’ll also want to read about what makes it the worst time for an Alaska cruise! (It’s okay to choose these months, just know what you are getting into so you can manage your expectations, and you might have a perfect cruise!)

 

GOOD LUCK SEEING NORTHERN LIGHTS FROM A CRUISE SHIP!

 

 

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