Alaska Inside Passage – Royal Princess – 29 May 2025
Alaskan Inside Passage – Royal Princess – 29 May 2025. There’s no denying it: Alaska is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, with endless opportunities for play year-round.
Explore the great outdoors, participating in thrilling activities like glacier trekking or rafting or more relaxed ventures such as hiking, biking, fishing, camping, and simply immersing yourself in breathtaking wide-open spaces. Take a train ride, day cruise, or flightseeing tour for chances to spot wildlife, from bears to whales. Experience Alaska Native culture through cultural tours or festivals. And if you visit in winter, there’s skiing, snowboarding, dog sled tours, and more—and don’t miss watching the northern lights dance across the night sky. No matter how you choose to get around, from road trips, planes, trains, motorcoaches, or cruise ships, you’ll discover that the journey is all part of the adventure.
Alaska is one of the best places on earth to see the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis – colorful bands of light that dance in the dark night sky. Travelers from all over the world come to Alaska to see this stunning display and take advantage of other winter experiences like snowmobiling, dog mushing, skiing, festivals, and sporting events. The best time to see the northern lights in Alaska is between mid-August and mid-April, when less daylight leads to darker night skies.
Towns and cities produce ambient light that interferes with aurora viewing, and while auroras are still visible from cities, it is best to view from the outskirts of town, or in an area known for clear, dark skies. While the northern lights can be seen anywhere in Alaska, they’re visible most often in the Interior and Arctic regions.
Fairbanks is one of the best places to view the northern lights in Alaska due to its location, hours of darkness in winter, auroral activity, and the amount of tours, activities, and accommodations dedicated to northern lights viewing. Other locations and town in the Interior and Arctic regions offer more remote northern lights viewing opportunities including Coldfoot, Wiseman, Utqiagvik (Barrow), and Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse. Not planning on traveling that for north? The northern lights can be seen throughout the state, though your chances of seeing them reduce as you travel south.
Northern lights tours are available in the Interior, Arctic, and Southcentral regions. Tour guides know the best spots for viewing and can take you off the beaten track to remote viewing locations with less ambient light. They offer single day tour options or you can increase your chances of viewing with multi-day overnight northern lights packages, which often include meals and overnight stays at unique, remote lodging specifically-designed for northern lights viewing. If you prefer to do it yourself, you can keep an eye on the statewide aurora forecast and the Fairbanks aurora tracker. Many Alaska hotels offer a northern lights wake-up call (upon request, of course) to wake visitors when the lights are out.
What’s included
Cruise highlights:
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Handcrafted Holidays – Hotel Included – Flights Included & Cruise Included
Holiday Features:
- Spacious, en-suite cabin accommodation
- 24-hour complimentary room service
- Enriching youth & family program in partnership with Discovery Channel
- All meals and snacks onboard
- All entertainment
- Movies Under The Stars®
- Specialty Dining
- State-of-the-art fitness center
- Port and Handling fees & taxes