What My FREE Princess Cruise Was Really Like (or How I was Able to Chase the Northern Lights in a Mini-Suite)

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Originally Published September 8, 2025

From the beginning, the goal was always to see how far I could maximize my Casino Status Match Jackpot. To parlay the statuses, comp cruise and comp stays obtained in Atlantic City for as many comp cruises as possible. I had no idea how far it would go and was pretty surprised and impressed that I was able to counter offer my way to this specific sailing.

I had been hearing about us entering the max of the 11 year solar cycle with indications that we were due for some epic storms (which proved correct!) so seeing the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights was moved even higher up my wanderlist. I saw that Princess was offered a Search for the Northern Lights sailing when I was offered a comp balcony but was unable to book the sailing as it was 14 days long – read about how I was able to score this cruise that costs over $10,000 here!

Honestly getting the mini-suite wasn’t that big of a deal for me but it ended up paying off with being able to see the Northern Lights from the comfort of my oversized balcony with the added bonus of being able to photograph/video them easily there!

Note that this post is still a work in progress as it serves as an anchor page for all other related posts and will be updated with notes and links as those are written! These will include posts on what I did in port, port guides and day recaps with detailed information on what’s offered on Princess in general and this sailing specifically.

_{Please note: this post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something following a link on this page, I may get a small commission. There is no additional cost to you and helps reduce the ever-increasing costs of keeping this site active}. _{Thanks for supporting my blog (AKA feeding my ice cream addiction around the world!) Rosemary}

^{Want to learn more about how to travel for cheaper, better and/or more often?: Intro to Travel Hacking and my 8 Top Tips For Travel Hacking}

Before I dive in, here are the other related Princess Search for the Northern Lights posts (besides those linked later in the post):

• Wanna learn more about how I got my comp cruises in the first place?
  • Read about my casino status match jackpot here and here’s where you’ll find my haul.
  • Again for how I specifically obtained this Princess comp cruise – read this
• Since there’s always a debate about if this type of travel is really “free”, read what my free Princess comp cruise cost showing what true of this comp cruise was
• Princess Search for the Northern Lights Trip Report deep dives into the cash, miles and points spending and all of the savings (and sources) – essentially how did I travel hack this cruise
• Here’s what I wish I knew about Princess comp cruises before booking / sailing – upcoming post
• And here’s my review on the ship: Emerald Princess – upcoming post

Welp – cruising is at the mercy of Mother Nature and as with my Holland America cruise where I was most excited to visit Greenland (pesky icebergs), this sailing also had a very significant change due to weather conditions as we were unable to sail to Alta (plus one of the craziest things I have ever experienced on a ship!)

Days 1 – 2: Chicago, IL, USA (day long layover) – London, United Kingdom

DEN – ORD / ORD – LHR

There are many times that it seems like my entire life is money and travel hacking…and this long layover in Chicago showcased the absurd limits I would go to. This reminds me that I need to write up about my Turkish Airlines status match and the hoops that I had to jump through – which has paid off handsomely for me. I opted for a very long layover in Chicago to be able to visit the TK sales office but also used the opportunity to do a bank bonus (IYKYK and if you don’t and want to learn more – reach out!) + catch up with a friend.

Day 4: London, United Kingdom: Embark Emerald Princess

Here’s the recap for Day 1 of the cruise

Days 6 -7: at Sea

Day 8: Trondheim, Norway

What I did in Trondheim –

Day 9: at Sea

Day 10: Tromso, Norway

Day 11: Alta, Norway -> Tromso, Norway

Day 12: Alta, Norway -> Tromso, Norway

Day 13: at Sea

Day 14: Lofoton Islands, Norway

Day 15: at Sea

Day 16: Ålesund, Norway

What has become a routine for me with this port stop, I started the morning tackling the 418 stairs up Mount Aksla.

Cruise Day 12 recap can be found here.

Days 17 – 18: at Sea

Day 19: London, United Kingdom: Disembark Emerald Princess