I want to make reservations for December.
In March 2020, while traveling around the Horn of South America on board Azamara, we enjoyed a starry night at sea. The illumination at the top of the ship was so dimly lit that you had to use the flashlight on your phone to see where you were going. The captain emerged and pointed out the various constellations with a laser pointer. It was quite cool, but it would have been even cooler if idiots hadn’t kept talking so loudly that the captain was impossible to hear and hadn’t been attempting to take flash-free cellphone pictures of the sky. God, people’s complete ignorance.
@Salish Hehe. Every sound they make as they view the photos is disappointment. Well deserved.
A portion of the deck at Silver Origin in the Galapagos is designed to be protected from light.
Had some amazing luck at night on UnCruise ships in Alaska.
A few Viking and Cunard ships are equipped with planetariums.
One night, Lindblad in Indonesia held a stargazing session.
Norway Northern Lights Cruises are guaranteed by Havila and Hurtigruten.
Cruises for solar eclipses are another option.
Just keep in mind that opportunities are larger on smaller ships and that light pollution increases with ship size.
They had a stargazing event on the Island Princess in the Mediterranean last month, but it was nothing special. They covered up the lights and played a presentation for us to listen to. But it was just one of the regular crew members, so they didn’t have an special knowledge of astronomy or what we were looking at, etc.
Windstar has a policy of open bridge. Since the bridge is dark, the vista is amazing and the crew is usually glad to point out constellations. We always walk up the bridge to look at the stars after supper.
On the upper sun deck, I had some fairly good luck with the RC Mariner. Although light pollution is an issue, binoculars allow you to see brighter stars.
Just in case someone knows about any smaller ships that have a stargazing program
The boat’s light pollution is too great to be of any use.
@Dorea Really? I had no idea that a ship alone could have such a profound impact. Would be great to turn off all lights on sea days, which are plainly evenings!
@Gordon Yes, we’ve been on Lake Powell for the past week, and it’s fantastic.
We took a fellow stargazer on Liberty of the Seas with us two years ago. It was getting really dark at the mini golf up front by 8 PM. You could see things with binoculars that I have never seen on land. Liberty has not yet been amplified, however I’m not sure if the other Freedom class is still dark after amplification.
Strangely enough, this morning I was wondering if the cruise line would allow me to bring one of those 4-foot automatic ones on board.
Certain trips with astronomers on board and night sky talks, etc., are offered by Atlas Ocean Voyages.