Solar eclipse cruise

[Aus Traveller]

We have just returned from the solar eclipse cruise on the Pacific Dawn. We observed the eclipse off Port Douglas and were very very lucky as there was a lot of heavy cloud and only patches of clear sky.

 

In the first partial phase we had periods of clear and periods of cloud, but fortunately the clouds parted before totality. About half way through totality, some cloud obscured the sun briefly, then the sun peeped out so we could see Bailey's Beads and the diamond ring phenomena. A couple of minutes after totality, a big heavy grey cloud covered the sun, but by then it really didn't matter too much.

 

The eclipse really was a spectacle.:)

 

We were the only cruise ship off Port Douglas. The Dawn Princess passed us the night before as we were heading for Port Douglas and then were on their way south. They observed the eclipse off Cairns, and I am curious to hear how they went. Does anyone know?

 

Other ships I know that were in the path of totality were the Pacific Jewel and the Oosterdam, both in the Coral Sea. I have read a report from the Oosterdam, but don't know about the Pacific Jewel.

[windsor26]

Lucky you Evon - One Day ;) Colin Hopes

 

I have e-mailed you but no rush

[SpiritofCharles]

Someone who was on the Carnival Spirit has posted pictures they took of the eclipse on facebook. The link is on the Carnival Spirit facebook page.

[Aus Traveller]

Someone who was on the Carnival Spirit has posted pictures they took of the eclipse on facebook. The link is on the Carnival Spirit facebook page.

 

Thanks for that info, but I don't go on Facebook. This forum is enough computer social interaction for me.:D

 

Did they see totality?

 

I had to laugh at the Courier Mail that kept advising people to go to Townsville because the weather prospects were better. They didn't bother to mention that Townsville was well out of the path of totality, and that a partial eclipse is interesting but not exciting. Maybe they didn't know the difference.:D

[bazzaw]

I did read that Pacific Jewel was for some reason (weather) delayed and arrived a little late ??

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

I did read that Pacific Jewel was for some reason (weather) delayed and arrived a little late ??

 

Barry

 

I have checked this out, and Barry is correct. I (and my family who were on board the Pacific Dawn) would have been devastated.

 

Here is a quote from the Herald Sun.

 

"passengers who had paid more than $799 for a 10-night cruise on the Pacific Jewel around the Pacific Islands missed out on the spectacle, according to the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.

 

The cruise had been promoted as offering “best view” of the spectacle, but he claims it was botched when the cruise sailed on a longer route to its destination.

 

“The ship simply headed towards the wrong position in the ocean,” the passenger told news.com.au.

 

“(It went) on a longer route that took us away from the eclipse… As a result, we were an hour late and thus unable to witness a unique moment in life for many of us: a total solar eclipse.”

 

“I’m an astronomer and I was baffled by this mistake and I had to check it again and again, I couldn't believe it.”

 

David Jones from Carnival Australia, which owns P&O, denied the passenger’s account but said the ship experienced some heavy weather conditions on the way to view the eclipse.

 

“Pacific Jewel left earlier than scheduled and made good speed going north but was slowed by some heavy weather conditions on the way,” Mr Jones said.

 

“However it was in a position for passengers to enjoy what has been described as close to the totality of the eclipse.” (end of quote)

 

 

I realise that P&O have to make the best of it, but a partial eclipse is not very exciting, where a total eclipse is an experience of a lifetime. That is why people travel across the world to see one.

 

It seems that this was unavoidable bad luck.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Aus Traveller

[avalon007]

Where people actually looking at the eclipse without eye protection at all?

 

I saw a show on one of the current affairs programs this week with an eye specialist saying how many people will have suffered possibly irreversable eye damage from watching the eclipse.:eek:

 

I assume the cruise line would have had experts on board to advise how to view it safely?

[Aus Traveller]

Where people actually looking at the eclipse without eye protection at all?

 

I saw a show on one of the current affairs programs this week with an eye specialist saying how many people will have suffered possibly irreversable eye damage from watching the eclipse.:eek:

 

I assume the cruise line would have had experts on board to advise how to view it safely?

 

You can look at a total solar eclipse without eye protection and can use binoculars or a telescope for a better view. It is only during the partial phase of the eclipse (when the sun is only partially covered by the moon) that a person can suffer eye damage.

 

Each ship had an expert on board to give advice and a lecture on what to see and do. Special eye protection is required to view the partial phases and suitable glasses were given free of charge to all passengers.

 

When the sun is totally covered there is no danger whatsoever and that is when it is truly spectacular.

 

I think people are more likely to suffer eye damage if they are in an area outside the path of totality. If they don't have the proper eye protection they have to use projection methods to see what is happening, and maybe some people don't do that.

[KirkNC]

Wow, that would be a sight to behold!

[Aus Traveller]

Wow, that would be a sight to behold!

 

It is hard to express in words how incredible the sight is. When the sun is covered, you can see the pink chromosphere of the sun and its white whispy corona.

 

You will have the opportunity to see one fairly close to your home on 21st August 2017. The path travels across the USA from Oregon, across the continent to Georgia.

[Tily77]

We saw the total eclipse on the carnival spirit. It was an amazing experience!

[JacintaH]

We have just returned from the solar eclipse cruise on the Pacific Dawn. We observed the eclipse off Port Douglas and were very very lucky as there was a lot of heavy cloud and only patches of clear sky.

 

In the first partial phase we had periods of clear and periods of cloud, but fortunately the clouds parted before totality. About half way through totality, some cloud obscured the sun briefly, then the sun peeped out so we could see Bailey's Beads and the diamond ring phenomena. A couple of minutes after totality, a big heavy grey cloud covered the sun, but by then it really didn't matter too much.

 

The eclipse really was a spectacle.:)

 

We were the only cruise ship off Port Douglas. The Dawn Princess passed us the night before as we were heading for Port Douglas and then were on their way south. They observed the eclipse off Cairns, and I am curious to hear how they went. Does anyone know?

 

Other ships I know that were in the path of totality were the Pacific Jewel and the Oosterdam, both in the Coral Sea. I have read a report from the Oosterdam, but don't know about the Pacific Jewel.

 

We were on land just north of Cairns (Ellis Beach) for the event and from the mixture of reports I have heard, it was pot luck whether you were able to see totality due to the cloud cover.

 

Now that I have experienced a total eclipse I know that witnessing a partial eclipse is a poor substitute and I feel rather sorry for those who missed out because of their ship was poorly positioned.

 

As far as eye protection goes - it was only required during the partial phases of the eclipse. The media always drags out one expert or another to spread a little dampening gloom over impending fun! The reality is that Australians are well educated and informed and protective eyewear was available for sale for months leading up to the event. Our international guests in town for the event were a group of similarly well educated and informed people. Therefore I would be confident that any cases of eye damage would be isolated and rare.

[SpiritofCharles]

Did they see totality?

 

Yes they did.

[Aus Traveller]

Has anyone heard if people on the Dawn Princess saw the eclipse?

[MJC]

Just back from the DP and we saw the entire eclipse from first contact to last. Completely unobstructed view of totality from start to finish.

 

It was utterly amazing. Just before totality the sea turned black with twilight all around the horizon. Venus was visible to the left of the sun, along with some stars. The corona was very big, and some people got photos of solar flares along the edge of the moon.

 

AWESOME!

[Aus Traveller]

Just back from the DP and we saw the entire eclipse from first contact to last. Completely unobstructed view of totality from start to finish.

 

It was utterly amazing. Just before totality the sea turned black with twilight all around the horizon. Venus was visible to the left of the sun, along with some stars. The corona was very big, and some people got photos of solar flares along the edge of the moon.

 

AWESOME!

 

I am so glad those on the Dawn Princess saw the eclipse. :):)

[Charles Mason]

We saw the Solar Eclipse on Coral Princess II, had a great unobstructed view from Sudbury Cay off Cairns, right in the centreline. Hadnt really been interested in seeing an eclipse before but we got a newsletter from the Cruiseline (we have done a few cruises with them, Coral Princess Cruises are a great outfit) mentioning a 6 night cruise for the eclipse so we thought we would give it a go. It was a wonderful experience, and I can firmly say I "understand" eclipse chasers now.:D The cruise also went to various reefs for snorkelling, Lizard Island, Cooktown and a few other places as well. Nice to travel on a small ship, it was full - but thats only 50 odd people. They have some pictures up on their facebook page.

[Tony8489]

2012 was my 7th total eclipse since 1999. I was on a charter flight to the opposite side of the Cape York peninsula from Cairns to get away from the cloudy weather on the coastal plain. The weather was generally clear west of the mountains and so forecast a day ahead, so many people drove over the mountains and were successful.

 

With regard to cruises I was on chartered eclipse cruises in 2009 (Costa Classica) and 2010 (Paul Gauguin). Both had astronomy and weather advisors and the captain was fully committed to last minute maneuvers to escape clouds if necessary. The Paul Gauguin has had to do this for all 4 total eclipses it has chased (2005, 2009, 2010 and 2012). A key reason to see an eclipse on a cruise vs. on land is that the ship can use short term weather forecasts as well as last minute moves to increase the odds of clear skies.

 

There were a lot of cruises for the 2012 total eclipse. Paul Gauguin and Celebrity Millennium had weather/astronomy advisors and were 100% successful. The same was true for a couple of boutique cruises on MV Orion I and II, and it sounds like the Coral Princess was similar.

 

Dawn Princess was offshore near Cairns and successful, but I don't know whether the ship had to evade clouds or chose a fixed position that was lucky.

 

There were 2 examples of cruise ships that ignored their potential mobility advantages and viewed from a fixed location. The Pacific Dawn was docked at Port Douglas. They got lucky with a hole in the clouds at that particular location but deserve no credit for that. It's a ship and with that weather it should have gone offshore to search for clearer skies. Roughly half of the people on the coastal plain from Cairns to Port Douglas lost all or some of the eclipse to clouds.

 

Holland America Oosterdam was worse. It was at sea and maintained a prearranged course sailing at 5 knots into clouds when clear skies were visible perhaps 3 miles away. They saw a hazy first minute of totality and were completely clouded out of the second minute.

 

The booby prize of course goes to the Pacific Jewel. It was marketed as an eclipse cruise and failing to make it into the totality zone in this age of GPS etc. is completely inexcusable. Weather (the cruise line is blaming prevailing winds and currents, not a storm) is no excuse. The ship should have left Sydney with enough of a safety margin of time to ensure reaching the eclipse path a few hours early.

 

With regard to the difference between seeing a partial eclipse (even 99%) vs. total here's the scientific explanation from Jay Pasachoff:

Since the sun is about 400,000 times brighter than the full moon (about 14 magnitudes), a 99% eclipse (so termed) is about 4,000 times too bright compared with totality, which is about the brightness of the full moon. So a "99% eclipse" is really only 100/400,000 = 1/4,000 = 1/40% of totality = 0.025%.

 

So if someone claims 99% coverage, we can translate to less then a tenth of a percent of the way to totality. 99.9% coverage is two tenths of a percent of the way to totality.

 

NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak puts it in simpler terms:

Almost seeing a total eclipse is like almost winning the lottery.

 

The Pacific Jewel passengers deserve a full refund.

Edited December 2, 2012 by Tony8489
minor corrections

[99 percenter]

Thanks for the report on the other cruises and the assessment of the Pacific Jewel's efforts (or lack of). Sorry to hear that Pacific Dawn almost had a miss due to the lack of P&O's will to move away from the cloud cover.

 

That would have been even worse than what we experienced on Pacific Jewel. We were about 20 nautical miles from the edge of totality (65 nm from centreline) with a relatively clear sky. The minimal cloud cover (theoretically) vindicated our choice to view the eclipse from onboard this ship. Sadly, we watched the shadow of the Moon roll across the ocean in the distance. The onboard astronomer neither alerted passengers to 1st contact nor identified the Moon's Shadow for them. This might have been because, as we understand, he had never seen a total solar eclipse.

 

I think that others present would support my view that the Captain expressed no empathy for our (collective) distress at being trapped on a ship that we knew was not going to reach the path. We were told by the P&O astronomer in his eclipse lecture at 1.30pm Tuesday 13 November (UTC +11 hours) that an 'unexpected', 'unforseen' 30 knot head-wind (the Trade Winds) had slowed the ship so much during the first night of the cruise (Monday night) that it was impossible for the ship to reach the path of totality. From that time on, we tried, as a group of about 40 eclipse chasers, to influence the outcome but had no success.

 

At 5pm that Tuesday evening (15 hours before totality), the Captain advised us that the top speed of the ship was 20 knots but that he would not travel at top speed as he "had the safety of the other passengers to consider". We were all puzzled because other P&O publications quoted the top speed as 22.5 knots and (up until then) P&O had not identified any 'safey issues' as being the reason for us missing out on totality and/or the reason for the ship's moderate speed. The Captain told us that "on the advice of his expert" a 99% partial eclipse was sufficient and so he had no reason to travel faster to try to reach the path of totality. We trundled along at between 16.8 to 18.8 knots for the remainder of the trip.

 

On a postive note, adversity binds those who share it. We made great friends with others who had travelled from as far as Europe and the USA to see the eclipse on the Pacific Jewel and whose loss was much greater than ours.

 

99 percenter - Canberra - Australia

Edited December 5, 2012 by 99 percenter

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for the report on the other cruises and the assessment of the Pacific Jewel's efforts (or lack of). Sorry to hear that Pacific Dawn almost had a miss due to the lack of P&O's will to move away from the cloud cover.

 

That would have been even worse than what we experienced on Pacific Jewel. We were about 20 nautical miles from the edge of totality (65 nm from centreline) with a relatively clear sky. The minimal cloud cover (theoretically) vindicated our choice to view the eclipse from onboard this ship. Sadly, we watched the shadow of the Moon roll across the ocean in the distance. The onboard astronomer neither alerted passengers to 1st contact nor identified the Moon's Shadow for them. This might have been because, as we understand, he had never seen a total solar eclipse.

 

I think that others present would support my view that the Captain expressed no empathy for our (collective) distress at being trapped on a ship that we knew was not going to reach the path. We were told by the P&O astronomer in his eclipse lecture at 1.30pm Tuesday 13 November (UTC +11 hours) that an 'unexpected', 'unforseen' 30 knot head-wind (the Trade Winds) had slowed the ship so much during the first night of the cruise (Monday night) that it was impossible for the ship to reach the path of totality. From that time on, we tried, as a group of about 40 eclipse chasers, to influence the outcome but had no success.

 

At 5pm that Tuesday evening (15 hours before totality), the Captain advised us that the top speed of the ship was 20 knots but that he would not travel at top speed as he "had the safety of the other passengers to consider". We were all puzzled because other P&O publications quoted the top speed as 22.5 knots and (up until then) P&O had not identified any 'safey issues' as being the reason for us missing out on totality and/or the reason for the ship's moderate speed. The Captain told us that "on the advice of his expert" a 99% partial eclipse was sufficient and so he had no reason to travel faster to try to reach the path of totality. We trundled along at between 16.8 to 18.8 knots for the remainder of the trip.

 

On a postive note, adversity binds those who share it. We made great friends with others who had travelled from as far as Europe and the USA to see the eclipse on the Pacific Jewel and whose loss was much greater than ours.

 

99 percenter - Canberra - Australia

I feel terribly sorry that the people on the Pacific Jewel didn't see the total eclipse. As Fred Espenak (the world expert on solar eclipses) says "A partial eclipse is like almost winning the lottery". It is a pity if the captain was advised otherwise.

 

The comments on the Pacific Dawn (in a previous post) are a bit misleading. We were anchored off Port Douglas (not docked as stated). I do not believe it would have been possible or wise for the captain to try to move the ship to get clear skies. Obviously we had to stay in the shipping channel. After all we had shallow water/land on one side and the reef on the other. First contact of the eclipse (the start of the event) was only five minutes after sunrise. The sky one-quarter cloudy, but as usual, bunched up a bit near the horizon. We saw the partial phase from first contact to second contact with barely any interruption. We saw all of totality, but some cloud drifted across the 'bottom' of the sun just before the end of totality, however we still saw Baileys Beads and the diamond ring because they were on the 'top' of the sun.

 

Even if it the ship had no land and no reef to restrict its ability to move, I do not think it would have been a wise decision to move. We had been faced with this dilemma on a previous eclipse where the sky was mainly cloudy with just some clear patches. We had transport and could have moved, but couldn't be certain which patch of clear sky would give us the best view and where we could go to see it. We decided to stay put and saw totality. It was much more difficult with a big ship that is slow to get underway, and moves rather slowly.

 

The people on the Pacific Dawn were delighted and I didn't hear one criticism of the ship, the captain, or anyone else involved with the organising of watching the eclipse.

[Aus Traveller]

There were 2 examples of cruise ships that ignored their potential mobility advantages and viewed from a fixed location. The Pacific Dawn was docked at Port Douglas. They got lucky with a hole in the clouds at that particular location but deserve no credit for that. It's a ship and with that weather it should have gone offshore to search for clearer skies. Roughly half of the people on the coastal plain from Cairns to Port Douglas lost all or some of the eclipse to clouds.

 

A couple of more comments on this previous post (or the section that I have quoted) -

 

The Pacific Dawn was off-shore, not docked at Port Douglas. Many people on-shore south of Port Douglas missed the total part of the eclipse because of cloud. Those in Port Douglas had nearly as good a view as we did. We estimate that if the Pacific Dawn had been about 2km further north, the 'problem cloud' wouldn't have come across the sun until well after totality, but if we were more than 2km further south, we wouldn't have seen any of totality at all. Moving the ship to the east wouldn't have helped us one little bit because there was patchy cloud right to the horizon (and the Great Barrier Reef was in the way).

 

It was only obvious that the cloud might come across the sun about 2 minutes prior to totality and obviously the ship couldn't turn around and head north in a short space of time. Similarly, the people on shore didn't get in their cars and race north. By the way, the bow of the ship was facing south-east (into the wind) to reduce windage, that is the wind moving the ship, so moving northwards would have taken more time than was available once we could see what the clouds were doing.

 

I do not believe the Captain of the Pacific Dawn could have done anything more than he did to ensure a good view of the eclipse. On the day, with the sky the way it was, it was simply a matter of luck for us on the ship and the many thousands along the coast whether there was a clear patch of sky over the sun at for the critical few minutes, or whether it was cloud. That can even happen when there are only a couple of clouds in the sky, although then you have much more chance of a good outcome. :)

[Debsta]

Thanks for the report on the other cruises and the assessment of the Pacific Jewel's efforts (or lack of). Sorry to hear that Pacific Dawn almost had a miss due to the lack of P&O's will to move away from the cloud cover.

 

That would have been even worse than what we experienced on Pacific Jewel. We were about 20 nautical miles from the edge of totality (65 nm from centreline) with a relatively clear sky. The minimal cloud cover (theoretically) vindicated our choice to view the eclipse from onboard this ship. Sadly, we watched the shadow of the Moon roll across the ocean in the distance. The onboard astronomer neither alerted passengers to 1st contact nor identified the Moon's Shadow for them. This might have been because, as we understand, he had never seen a total solar eclipse.

 

I think that others present would support my view that the Captain expressed no empathy for our (collective) distress at being trapped on a ship that we knew was not going to reach the path. We were told by the P&O astronomer in his eclipse lecture at 1.30pm Tuesday 13 November (UTC +11 hours) that an 'unexpected', 'unforseen' 30 knot head-wind (the Trade Winds) had slowed the ship so much during the first night of the cruise (Monday night) that it was impossible for the ship to reach the path of totality. From that time on, we tried, as a group of about 40 eclipse chasers, to influence the outcome but had no success.

 

At 5pm that Tuesday evening (15 hours before totality), the Captain advised us that the top speed of the ship was 20 knots but that he would not travel at top speed as he "had the safety of the other passengers to consider". We were all puzzled because other P&O publications quoted the top speed as 22.5 knots and (up until then) P&O had not identified any 'safey issues' as being the reason for us missing out on totality and/or the reason for the ship's moderate speed. The Captain told us that "on the advice of his expert" a 99% partial eclipse was sufficient and so he had no reason to travel faster to try to reach the path of totality. We trundled along at between 16.8 to 18.8 knots for the remainder of the trip.

 

On a postive note, adversity binds those who share it. We made great friends with others who had travelled from as far as Europe and the USA to see the eclipse on the Pacific Jewel and whose loss was much greater than ours.

 

99 percenter - Canberra - Australia

 

I would have been incredibly annoyed and I don't think their excuses were not good enough. I am going to assume your Captain was Graham Goodway. If I am correct, I am not surprised he showed no empathy. In fact, I'm surprised he even made the announcement at all! I am trying to write a review of my PJ Bounty Adventure cruise not long prior to yours, but the negativity keeps exuding and it's not fit for public consumption :p

 

I'm really sorry you missed out. The itinerary is why many people would choose P&O who would not cruise with them otherwise.

 

As any good cruiser though, we always seem to find great new friends! I'm glad that was the case.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Debsta
spelling

[Thorpe]

2012 was my 7th total eclipse since 1999.

Holland America Oosterdam was worse. It was at sea and maintained a prearranged course sailing at 5 knots into clouds when clear skies were visible perhaps 3 miles away. They saw a hazy first minute of totality and were completely clouded out of the second minute.

.

 

I have cut out most of this quote but as I was on the Oosterdam for the eclipse thought I could comment. For first contact we had cloud cover on and off but for all the totality the clouds parted and we had no clouds obstructing at all. After totality the clouds came back intermittently. No complaints from me .

[Aus Traveller]

I have cut out most of this quote but as I was on the Oosterdam for the eclipse thought I could comment. For first contact we had cloud cover on and off but for all the totality the clouds parted and we had no clouds obstructing at all. After totality the clouds came back intermittently. No complaints from me .

It's great that people on the Oosterdam had a clear view of totality.

 

I find it interesting that an earlier poster who wasn't on either the Oosterdam or the Pacific Dawn posted incorrect information on what happened on both ships during the eclipse. Maybe he/she was told by someone else (Chinese whispers anyone?) but in that case he/she should have put the post with a question, not stating incorrect information as factual. (I do not mean to cause offence to the poster in question). :)

[Tony8489]

From Solar Eclipse Mailing List:

From: michael.wehner@ngc.com

To: SEML@yahoogroups.com

Sent: 11/20/2012 11:37:33 P.M. Pacific Standard Time

Subj: [sEML] Partial Total Eclipse on Holland America Oosterdam

 

A number of eclipse chasers were on the Holland America Oosterdam halfway between Australia and New Caledonia. Eclipse duration should have been 2.5 minutes, but...

 

As 1st contact approached we sailed SE from a clear area directly into a cloud bank. We saw 1st contact, and then intermittent views of the sun through the clouds. The ship slowed to 5.1 mph (~4 knots), even though we could see clear skies perhaps 2 miles (3 km) ahead. As totality approached we could see a sunny patch of water immediately ahead, and we slowly entered this patch literally with a minute to spare. I saw shadow bands on the white ship superstructure, then totality through hazy clouds - for about 1 minute. Then, still at 5.1 mph, we sailed through the patch and back under a heavy cloud. Ten minutes later we were in beautiful sunshine!

 

It is clear that Holland America really did not give a damn about the eclipse chasers onboard. We heard that the ship navigated to a preset waypoint, and made no effort to avoid clouds. The cruise director actually had the audacity to congratulate themselves for the eclipse.

 

We had 3 "experts" on the ship as Holland America lecturers, but they apparently had no influence on the ships course (if they even tried). Previously, we had been assured that the ship would maneuver as required, would place the port side towards the sun, etc. None of that happened.

 

Only by pure chance did we see any totality at all. The cruise was nice, but it was almost a total failure as an eclipse cruise. I'll chalk this as a success given the 1 minute of totality, but it could have been so much better.

 

Michael Wehner

DWSS Space Vehicle SE Lead

 

 

 

 

 

The Pacific Dawn may not have been docked, but it was not in a position to be mobile had circumstances called for that. A ship should be scheduled to be at sea, with at least a few hours leeway to take its best shot at clear skies. Feedback is the point of forums like these so no offense taken at all and I appreciate the correction on Pacific Dawn, though the fundamentals of my criticism remain. My comments on the Oosterdam were based upon the detailed trip report above, which was supported by a couple of other posters on SEML.

 

P&O is obviously not a cruise line that should be trusted for an eclipse cruise. One ship was locked into a near fixed location and the other was dispatched on such a tight schedule that it missed the total eclipse completely.

The Captain told us that "on the advice of his expert" a 99% partial eclipse was sufficient

is an astounding statement of ignorance.

We were all puzzled because other P&O publications quoted the top speed as 22.5 knots and (up until then) P&O had not identified any 'safey issues' as being the reason for us missing out on totality and/or the reason for the ship's moderate speed..... We trundled along at between 16.8 to 18.8 knots for the remainder of the trip

The likely reason is that it burns more fuel to travel at a faster speed, as with cars or planes. IMHO the Captain and/or cruise line was being cheap and not willing to spend the extra fuel $ to reach

Edited December 10, 2012 by Tony8489