MSC Sinfonia - Random Eclipse Trip thoughts

[Starman47]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new to this board. Just thought I would post a few thoughts about Total Solar Eclipse trips. This is with the understanding that in March '06 I will be on the MSC Sinfonia on its trip to view the 29 March eclipse from Libya.

 

First, I have never cruised the Med. Looking forward to it very much.

 

Second, I don't have much cruise experience - just 2, but one was an eclipse cruise and one was not, so I have a little (tiny) basis for comparison.

 

Eclipse cruise - Feb. '98 - Dawn Princess: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Venezuela, Aruba. The ship was new (less than 1 year old) and in great shape. It was FULL: more than the listed capacity. There were not too many children, presumably because of the time of year. Some of the passengers were there just to cruise but MOST of them were there to view the eclipse. They had a mission. We all had fun but I heard from crew members and average cruisers that the whole tone of the ship was 'different.' In particular, one couple we ate with, who was in the second week of 2 on the ship, commented about the very noticable difference in the tenor of the ship that week compared to the week before (less partying, drinking, noise in general). This was especially true in the time leading up to eclipse day. I mean if you are going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to see an event that may be clouded out, you can't celebrate too much. On the other hand, after the eclipse (it was clear and well seen) the place was jumping, at least in comparison to before. My sense is that scientifically minded types (I AM ONE) are, on the whole, less flamboyant and demonstrative than the 'average' jo/e. (I know I am using generalities. Please don't flame. I know that ANY group has people at both ends of the spectrum.)

 

For me it was heaven. I got to hang out with lots of people who shared a common interest and spoke a common 'language.' (called astro)

Eclipse day was clear. We went ashore on Aruba. The ship went out to sea to the center line. We lost a few seconds of totality, but I had a camera and telescope and needed the stabiltiy of land. There were some clouds leading up to the eclipse, but when it started, the clouds went away. Fabuloso! Here are some shots from the trip.

http://home.comcast.net/~cjp2/eclipse98/photos.htm

 

I am looking forward next March and would love to hear from others going on the Sinfonia.

 

On an aside: I would like to upload pictures from the eclipse viewing site in Libya. Does anyone know/have recommendations about using satellite phones in that region of the world? I would like to rent one.

 

Thanks for reading this,

 

Chap

[majorjkg]

Hi Starman47

This will be our first cruise but our fifth total eclipse (Montana, Hawaii, Turkey, and Australia.) Thought about going to Aruba but decided to save up for the Turkey eclipse, couldn't really afford both. (Should have gone to South Carolina for the eclipse Carly Simon made famous, since my Mother lives there, but I heard that was clouded out anyway in that area, saw the partial phases from Tennessee.) The best thing about this cruise (besides seeing the Pyramids) is that we will be on dry land during the eclipse. It is hard enough to take good photos without being on a rolling ship! Weather should be good, the only close call for us so far was Hawaii but we saw two out of the four minutes before the clouds moved in! Sure am glad Mr. Gadhafi decided to come in "out of the cold" making travel to Libya possible!

Hope to see you on the ship!

John

P.S.: I checked out some of your photos online. Photos looked good but the "Total Eclipse, Short Exposure, Large" came up "Page URL not found."

[racephoto]

Hi Chap,

I was also on the Dawn Princess in '98. I stayed on the ship for the eclipse, it was amazing. At one point we were about to get rained on and the Captain pretty much firewalled the engines to get away from the rain and did some bobbing and weaving to avoid other showers. Which was much appreciated by everyone with a telescope on deck. I think he was having fun too. That was my 3rd cruise and it was like no other one I've been on before or since. Here are the eclipse shots I got:

http://www.racephoto.com/art/artgal.html

 

I am trying to decide between Costa and MSC....I just found out MSC is doing an eclipse cruise also, the flyer I got from a friend made it sound like only Costa and Holland American were doing one. And the Prinsendam is well outside of my price range. Especially since I will most likely be going alone and having to pay double. :-(

 

Gail

[sunshein53]

This will be our family's fourth total eclipse (Hawaii, Turkey, Africa) and the first time combining a cruise and eclipse. I was very relieved to read details about a previous eclipse cruise--the fact that the passengers were primarily astronomer types and general eclipse-chasers and a more sedate group than the usual cruise.

 

We just finished our fifth cruise (HAL-Mexican Riviera) and I'm rather tired of the hype, parties, etc. I'm the one always in the library reading or having fun at the trivia games. Sounds like this cruise will be the perfect blend of good food, good company, fascinating ports and (hopefully) an awesome eclipse.

Karen

[SkySailer]

Having looked forward to the 1999 total eclipse in UK for at least 40 years, and the 2003 annular eclipse in Scotland, both of which were dismal failures, this trip is both a honeymoon and a consolation prize for me. After 10 years together Fiona and I are getting married on 18th March just 4 days before the start of the cruise. I've read various reviews by other "cruisers" on the Sinfonia and one complaint was the small proportion of english speaking passengers. As we booked via TravelQuest in Arizona this hopefully won't be a problem in this case. Slightly disappointed that Crete was taken off the original itinerary but Fiona is looking forward to seeing the Pyramids and Pompeii, so that's OK. Can't wait to meet you all.

Regards from Phil and Fiona in Oxfordshire, UK.

[ROCKYCAT]

Hello all, We'll be on the Sinfonia, March 22. We took a Holland American cruise to see the Carribean eclipse. It was our first cruise, and we got hooked. We've taken about 9 cruises, on Holland American, Princess and Celebrity to the Carribean, Alaska, and Tahiti. We were scheduled for a European cruise in 2002,but my husband hurt his back the day of the cruise,thank goodness for travel insurance!This is our first trip to Europe in a number of years. We are excited-but a little bit apprehensive. We have American mileage tickets- we are stopping in London for a few days-then flying on to Milan. American, and their airline affiliates don,t go all the way to Genoa. Is anyone else going to Genoa via Milan. We've been told to take the train. The airfare, Milan to Genoa is exorbinant -$400/pp roundtrip. Travelquest told us that they will be seating US eclipse cruisers together for dinner-so the table should be English speaking-and everyone else will be eclipsechasers-so that should be fun. I think Travelquest has booked about half of the ship. We,ll be celebrating our 45th wedding aniversary on the cruise. We look forward to meeting you all in Italy. Karen and Dean

[pecokid]

Hello Everyone: My DW and I will also be on this cruise. This will be our 4th Total (Mexico, Carribean, Europe). Our first cruise was on the Veendam in 1998 to see the Carribean eclipse. Nearly everyone on board lived and breathed astronomy. It was fabulous. I am looking forward to this trip, because I think most passengers will share a common passion--astronomy. We liked cruising so much, we have cruised many times since, mostly on HAL.

 

We are flying from Philadelphia to Rome to Genoa arriving the day before. I am searching for a hotel in Genoa in case anyone has any suggestions.

 

Looking forward to meeting all of you onboard.

 

Clear Skies

 

Gene

[sunshein53]

We almost booked those flights (starting in San Diego, to Philadelphia, Rome, Genoa) but ended up going up to San Francisco then all the way to Munich then into Genoa, also arriving the day before.

 

We booked a hotel called the Columbus Sea Hotel which is right across from the Ferry terminal and therefore very near the cruise terminal. Found it on Expedia. Have NO idea if the hotel is any good but the photos look OK..It's moderately priced, offers a breakfast in the morning and had a family-sized room available. My brother's family also booked it.

 

We're all beginning to get excited now. We booked the cruise originally in late 2004! By the way, we did the Africa eclipse in 2001 with TravelQuest. They're terrific.

Karen

[harry47]

Hi there,

New to this forum. Will be travelling from Australia with wife and two boys. Chose this cruise for two reasons, eclipse and chance to see pyriamids. This will be our fifth cruise, but our first eclipse cruise. Reading the mixed reviews of MSC, just hope we are doing the right thing. But, hey, its what you make of it that counts.:)