Stargazing on the NCL Sun

[mdod]

We just got back from cruising Buenos Aires to Valparaiso on the NCL Sun where we were blessed with unseasonably good weather. Being at sea without light pollution is a great opportunity to see the night sky but we have not found dark spaces on past cruises. A couple of months before the cruise I wrote a letter to NCL asking if the lights could be turned off in an area of the ship for a short period of time to allow those passengers that are interested to get a great view of the stars. Princess has specific star gazing programs where that is done and someone on our cruise said NCL turns out lights near the volcano in Hawaii so it is obviously possible.

 

I never received a response so I brought it up with the hotel director at the Meet and Greet, mentioning that we would have a new moon while cruising the Magellan Strait. Guest services called 2 days later and said we'd be going through the Magellan Straits from 4AM to 10 AM when it was light. So I guess he took my request a little too literal. I was just pointing out that there was a new moon in the middle of our cruise so conditions were optimal for viewing.

 

I didn't press the issue any more because by then we had already discovered Deck 13 Forward. It is, by far, the darkest spot I've ever found on any cruise ship. We were able to easily see the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds from there.

 

We were lucky but it's really too bad the cruise lines don't make it easier for people to experience when it is something that so easy to offer and doesn't half to cost them a penny. They just have to turn off the lights in a small area for 10 min on a clear night. But at least on the Sun, there's a great option on Deck 13 Forward.

[Keith1010]

Some cruise lines do this. Other don't.

 

And sometimes it just depends where you are sailing.

 

I hope you enjoyed the other aspects of the cruise.

 

Keith

[JohnChiang]

I know this has nothing to do with South America.

 

On our first night of our Alaska cruise on the Sun last September, the cruise director mentioned that we might be able to see some Northern Lights that evening. Several passengers told me that they did see the lights that night at around midnight. I did not go out to see them because it was too cold up there, and I had seen the lights several nights earlier in Denali.

 

So the Norwegian Sun did make some effort to allow people to see the night sky.

 

Will be on the Sun again in two months for a South America cruise.

[cruiser karen]

Actually, the SUN made no effort to help people see the southern sky in South America. I was on the same cruise as the poster and my husband discovered this area of the ship that doesn't have lights on his own. As his hobby is astronomy and my husband volunteers at home to point out various things in the sky at special events held by the local park department, he was up at this dark spot every night of the cruise that the sky was clear and volunteered to point out the major items of interest in the sky such as the southern cross to many cruisers who wandered up to that area of the ship. It is unfortunate that someone who works on the ship can't learn a few things about the sky so all cruisers who are interested can have assistance finding items in the southern sky that can't be seen in the northern hemisphere. Other attractions such as birds and glaciers were pointed out to those who were interested by Peter, the naturalist, whom we thought did an excellent job.

[Clay Clayton]

FWIW, during our 'round the horn trip on Sun in 2010 they scheduled a star gazing session one evening BUT unfortunately it was canceled because we didn't have "unseasonably good weather" :mad: When we asked for it to be rescheduled, they said they would try but it never happened.:(

[jingle5616]

It's a shame most of the Cruise lines don't take advantage of their unique opportunity for folks to get a really good look at the stars. I've found that the best line has been Royal. The bow's of the Eagle (Voyager) class ships are open at night and it is very dark up there. Of course it's only good for the direction the ship is headed, but better than nothing. I don't know if they do it any more, but Royals Vision class ships used to dim the lights on the top deck far forward for star gazing.

 

I spent many an evening in the US Navy where there are no lights at night taking in the sky. See the stars in the middle of the ocean with no light pollution is a very nice treat few will know.