Stargazing?

[tbmrt]

I happened to run across something about stargazing activity in  Split.  Does VV have this on all their cruises?

Looks great!

[rebeccac]

I have only been on two VV cruises so far (both from Miami) and it has been on both.  We missed it both times (once because I forgot and once because of a conflict with another activity).  It has been held on the Dock both times.  

[jon81uk]

It’s one of the happenings cast reading myths and legends for half an hour at the dock.

[neverendingcruising]

We have done it several times and find it nice and relaxing l, especially if you get there early so you can lay out on the beds. Location and weather affect the overall experience. On one occasion instead of star gazing we were exhaust gazing due to wind, but would still highly recommend it. 

[tbmrt]

Do you get to see the stars as neverendingcruising mentioned or just reading?  (We'll be on VL from San Juan in Feb.)

[_tacocat_]

35 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

Do you get to see the stars as neverendingcruising mentioned or just reading?  (We'll be on VL from San Juan in Feb.)

the light pollution from the ship is pretty bad - they do turn the lights down at the dock for this event so you can see some stars, but the focus is more on the storytelling aspect vs. a more scientific event with telescopes and astronomy experts.

[CruisingWalter]

21 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

the light pollution from the ship is pretty bad - they do turn the lights down at the dock for this event so you can see some stars, but the focus is more on the storytelling aspect vs. a more scientific event with telescopes and astronomy experts.

 

The event would actually be better up on Deck 16 aft to be away from the lights. Yes they do turn down the lights on the Dock itself, but with so much light spilling from the ship itself, it does cut down on the enjoyment. If they were up on the top deck, and turned down the lighting up there, that would eliminate the light pollution. But The Dock is a lovely area to gather. 

 

We did a stargazing event once on Celebrity I believe and they brought us to an area of the top deck where they turned off all the lights. That was really effective and allowed to see both the stars and the laser pointer's beam. 

[tbmrt]

9 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The event would actually be better up on Deck 16 aft to be away from the lights. Yes they do turn down the lights on the Dock itself, but with so much light spilling from the ship itself, it does cut down on the enjoyment. If they were up on the top deck, and turned down the lighting up there, that would eliminate the light pollution. But The Dock is a lovely area to gather. 

 

We did a stargazing event once on Celebrity I believe and they brought us to an area of the top deck where they turned off all the lights. That was really effective and allowed to see both the stars and the laser pointer's beam. 

I did that one on Celebrity also....Remember it took place in the wee hours of the morning...forgot the reason why.  Some very knowledgable expert did this with the laser and yes, it was amazing.

[jon81uk]

23 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

I did that one on Celebrity also....Remember it took place in the wee hours of the morning...forgot the reason why.  Some very knowledgable expert did this with the laser and yes, it was amazing.

Don’t expect that on VV, the event is not about the stars, it is storytelling really. They don’t have an astronomical expert!

[Cloud9 Bob]

I'm all for a VV upgrade to an expert and laser pointer. They may just spark a new love for someone. I remember going to University of Miami in the late 1970's. Some local born and raised Floridian friends of mine took me out to the edge of the everglades. There was zero light pollution there. I said "funny how there are clouds rolling in, maybe we're in for some bad weather. He laughed and said "those aren't clouds Bob....it's the Milky Way! " 

[aviators99]

Agree with all of the above.  It's not worth missing another activity for this.  And the one time I went, they didn't even turn down the lights.

[periodic itinerant]

We were able to see quite a lot of stars just a few nights ago on Valiant. They turned down a lot of the lights at the Dock, but still had to have the upper deck lighting. The event really only barely mentions the actual location of any constellations, but instead the storytelling is more to create this nice calming atmosphere to let your mind wander a bit as you gaze off into the sky. I enjoyed it and found it really pleasant, but it is just entertainment.