“The stars come out in the middle of the day”
Solar eclipse cruises for 2015 are hot, hot, hot, with customers jumping at the chance to see the last solar eclipse in Europe until 2026.
TravelQuest International, for example, has seen "remarkably high interest for something this far in advance from both indivduals and groups, and it’s because it’s a most remarkable celestial event in a unique location," says president Aram Kaprielian. "During a total eclipse of the sun, literally, the stars come out in the middle of the day."
TravelQuest still has space, and is offering net pricing to corporate incentive groups and commissions to travel agents on its 10-night tour, departing from Reykjavik to the Faroe Islands, and 6-night Arctic Eclipse tour from Oslo, both departing March 17.
Other tours already have sold out. Cruise and Maritime Voyages, which will be off the coast of the Faroe Islands with Marco Polo on March 20 to view the eclipse, saw its 2015 itinerary sell out in weeks.
The 11-night Solar Eclipse and Northern Lights Spectacular Cruise, which includes Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, went on sale in January and was sold out by the end of the month.
Also sold out is Eclipse Tours’ Total Solar Eclipse, sailing from Norway on March 15.
Meanwhile, Fred Olsen has launched a 15-night Solar Eclipse Cruise leaving from Southampton on the Boudicca on March 9, 2015, which includes Norwegian ports and the eclipse viewing.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, entirely obscuring the sun and blocking all direct sunlight, turning daylight into complete darkness.
To witness it, you must be inside the narrow Path of Totality—the track of the moon’s umbral shadow across the Earth.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines spokesperson Nathan Philpot said that being at sea will limit any man-made light pollution, "improving guests’ views of the eclipse, and giving them the chance to witness that rarest of phenomena, the Solar Corona, when the moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the sun, and creates a pearly white crown around the sun.
By Cheryl Rosen, Travel Mole US, and Diane Evans, TravelMole UK
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