Discovery at Sea - Stargazing

I've read with interest Princess' website write-up about their new Discovery at Sea program. I am especially interested in Stargazing at Sea. The small print below says this will be available fleetwide "by" this Summer (i.e., Jun 21), so strictly speaking, it will be available (if not already) on my Emerald Princess sailing next month. Has anybody partaken in it already and if so, what was your impression?

Stargazing At Sea -- Science Channel and Princess Cruises will take you on a cosmic voyage as you look to the skies from our top deck. On this interactive guided tour, our stargazing specialist will teach you how to find your bearings and identify the major constellations, hear the secrets of the stars and the folklore around them. In addition, our onboard libraries will be stocked with supplementary astronomy resources for guests to enjoy and continue their exploration of the night's sky when returning home. Great for all ages.

Debuts on sailings leaving Ft. Lauderdale in Spring 2015. Available fleetwide beginning Summer 2015, excluding Alaska itineraries because of the Midnight Sun. Contingent upon weather and light conditions.

I would say "do it", unless there's a charge. What they're going to show you isn't worth paying for. If you're a "cosmic" fan now, you probably know all of the constellations already...bet you have a telescope at home! I do!

We will be on the Crown in the south Pacific in October/November and are looking forward to the stargazing in the southern hemisphere.

So far then, nobody has an answer to my question (has it been made available/have you done it)? It must be too new.

I did it back in January on the Regal, actually the very first ever one done. It was too windy for me to stay. Also too elementary a level, I have a pretty nice telescope of my own. I think if you don't know any constellations or just want to look at the stars it would be good. If you have a problem with hair tangling I would recommend wearing something over your hair like a tightly tied scarf because it will most probably be windy. That said, I took my binoculars up with me and looked at some stuff up on top and then left. There was a huge participation. They ran it again later in the week.

They didn't offer it while I was on the Royal in March, maybe due to full moon, i'm not sure. I kept meaning to ask the CD when I ran in to her but never quite had the chance as she was always answering someone else's questions and I didn't really want to interrupt.

You will need to be at the meeting place in the patter on time because the viewing place may be in a different area.

There have been comments on a couple of threads.

As I remember the comments, how good it was depended on the interest and training of the cruise director's staff person who hosted the event.

Here is one of those threads

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2171438

Great information. Thanks for taking the time everybody.

I just did this for the first time on the Royal in April and was really excited about it. It was OK, nothing spectacular. The night was not particularly clear so that made it difficult and i was also very disappointed that none of the lights were dimmed to assist with viewing. The cruise director staff did speak alot about the mythology behind the constellations which was quite interesting.

I just did this for the first time on the Royal in April and was really excited about it. It was OK, nothing spectacular. The night was not particularly clear so that made it difficult and i was also very disappointed that none of the lights were dimmed to assist with viewing. The cruise director staff did speak alot about the mythology behind the constellations which was quite interesting.

I appreciate that. I figure it wouldn't be particularly breathtaking, but it just sounded like something different that would expand the variety over and above having another cocktail, piece of pizza, a production show, or casino experience -- er, not that there's anything wrong with any of that. Kudos to Princess for introducing some nature into their voyages.

We tried to participate on the Caribbean Princess in March, but came a little late, missed it and talked to those who were there the whole time. Most of the people said that it was too short, only 15 minutes. Maybe the length of the program has changed, but the staff person in charge said that they're only allowed to turn off all the lights on that deck for 15 minutes, no longer. Also, the staff doing this are not experienced star gazers, they're from the entertainment staff and had some training.

Also, the staff doing this are not experienced star gazers, they're from the entertainment staff and had some training.

Well, as much as I know about the subject, they could probably point to the night-lights of a passing 747 and I'd believe it was a star if they said so. ;) I'm happy enought that it's just going to be a semi-interesting diversion and not a master class.