Wouldn't it be cool if Viking put together an eclipse cruise for 2026?

[JDincalif]

25 minutes ago, May B said:

Let’s see if there’s a roll call thread!

Thanks for starting it! ☺️ 

[OnTheJourney]

You can all be glad I started this thread! Go and enjoy. Dates just don't work for me for a number of reasons. No point trying to convince myself they would.

8 hours ago, wine-wine-wine said:

But it’s in August! 🥵

Yep...that's my problem.  Please keep in mind some of what is said here, especially in the beginning section. https://eclipsophile.com/tse2026/

Mallorca sounds like the better bet. Luck of the draw either location.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[Frisky070802]

4 hours ago, babs711 said:

Viking’s ocean cruise starting in New York on August 3, 2026 going to Canada, Greenland, 

and Iceland is in Isafjordur on August 12. In the path of totality…

We actually put a hold on this on Monday as we were thinking what we'd missed this time around.  However, a friend pointed out that the cloud cover in Iceland that time of year is especially high, so it seems like it could detract.  Plus, there's the chance they aren't actually in the right place at the right time.  So we're thinking Spain (even if it's not a cruise).  

 

(I see that as I was composing this, @OnTheJourney pointed at the info about the cloud issue, even better.)  

Edited April 12 by Frisky070802
added reference to other post.

[OnTheJourney]

2 minutes ago, Frisky070802 said:

So we're thinking Spain (even if it's not a cruise).  

 

Hate to be a party-pooper, but I don't think I'd hedge too many bets on good visibility in Iceland. All the other cruises I came across - that are especially eclipse oriented - are banking on Spain.

[Frisky070802]

Just now, OnTheJourney said:

Hate to be a party-pooper, but I don't think I'd hedge too many bets on good visibility in Iceland. All the other cruises I came across - that are especially eclipse oriented - are banking on Spain.

I wasn't really finding much in the way of cruises that-a-way.  What were you finding?   But yes, Iceland was a brief thought, nothing more.  

[OnTheJourney]

4 minutes ago, Frisky070802 said:

I wasn't really finding much in the way of cruises that-a-way. 

My apologies! I see the ones I came across at the start of the thread are all Iceland / Greenland. Maybe they know something we don't (?)  I don't know. I got sort of snookered just traveling 300 hundred miles only to have totally overcast skies this past Monday (although still an amazing experience at 99.5% magnitude and right outside the totality path). Not sure I want to invest the money, time and especially the hassles I'd need to go through to have someone manage my property during the hottest part of the year and wind up possibly (again!) getting denied a viewing experience. But, hey, even WITHOUT the eclipse it looks like a great cruise, and one I've admittedly considered to use my vouchers from the Mississippi cruise...if it wasn't in August. I can't see doing it without an extension at the end, having never been in Reykjavik, but that'd complicate things even moreso for me with being away a few extra days. It's just not a good fit overall.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[Frisky070802]

I was thinking the same to some extent, that even if the eclipse didn't work out, it should be a great cruise.  But then I thought, if we can do something with a much better chance of seeing the full eclipse, we should.  That might just mean staying on land 🙂.  

[OnTheJourney]

13 minutes ago, Frisky070802 said:

So we're thinking Spain (even if it's not a cruise).  

That'd be my pick. Here's one:  https://www.eclipsetours.com/tour/eclipse-tour-55-total-solar-eclipse-spain/

Eclipse day is in Burgos. What I don't like about this guy's programs is the amount of nonrefundable money invested up front. I'd advise a good CFAR travel policy.

[OnTheJourney]

4 minutes ago, Frisky070802 said:

was thinking the same to some extent, that even if the eclipse didn't work out, it should be a great cruise.

For sure..

 

4 minutes ago, Frisky070802 said:

if we can do something with a much better chance of seeing the full eclipse, we should.  That might just mean staying on land 🙂.  

I tend to believe it based on everything I've been reading. I was really quite taken with the idea of this cruise, and actually still am - if for no other reason than having never been to any of the places that it's going - but logistically, for several reasons, it presents some difficulties. Fall or early spring, different story. Good luck!

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[Goosebear Mum]

Exactly, I would never go to Iceland for a full solar Eclipse, that I may never have another chance to see near the UK.  The risk of cloud would be far too high. This is why I’m surprised Viking doesn’t have a cruise in the southern track of the Eclipse (e.g. Portugal/ Med)  All the med cruises are not within the 100% track 

[May B]

I feel like we’ll have a 25% chance of a clear view of totality. All the stops will be new to us, so it really floats my boat, to have this booked.

 

We just drive 900 miles to Little Rock and 900 miles home again, and we’re rewarded by clear skies and a gorgeous venue. We might be lucky again, in 2026. Or we both might be six feet under by then. Time will tell.

 

And a big fat YES to you, @OnTheJourney , for starting this thread!

 

And btw, after I drove 900 miles to reach totality, how silly was I, not to understand what @babs711 meant.

Edited April 12 by May B

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, Goosebear Mum said:

Exactly, I would never go to Iceland for a full solar Eclipse

...based on your experience or otherwise knowledge of the general weather patterns there during summer? Just curious.

 

I got several replies on trip advisor relative to a question I asked about doing this:

 

1)Go on the cruise because you want to do that. Don’t go solely to see the eclipse as there wil be a strong chance it will be cloudy. No one can second guess what the weather may be. Iceland sits in the North Atlantic just below the Arctic Circle. It’s a maritime climate which is not stable.

Cruises are not ideal way to see Iceland. There is little infrastructure in small ports to support passengers. IMHO they are a rip off.Go to Iceland by land to see this amazing country & manage expectations regards the eclipse.

 

2) Do *not* book a cruise to try and watch an eclipse. You lose the ability to chase the clear weather. This past eclipse, a lot of people went to Niagara Falls, paid exorbitant costs for hotel rooms, and were disappointed by cloudy skies. However, if you could drive out of Niagara Falls, there were beautiful views only about an hour away (where we were). Cruises aren't the best way to view Iceland anyway. You're much better off driving.

 

For what it's worth anyway. I replied that I had read the exact opposite relative to chasing eclipses via cruise - that the ship (unlike on land) can maneuver to places for better viewing, which would make sense, but then I have no experience with such. I know a Princess ship got great views of the recent eclipse during a Mexican Riviera cruise. Point well taken though, especially confirming the weather issues. The one person who replied lives in the UK.

 

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, Goosebear Mum said:

This is why I’m surprised Viking doesn’t have a cruise in the southern track of the Eclipse (e.g. Portugal/ Med)  All the med cruises are not within the 100% track 

Maybe they will yet. Call 'em up.

 

That was actually my original intention in starting the thread, thinking more along the lines of something in the Med for viewing in Spain.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

19 minutes ago, May B said:

And btw, after I drove 900 miles to reach totality,

That's the way to do it - really drive to wherever the weather sounds the best. I didn't have the time nor the inclination to invest that much in it, and actually hadn't thought much about the eclipse until just a few weeks ago. Too many other things happened between Christmastime and over the winter that needed full attention. Then, however, when my daughter started talking about her driving from CA to AR to see it, that got me thinking that I should make at least some sort of marginal attempt. We did, I and feel it was a worthy one with it being only 300 miles to a location either right outside or else right inside the path. We got what we got. I'll always remember it. The best way was to remain flexible with the travel plans. I saw people interviewed on the news who live in FL and decided, almost on the spur of the moment, to drive to ME since it started to look like (and turned out to be) some of the best weather in the east.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

Latest response to my inquiry on Trip Advisor - this first one from a destination expert in Iceland: 

 

"I cannot imagine trying to see anything from Isafjordur. When we were there last summer, our kayaking guide said flights in/out of there are cancelled all the time due to weather. So for this summer, I made sure to have several days buffer for the trip for this reason alone, to give you an idea. I agree with the others that a cruise for Iceland is the worst way to see the country."

 

And the other one....

 

"When the onland tour companies take people out to chase the Northern Lights, they are in contact with each other and can fairly get to a new location. For the eclipse, I am sure that they will have the latest sky conditions when they leave Reykjavik and know if there are clear areas. I simply do not believe that a huge cruise ship can move faster than a vehicle."

 

So, my final word on it (from where I sit anyway), if I wanted to do this just for the cruise - which is surely attractive - I'd go (and might if it wasn't in summer), but I've ruled it out as an eclipse chase. The idea was exciting for awhile at least. That said, there's always a chance. Mother Nature ultimately rules.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[JDincalif]

14 hours ago, babs711 said:

Great to know the departure time,

Just wondering how wide the path of totality is.  Thinking we could sail out of it and not get the 100% view.

 

According to this table the path of totality around Isafjordur will be roughly 300km/186 miles wide.

 

[OnTheJourney]

25 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

According to this table the path of totality around Isafjordur will be roughly 300km/186 miles wide.

 

Interesting. The recent one was 115 wide. 186 is a large area for sure. Well, with any luck. A longer-range trip to look forward to and get excited about anyway. Always seems, when first booking a few years out, that it's so far away, and then as it approaches I always find I'm not quite ready for it.

Edited April 12 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

Another reply on Trip Advisor: 

 

"A cruise ship will be fairly constrained by its port schedule, and it can't, on a whim, just sail from the Westfjords to, say, the Reykjanes peninsula on short notice. Where we were -- in Hamilton, Ontario, people hopped in their cars and drove to where the radar predicted the clearest skies."