"... and at night they were to dance in the open air, on the upper deck, in the midst of a ballroom that stretched from horizon to horizon, and was domed by the bending heavens and lighted by no meaner lamps than the stars and the magnificent moon — dance and promenade, and smoke, and sing, and make love, and search the skies for constellations that never associate with the Big Dipper ..." — Mark Twain, in The Innocents Abroad (1867), writing about his experience aboard Quaker City on what is considered historically to be the first American-origin commercial voyage to qualify as a "pleasure cruise"2007-2009 AstroCruises (TM) No astronomy training or experience is necessary. All cruises include daytime astronomy lectures and also schedule evening "naked-eye" shipboard stargazing sessions. They all take place on regularly scheduled cruises (not charters) and so have all the regular cruise ship activites and amenities — the perfect entertaining and educational vacation, and a great compromise solution if everyone traveling with you isn't an astronomy fan!
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* NOTE THAT all fares are per person, double occupancy ("ppdo"), and that gratuities, taxes and government fees (including port charges) are sometimes but not always included in published fares (and sometimes the country of disembarkation charges a separate departure tax which may or may not be included in your air fare). Airline flights and transfers are usually not included, and travel insurance is optional but always recommended. Passport and visas, if required, are the responsibility of passenger. Fares, fees, itineraries and programs are accurate as of last update but are subject to change without notice. Contact us directly for details and for the current best AstroCruises (TM) discounts, deals and value-added bonuses.
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Atlantic Dark Sky Cruise October 28-November 9, 2007 Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2, Canary Islands Splendour Sail from Southampton (England) Sunday, October 28 Itinerary: Funchal, Madeira; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arracife (Lanzarote) and Las Palmas (Grand Canaria), Canary Islands; Malaga, Spain; Gibraltar; Lisbon, Portugal; four sea days Arrive in Southampton Friday, November 9 Dark Sky cruise to see naked-eye celestial sights unseen in the U. K. and mainland Europe (four sea days). New moon November 9. Contact us for current best AstroCruises (TM) deal. |
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Middle East New Moon Cruise November 25-December 22, 2007 Oceania Nautica, Odyssey To Asia Sail from Rome (Civitavecchia, Italy) Sunday, November 25 Itinerary: Messina, Sicily; Cairo (Port Said) and Luxor (Safaga), Egypt; Suez Canal Transit; Salalah and Muscat, Oman; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Bombay and Cochin, India; Phuket, Thailand; fourteen sea days Arrive in Singapore Monday, December 10 Tropical cruises see naked-eye celestial sights unseen in the mainland U. S. and Europe — constellations and stars on the southern horizon, including Alpha Centauri (our solar system's nearest neighboring star) and Southern Cross. Dry, dark skies of Middle East may allow viewing zodiacal light and gegenschein. Astronomer is aboard November 25-December 10 (seven sea days). New moon December 9. Contact us for current best AstroCruises (TM) deal. |
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Far East Full Moon Cruise February 29-March 24, 2008 Oceania Nautica, Oriental Rendezvous Sail from Bangkok (Laem Chabang, Thailand) Friday, February 29 Itinerary: Ko Samui, Thailand; Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang, and Hanoi (Ha Long Bay), Vietnam; Keelung, Taiwan; Kagoshima and Nagasaki, Japan; Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; Seoul (Inchon), Korea; eight sea days Arrive in Beijing (Tianjin, China) Monday, March 24 Tropical cruises see naked-eye celestial sights unseen in the mainland U. S. and Europe — constellations and stars on the southern horizon, including Alpha Centauri (our solar system's nearest neighboring star) and Southern Cross. Astronomer is aboard March 11-24 (five sea days) and will talk about "Ancient Chinese Astronomy." New moon March 8; full moon March 22. Contact us for current best AstroCruises (TM) deal. |
Each year we seek to offer a wide variety of cruise styles (luxury, premium, family and adventure), lengths (generally 7 to 14 days), ship sizes (44 to 3600 passengers) and costs (money-is-no-object to bargain, sometimes starting at less than $100/day* ppdo). The following is a list of upcoming celestial events and potential AstroCruises (TM) destinations.
Periodic Events
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