This past Monday was some kind of special. My dear friend and fellow blogger Chris and his family flew in to South Bend and stayed at my place over the weekend. Since it was his first visit to my home town we took some time looking around our the area including a visit to the University of Notre Dame as well as brunch at the famed Studebaker Mansion that is now Tippecanoe Place restaurant.
But on Monday we drove down to Indianapolis and visited the INDY 500 motor speedway as Purdue University had arranged for the location to become a mass viewing space and it was a blast I have to say.
This was not my first total solar eclipse as I had used points back in 2017 to fly to Charleston, SC to view that one and, while it looked like it was going to be a bust, the weather cleared where we were and it turned into such a fun event.
But now that I have seen two of these on land I want to up my game for the one coming up in 2026. No, I do not want to get on a Delta jet and fly and “try” to see another one but I want to do what comes naturally for a Frequent Floater and that is see it from onboard a cruise ship (they can after all steer around if they need to move for a better view)! So at this point in time what are some of my choices?
- A cruse line you may or many not have heard about Albatros Expeditions has one already lined up for you and while it does look interesting it may not be for me.
- Another one that does intrigue me a bit is the offering from Cunard Line. I have never sailed with them and this could be a great combo to both try the line out and have an amazing experience.
- But the one I would really like to try, after my simply delightful free cruise recently, is to sail with Holland America for the 2026 event. Notice what Yahoo.com has published regarding what they will have to offer (hopefully soon for sale):
Holland America Line is also planning multiple sailings around the event, though details are still to be announced. “Guests have reacted positively to our 2024 eclipse cruises and with the next full eclipse in 2026 we plan to have three sailings in Europe that will align with the path of the eclipse,” Paul Grigsby, the line’s Vice President of Deployment & Itinerary – Yahoo.com
To have three different itineraries to pick from makes this a VERY attractive option as well as all the other things Holland America does so well. Hopefully they have ships with “The Retreat” onboard so I can book that as well as the cruise itself to up the adventure just that much more!
August is such a great time of the year to visit Scandinavia so that type of itinerary would rock as well as a Mediterranean one that perhaps docked in Palma. I have visited Mallorca, Spain a number of times and it is a lovely spot and that location is the start path for the 2026 event.
Either way I am stoked about the possibility of my third “once in a lifetime” celestial event and can not stop smiling about the possibility of the next one on a cruise ship including all the lectures and other bits I am sure the lines will include as part of the featured event of the cruise. Now I just need to get to work on building up my Chase Ultimate Rewards® points balance to a comfortable size again to be able to pay for the adventure without impacting my budget! 🙂
What about you? Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse before? Have you ever seen one from a cruise ship? Are you also thinking about booking the 2026 event like me? Let us all know! – René
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