Future eclipse trips are linked to my home page.

The Great American Eclipse of August 2017!

Results from the spectacular March 29, 2006 Mediterranean Eclipse Adventure     (click here for 2009 China trip!)

    According to your responses (see below) this was one of the most popular eclipse trips ever! The same for our children's program....

Thank you to Nick King for letting me post his photo taken from land.

Thank you to the hundreds of you who turned in or mailed in your evaluation forms. Here's what you said:

Astronomy Program Rating

 

Excellent  (5)

50%

Very Good  (4)

35%

Good  (3)

8%

Average (2)

1%

Poor (1)

2%

Other*

4%

Average  

4.4

*several people wrote in "outstanding"

 

or "better than excellent." These were

 

scored (6)

 

 

Costa Rating

 

Excellent  (5)

12%

Very Good  (4)

39%

Good  (3)

26%

Average (2)

20%

Poor (1)

4%

Average

3.35

 

Children's Program

 

Ecstatic

32%

Happy

54%

Content

14%

Disappointed

0%

There were many helpful comments. Almost all of you loved the eclipse and loved the speakers, and hated the forced shopping, lines, long bus trips, and shortness of shore time.  Unfortunately ships travel slowly, so cruise companies usually cut the on-shore experiences shorter than we'd like.  Carpet merchants and camel drivers came in for some sharp comments.  Those who haven't read Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad may now particularly relish his descriptions of scams people tried to perpetuate on him as an American tourist a hundred years ago.

Six people felt the talks were too complex. One person wanted "more advanced lectures" offered. All others who commented said the talks were "just the right level."

Many of you did not know that a great percentage of Zelda/Miami Cruise Shoppe's work was negotiating with Costa, not just working with you. It took two years for us to get a contract that specified all the eclipse details we felt were needed. That contract, which had specific guarantees concerning eclipse viewing, a gift of California cabernet and eclipse shirts on the first day, and Captain Muratore's genuine interest are what resulted in him steaming into the clear just before totality.

Some cruisers are not aware that Costa is a medium-priced cruise company. There are better ones out there, but they usually cost more. In any case we chose Costa because they were the only large company willing to guarantee the eclipse-related details we wanted.

An interesting comment was to have a session for American's who haven't visited 2nd or 3rd world countries to reduce the culture shock they experience on their first shore excursion.

My other favorite comments: "Put a Tito at every dinner table," and "What did you like best? "The total eclipse and Italian girls."

Here's a link to the onboard program (.pdf format).

Thanks for a great experience. - Doug Duncan

Some of our group photos (click): Colorado,  ArizonaIowa.

Links to participants photos:

(to be added)

    

Click for

The whales and dolphins you see in the video all surfaced just before the total eclipse! Animals almost always react to a total eclipse in amazing ways.