On August 12, the moon’s shadow will sweep across parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and the North Atlantic, briefly turning day into night during the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999. For travelers hoping to see it, one of the best vantage points may be at sea.
Cruise ships have a particular advantage when it comes to eclipse chasing: they can position themselves directly in the path of totality and, depending on conditions, may have some flexibility to adjust their location in search of clearer skies. That has made cruising an increasingly popular way to plan a trip around an eclipse—and this year, dozens of ships will be sailing across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean with the August 12 event built into their itineraries.
Many are bringing eclipse photographers, astronomers, astrophysicists, and other experts aboard to help passengers understand what they’re seeing. But a handful are taking the programming a step further, with former NASA astronauts and other space experts joining the voyage.
Here are the (still bookable, at time of publication) 2026 eclipse cruises where travelers can watch totality alongside astronauts and other space travel experts.
Aurora Expeditions’ Greg Mortimer: Greenland Solar Eclipse Cruise
Former NASA astronaut Dr. Sandra Magnus will head to Greenland with Aurora Expeditions for its 15-day Jewels of the Arctic: Greenland Solar Eclipse expedition. An engineer by training, Magnus flew three missions to space during her NASA career, including a four-and-a-half-month stint aboard the International Space Station in 2008 and 2009.
Magnus joins the August 2 departure as a special guest, bringing firsthand experience of spaceflight to an expedition built around viewing the August 12 eclipse in the Arctic. The journey begins in Oslo, with a charter flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard, where passengers board Greg Mortimer before sailing south to East Greenland and eventually Reykjavík. On eclipse day, the ship is scheduled to be along Greenland’s east coast, within the path of totality.
The rest of the voyage makes the most of its High Arctic setting, with shore excursions, guided hikes, Zodiac outings, and optional sea kayaking among the activities.
Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity: Amsterdam To Lisbon Solar Eclipse Cruise
The headliner on Crystal Serenity’s 2026 eclipse sailing is Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, a former NASA astronaut who flew on five Space Shuttle missions between 1985 and 1996 and logged more than 1,200 hours in space. Among them was the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, when Hoffman performed three spacewalks as part of the crew repaired and upgraded the telescope, restoring the clarity of its images.
Hoffman will join Crystal’s 11-night sailing from Amsterdam to Lisbon, departing August 3, with the itinerary timed to put Serenity at sea, off the northwest coast of Spain, for the August 12 eclipse. He’ll be joined by Dr. Michael Atalay, a physician-scientist and longtime eclipse chaser, and Lori Bremner, an eclipse expert who has traveled around the world to witness total solar eclipses. Together, the trio will lead talks and programming ahead of the event, helping passengers understand the science behind what they’ll see during totality.
The sailing also visits destinations in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Portugal, including stops in Honfleur, Saint-Malo, and Porto, before arriving in Lisbon on August 14. For travelers who want to extend the trip, Crystal also offers the eclipse voyage as part of a longer 18-night itinerary continuing to Barcelona.
PONANT’s Le Lyrial: Svalbard to Iceland Solar Eclipse Cruise
PONANT’s 13-night eclipse expedition aboard Le Lyrial will have not one but two astronauts on board: Claudie Haigneré and Jean-Pierre Haigneré, the French husband-and-wife duo who collectively spent months in space. Claudie Haigneré became the first French woman in space in 1996, when she flew to the Mir space station on the Franco-Russian Cassiopée mission; she returned to orbit in 2001 for a mission to the International Space Station. Jean-Pierre Haigneré flew two missions to Mir, including a roughly six-month stay in 1999 that included a spacewalk, and logged more than 200 days in space over the course of his career.
The pair will join passengers for PONANT’s Total Solar Eclipse in the Far North, which departs Longyearbyen, Svalbard, on August 1 and arrives in Reykjavík on August 14. The expedition heads from Spitsbergen toward Jan Mayen and Greenland’s east coast, including Scoresby Sund, before continuing to Iceland. On August 12, Le Lyrial will be positioned in the path of totality between Greenland and Iceland, where the Haignerés will join passengers for the eclipse.
Outside the celestial event, this is very much a polar expedition, with Zodiac outings and opportunities to spot polar bears, Arctic foxes, Svalbard reindeer, whales, and seabirds along the way.
Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady: Iceland & British Isles Solar Eclipse Cruise
Virgin Voyages is bringing two veteran NASA astronauts aboard Valiant Lady for its 15-night eclipse sailing through the British Isles and Iceland. Pamela Melroy flew three Space Shuttle missions, including STS-120 as commander—making her one of only two women to command a Space Shuttle mission—and later served as NASA’s deputy administrator. She’ll be joined by Tony Antonelli, a former NASA Space Shuttle pilot who flew aboard Discovery on STS-119 and Atlantis on STS-132. Solar physicist and author Dr. Ryan French rounds out the ship’s eclipse-focused lineup. The three will take part in programming around the August 12 event, including talks about spaceflight and solar science, Q&As, and expert-led eclipse viewing.
Valiant Lady departs Portsmouth on August 5 and calls in Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Iceland before returning August 20. The ship will be positioned in the path of totality (somewhere off Iceland’s west coast) on August 12.
Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady: Barcelona To Rome Solar Eclipse Cruise
Scarlet Lady’s eclipse sailing takes a different approach, assembling a group whose experience stretches from astrophysics to the relatively new world of commercial human spaceflight. Among them is Sirisha Bandla, who flew aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 mission in 2021, becoming the second Indian-born woman to travel to space. She’ll be joined by Dylan Taylor, who flew to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard in 2021, and Ron Rosano, a spaceflight educator who traveled aboard Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 mission in 2023.
Also aboard will be astrophysicist and science communicator Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi and Will Whitehorn, the former president of Virgin Galactic. Together, the group will lead space- and eclipse-focused programming around the August 12 event, giving passengers perspectives not just on the science of an eclipse, but on what it’s actually like to leave Earth.
The 12-night voyage departs Barcelona on August 10 and continues through the western Mediterranean, calling in Mallorca, Ibiza, Cannes, Corsica, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and Sicily before arriving in Rome on August 22. Scarlet Lady will be positioned around the Balearic Islands in Spain for totality on August 12.
