Antarctic cruise will plunge passengers into darkness during 2021 total solar eclipse

On 4 December 2021, cruise passengers will go from blinding white conditions to a complete blackout. Willingly.

Polar cruise company Poseidon Expeditions is offering a voyage that coincides with a total solar eclipse that will take place in Antarctica. On 20 November 2021, the 114-guest ship M/v Sea Spirit will depart the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia, Argentina, and return there after visiting South Georgia, the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and the Antarctic Peninsula. On day 14 of the 23-day voyage, the captain will navigate the vessel to the small path of totality that’ll be experiencing the total solar eclipse.

“You can see by the map on this Wiki page (by following the small black dot, which represents the exact, perfect pathway to be in for the eclipse) that the location is a very challenging place, not on typical sea lanes, nor a place someone might take their pleasure boat,” says Steve Wellmeier, managing director of Poseidon Expeditions USA, the North American office of Poseidon Expeditions. “Hence the Antarctic expedition ship operators are in a particularly good position (or, they will be!) to take advantage of this event.”

The memorable itinerary will also focus on the complexities of the world’s oceans as the ship moves south through Drake’s Passage and crosses the Antarctic Convergence, a biological ring around the continent where warmer sub-Antarctic waters meet the colder waters that are flowing north.

“Chasing total eclipses…allows curious, science-loving travellers to check off a number of notable destinations or events: being in the relatively narrow, optimal path of a total eclipse of the sun AND exploring the remote and pristine wilderness areas of South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula,” Wellmeier says. “Our 114-passenger Sea Spirit features an entire twelve-member team of wildlife and earth science experts, not to mention the fact that Paul Sutter will be our guest lecturer.” Sutter, an astrophysicist and science educator, will provide insight and background on eclipses and other astronomical features one might encounter in the Southern Ocean and Southern Hemisphere.

The cruise costs $16,556 per person for triple occupancy and $21,866 for double occupancy. For more information and to book, visit their website