Planetariums

[wolfie11]

Does anyone have any experience with the new planetariums?  What ships are they on and is it a canned show or do they have someone presenting.

[rebeccac]

I don't know if I would call it a "planetarium", but on our recent Crown Princess cruise, they did have a stargazing event.  It was a combination of pre-recorded show and a bit of live (given by one of the cruise director staff).  Basically, they took us up to deck 17 just behind the Sanctuary.  All the lights in the area were turned off.  However, the night they did it on our cruise, it was a full moon with lots of clouds, so it was not the best stargazing.  

[Aus Traveller]

Princess doesn't  have any planetariums. I know that Cunard to. Princess has stargazing sessions. If you are lucky, there will be an astronomer on board as a guest lecturer. Then you will get a good 'tour of the sky' - weather permitting. If there isn't an astronomer, the cruise director's staff will run a Discovery event. As mentioned, some is pre-recorded. This doesn't allow for the variables - the sky at the time and also if there are clouds. A live presenter knows what will be visible on that night (planets etc) and he/she can work around clouds by coming back later to parts of the sky that were obscured previously.

 

The previous poster mentioned a full moon with lots of clouds - it would not have been worth doing a stargazing session that night.

[wolfie11]

This is the one I mean...

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-welcomes-cruisers-of-all-ages-300713660.html

[rebeccac]

Certainly nothing like that on the Crown Princess.  Maybe on the newer ships????

[rebeccac]

After some searching, it looks like the indoor "planetarium" is a show they do in the theater on some Alaska itineraries.  

[satxdiver]

It looks like they also are offering shore excursions to planetariums.  However I have not seen any ship excursions that include a trip to a planetarium.  

[BarbinMich]

Found this on the Princess site:  https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/caribbean-cruises/onboard/ The page is titled "Immersive Caribbean Experiences Come Aboard."  From that page:  "The indoor "Voyage of the Stars Planetarium" displays real-time images of the solar system and planets. Both indoor and outdoor stargazing includes commentary from Discovery at Sea's Science Channel Ambassador Astrophysicist Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi and Kari Bryon from Mythbusters."  Sounds like something they show in the theater.  It would supplement/enhance what they do on the top deck at night, especially for those who aren't regular star gazers.

[JF - retired RRT]

Just left the Ruby yesterday (7 day Mexican Riviera). There was a "planetarium" set up on the stage in the theater on one of the days at sea. It was basically an enormous tent.

Didn't attend, but it did look interesting...maybe next time.