Virgin Voyages has unveiled its 2026 Solar Eclipse Voyages, featuring two sailings timed to a total solar eclipse with NASA astronauts, astrophysicists and commercial spaceflight figures onboard.
The two adults-only voyages, one aboard Valiant Lady and other on Scarlet Lady, will take different routes – the former in Northern Europe and the latter in the Mediterranean – yet highlight the same extraordinary moment.
Valiant Lady departs 5-20 August on an Iceland & British Isles route, calling at Portsmouth, Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, Belfast, Siglufjordur, Isafjordur, Reykjavik and Edinburgh before returning to Portsmouth.
Scarlet Lady sails 10-22 August from Barcelona to Rome, with stops in Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Cannes, Ajaccio, Tuscany/Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast and Catania.
Onboard programming includes talks with NASA astronauts on life in orbit, and a Q&A with Virgin Galactic astronauts and Will Whitehorn, architect of Virgin’s commercial spaceflight program. A solar physicist will brief guests on totality and safe viewing, and a photography masterclass will cover shooting the corona and diamond ring effect on a phone. Designated watch zones onboard will offer totality viewing in silence, with live music, or with expert narration.
Shore excursions include an observatory visit and cider tasting in Belfast, a cave tour with astronomy storytelling in Mallorca, yoga and a sound bath in Ibiza, and a coastal drive ending in a geothermal soak in Isafjordur.
“We’re selling the two minutes the sky goes dark over the ocean, next to the people who’ve actually been up there,” Virgin Voyages chief brand experience, marketing and momentum officer Nathan Rosenberg said. “You either show up, or you spend the next couple of years explaining why you didn’t.”
The Solar Eclipse Voyages sit within Virgin Voyages’ Marvelous Collection, a portfolio of once-in-a-lifetime sailings.
Travellers can book via virginvoyages.com.
