CRUISE SHIPS HEADING TO ICELAND FOR THE 2026 SOLAR ECLIPSE: IF CLOUDS ARRIVE, THEY CAN CHANGE COURSE
- Roman Pech
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While thousands of people will be searching for the best viewing spot in Iceland on August 12, 2026, and drivers will be trying to navigate the expected traffic jams, thirteen cruise and expedition ships will have one major advantage. If clouds appear over their planned viewing location, they can change position and search for clearer skies at sea.
The total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will bring not only tens of thousands of visitors to Iceland on land. According to the official Icelandic project dedicated to the eclipse, 13 cruise and expedition ships are also expected in the surrounding waters, with itineraries planned so their passengers can watch totality. Some will observe the eclipse directly off Iceland, while others will head through the Denmark Strait toward Greenland.
The advantage people on the roads don't have
For eclipse chasers, August 12 will above all be a race against the weather. On land, the difference between a perfect experience and disappointment could come down to just a few kilometers – all it takes is a layer of low cloud moving over the viewing location.
A ship has a major advantage in this respect. It does not have to remain where it originally planned to watch the eclipse. Cruise ships chasing the eclipse can change course according to the weather. According to the Icelandic project, some of the ships may adjust their position at the last minute and search for clearer skies. While a driver may be stuck in a traffic jam waiting for the road to clear, a ship can simply change course.
Weather could be one of the biggest risks to eclipse viewing in Iceland. August is one of the more favorable months of the year, but Icelandic weather is highly changeable, and cloud cover can vary significantly from one part of the island to another.
Thirteen ships, thirteen different strategies
The ships will not all remain in the same location. Quite the opposite. Their planned positions are spread from western Iceland to the waters between Iceland and Greenland.
Among the ships heading out for the eclipse is Le Lyrial, whose planned position is off Ísafjörður, and Queen Mary 2, which is scheduled to watch the eclipse from the Reykjavík area.
Le Lapérouse is expected to be west of Heimaey during totality.
Other expedition ships will head even farther north and west. World Navigator is scheduled to observe the eclipse at sea west of Patreksfjörður, while National Geographic Explorer will be in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland.
Several other ships will already be off the coast of Greenland during totality. MS Spitsbergen, Sylvia Earle, Ocean Albatros, National Geographic Endurance, M/V Hondius, Ultramarine, Greg Mortimer and Sea Spirit have planned positions in different parts of eastern and northeastern Greenland.
Where will the ships be during the eclipse?
Ship | Planned location during totality |
Le Lyrial | Ísafjörður |
Queen Mary 2 | Reykjavík |
Le Lapérouse | West of Heimaey |
MS Spitsbergen | Scoresbysund, Greenland |
Sylvia Earle | Scoresbysund, Greenland |
Ocean Albatros | Eastern Greenland |
World Navigator | West of Patreksfjörður |
National Geographic Explorer | Denmark Strait |
National Geographic Endurance | Scoresbysund, Greenland |
M/V Hondius | Scoresbysund, Greenland |
Ultramarine | King Oscar Fjord, Greenland |
Greg Mortimer | Scoresbysund, Greenland |
Sea Spirit | Eastern Greenland |
The data come from the Icelandic Sólmyrkvi 2026 project. These are planned positions, not a guarantee of where the ships will actually be at the moment of totality. Their routes may change depending on conditions.
Some of the cruises cost as much as a luxury holiday
Watching the eclipse from the deck of a ship is not a cheap alternative to traveling by car.
The Icelandic overview, for example, lists prices starting at £2,349 for a Queen Mary 2 cruise, £6,380 for Le Lapérouse and £12,940 for Le Lyrial. Expedition cruises to Greenland are even more expensive – National Geographic Explorer, for example, is listed at $26,522, while Greg Mortimer starts at $28,495.
For passengers, however, the trip is about more than the eclipse itself. Some cruises last two weeks or longer and combine Iceland with Greenland, Svalbard or the North Atlantic.
For example, National Geographic Explorer departs from Reykjavík and continues via Greenland toward the coast of Labrador. National Geographic Endurance is scheduled to visit both Iceland and northeastern Greenland, while Ultramarine connects Reykjavík with the fjords of Greenland.
At sea, every minute of totality counts
Why is the position so important?
The path of totality is not equally wide everywhere, and the duration of totality varies depending on the location. Passengers on these ships therefore do not simply want to see the eclipse. They want to reach a location where the Moon will cover the Sun for as long as possible while also offering good viewing conditions.
And this is where a unique race begins – one that barely exists on land.
In Iceland, people will search for the best spot by road. At sea, they can search for it by changing course.
If meteorologists determine shortly before the eclipse that the planned position will be cloudy, a ship may be able to move into an area with more favorable conditions. This approach is particularly interesting for expedition cruises, whose itineraries are designed from the outset with eclipse viewing in mind.
And then there is another advantage: no parking lot
On land, cloud cover will not be the only problem on August 12. Iceland is also preparing for an extraordinary surge in traffic. People will be moving in search of clearer skies, looking for suitable places to park, while some roads and areas will operate under special traffic regulations.
Ships do not have to deal with this problem.
Their passengers do not need to set out from Reykjavík in the morning and hope they can make it across western Iceland. They can simply stay on board and watch as their ship gradually moves toward the location expected to offer the best combination of totality duration and weather.
And that is why a different kind of race will be taking place around Iceland on August 12, 2026.
On the roads, people will be racing against time. At sea, they will be racing the clouds.
13 ships, thousands of passengers and one eclipse
The total solar eclipse will bring thousands of people to Iceland, where they will gather on beaches, roads, fields and viewpoints across western Iceland. Other observers, however, will be tens or even hundreds of kilometers offshore at that very same moment.
Thirteen ships will create their own network of mobile viewing stations around Iceland. And if the weather cooperates, their passengers will have one very practical advantage:
when clouds appear where they are, they can try sailing to where they aren't.
That is a luxury that someone parked beside an Icelandic road on August 12 will not have.
Source: Sólmyrkvi.is
About the Author
Iceland has fascinated me for many years. Over the course of numerous journeys across the island, I have driven tens of thousands of kilometers, experienced storms that changed travel plans within minutes, and witnessed days when choosing the right route meant discovering places that most visitors never see. I documented many of these experiences in my documentary film Island in the North.
Through this website, I share practical travel advice, up-to-date information, and firsthand experiences from the field to help others explore Iceland more safely and gain a deeper understanding of its unique landscapes and ever-changing nature.
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