PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Stormtracker 16 Meteorologist Jeremy Lewan will view the upcoming solar eclipse from a cruise off the coast of Mexico. Jeremy boarded this weekend and got to know some of the passengers he is sailing with.
The M.S. Zaandam has room for 1432 passengers, and that's exactly how many passengers are on board. The ship is at full capacity!
The vast majority of the passengers are from the United States: over 80%. The second-most common country of origin is Canada, with 80 passengers onboard. Countries including Germany, Finland, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Singapore are also represented.
People have come from all over the world for this cruise. Jeremy met folks from Tucson, Arizona; Melbourne, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Cherryville, North Carolina; Auckland, New Zealand; Grafton, New Hampshire; Gainesville, Florida; Dublin, Ireland; and more.
Some are seasoned eclipse chasers and have seen several, to up to 14 total solar eclipses. Dr. Rick Fienberg, former editor-in-chief, and former president of Sky & Telescope Magazine has seen that maximum number. "I've seen the corona 12 times, because unfortunately on 2 of my trips, I had clouds, right. So this will be my 15th total solar eclipse," he explained.
Jeremy has seen 2 for the record. Some are excited to see their first ever. Despite the number of eclipses under their belts, those on this cruise are unified by one common desire: to revel under the shadow of the moon.
Eclipses have a profound way of unifying and connecting humans and transcending borders, much like the eclipse path itself.
Of the over 1400 passengers onboard, there are even a few who made the trip all the way from Pennsylvania in addition to Jeremy, including one woman from Levittown, and one from Doylestown.
Elaine Hiller lives just outside of Philadelphia, in Bucks County.
She and Jeremy happened to be in the same exact city—La Serena, Chile—during the 2019 South American eclipse.
Despite her current battle with cancer, Elaine continues to live life to the fullest alongside her family. "So we just said right then right there—you know—whatever state of treatment I'm in, whatever's happening, we're doing this thing," she told Jeremy.
To make the event even more special, both she and her son will celebrate their birthdays on board the cruise. "It's gonna be my son's birthday on the 3rd of April, my birthday on the 4th, and then the eclipse on the 8th. So, we're excited about it," Elaine smiled.
Like many of the passengers, Elaine chose to board the M.S. Zaandam to "max out [their] chances of clear skies." She went on, "So, like I have friends who are going to Rochester and Maine and Indiana and wherever. And I'm like great! I hope you have clear skies! But down here, it seems almost impossible not to."
Elaine is also attending the added science conference, and explained that this was a huge bonus for her: "The conference is amazing! You know, again, like, a lot of people go on a cruise to get their money's worth out of a drink package, or something and that's fun too, but like this morning I heard about exoplanets!"
She confessed, "You hear all these cliché things about eclipses, but it really is a remarkable experience."
In later installments of Jeremy's Journeys, he'll introduce you to some very important passengers, including former NASA astronauts and even the captain of the Zaandam!