Planning vacation for me always involves looking at the bortle scale for the location I will be visiting. I love to travel with my scope. I know skies are so dark over the water, but could you observe on a boat?
Ship movement and light pollution produced by the boat make using a telescope on a boat impossible. Astrophotography with a long exposure is impossible while on a boat because of the lack of stability. Consider bringing a great pair of binoculars and a sky map to observe. Find the darkest place on the boat and enjoy the views.
All the astronomers I talked to who had tried this advised against it. They almost all recommend against trying to bring a telescope aboard a boat. There is a possibility that you could improve conditions with the right filter.
I did see one beautiful image that someone took with their professional camera of the Milky Way. It was beautiful, but it was a short exposure in a gorgeous dark sky.
There are several factors that make stargazing with a telescope at sea a bad idea:
Light Pollution
Even with very dark skies over the ocean, passenger boats are highly illuminated for safety.
If you are going on any type of cruise ship or river cruise, you can bet there will be too much light to see very far into the sky.
These lights are there to keep people from falling off the boat.
Movement of the Boat
Imaging or astrophotography is out on a boat, these images take seconds to minutes to capture, and there is almost no chance that the boat will be perfectly still for that amount of time.
Even if you are on a very large, stable cruise ship the movement will be amplified when you are trying to observe distant objects.
If you keep the magnification to amounts under 20x, you will be happier with your seeing.
Weather
All astronomers are amature meterologists. You find yourself very interested in the weather. If you rely on any apps or other internet connected help, you will have to pay for the ship wifi.
Every cruise ship has its own package for wifi connection, and they vary in cost. Do some research if you depend on wifi as part of your observing set up.
Smaller rigs are unlikely to have wifi available. Consider bringing a star chart if you are set on observing.
Consider the sky in your new location, it will be very different.
There will also be significant wind from the movement of the boat.
Transporting the Telescope
My telescope is a big job to transport.
Consider how you will transport and store your telescope while at sea. I would not recommend anything that you cannot carry on your own, without a cart. I also recommend a hard sided case for your eyepieces. I have a set up that I love, you can see the pictures of my case in this post.
Can I take a telescope on a cruise?
There are no regulations that prohibit you from taking a telescope on a cruise, however the movement of the boat, light pollution from the ship and unpredictable weather make it unlikely to be a good night of viewing. Transporting a telescope onto and around a cruise ship may also be challenging.
There are no rules about taking a telescope on a cruise ship. You can bring it.
Should you bring it?
You will likely spend more time looking at the scope than looking through it.
The movement of the boat would mean almost constant adjustments to the scope and your eyepieces.
Doesn’t sound like a vacation to me.
All the astronomers I talked to advise against it.
They do recommend bringing a pair of good quality binoculars and to spend time on the darkest part of the ship admiring the heavens. Don’t miss it because you don’t have your scope.
The biggest issue your will have with a telescope is the movement of the boat which will make viewing distant things very difficult, but with handheld binoculars you may feel more steady while observing.
Orion’s UltraView 10×50 are a good compromise as they are not too heavy but still give great views.
If you chose to bring a telescope on a cruise, use a mount that is easy to move, an alt-az is a good idea to pan and track simply.
I love my Dobsonian telescope, but moving it by hand is too difficult on foot. A lightweight refractor may be simple to use and simple to set up.
Consider booking a balcony cabin to have the best chance of a view without a bright light.
Do not forget that ships travel pretty fast, the wind could make it uncomfortable conditions for viewing.
The movement of the boat, traveling and listing, make it very hard to get a clear view.
How can I stargaze on a boat?
Bring a pair of binoculars, and perhaps a paper star chart. Enjoy visual observing in the darkest location on the ship.
I recommend this pair of binoculars, I have enjoyed a few early mornings laying on the top of my car. The simplicity of visual observing through a pair of quality binoculars is a treat for any astrono
Do not forget that just looking at the stars under a very dark sky is a great way to observe as well. Make sure you have followed all the best practices to get your eyes dark adapted.
If you are looking to capture images, you will be limited to short exposure times as the movement of the boat will make long exposures prone to coma.
