P&O PORTSMOUTH is offering the opportunity to watch the eclipse on its largest ferry, Pride of Bilbao, after its two other eclipse sailings sold out.
The company has no space left on Pride of Portsmouth or Pride of Cherbourg, which are operating trips between Portsmouth and Le Havre or Cherbourg respectively on August 11.
“Those sailings proved so popular that we thought it made sense to have Pride of Bilbao make a slight detour on that day too,” said a company spokesman.
The ferry, which has a capacity of 2,100 passengers, will depart on a three-day mini-cruise to Bilbao in Spain on the evening of August 10. It will position itself in the path of the eclipse, which takes place between 11.15am and 11.20am on August 11.
The trip, which includes a 4hr stop in Bilbao, costs from £105 return.
The P&O spokesman said the company was expecting this sailing to sell out too.
“The eclipse is one of those things that sells itself, because it’s a once in a lifetime experience,” he said.
An eclipse will not be seen in the UK again until 2090.
n P&O Portsmouth is opening a shop selling duty-paid goods in Cherbourg at the end of August.
LUXURY cruiseline Silversea still has availability on two pre-millennium cruises to Australia and the South Pacific.
The cruiseline is offering a 15-day voyage on Silver Wind from Singapore to the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns in Australia, departing on December 7.
Silver Cloud will depart Los Angeles on December 6 for a 16-day sailing, with stops at Hawaii, Christmas Island and Papeete in French Polynesia,
A Silversea spokesman said flights to Australia for the millennium were now hard to find, but taking a cruise there would overcome late-booking problems.
Prices for both cruises start at £5,711 per person if they are booked and paid for before September 8 1999.