UA alumni trips blend adventure and education

The anxiety was palpable this spring as totality drew near. The more assertive commandeered choice spots by the railings, but any place on the open deck afforded a good view. While uniformed waiters served cappuccinos, most of the Costa Classica's staff were allowed to leave their stations and watch from the lower deck.

For a majority of the 1,300 passengers, the eclipse was just a bonus. They booked an eastern Mediterranean cruise that made six stops — Civitavecchia (the port for Rome), Alexandria, Limassol (Cyprus), Rhodes, Antalya (Turkey) and Naples.

However, more than 400 of the passengers paid between $1,600 and $2,600 each for the cruise and a program organized by University of Colorado astronomy professor Doug Duncan. He and University of Arizona astronomy professor Chris Impey had approached the UA Alumni Association about participating in the trip.

It is one of 35 tours the association is sponsoring this year, said Lisa Roubal, who directs the UA's alumni travel department. About 1,000 people have already taken one this year. Every trip is accompanied by a professor or another expert in the area of study.

The association plans to post its 2007 travel schedule in July, and Roubel advised anyone who is interested to make plans as soon as possible.

The Cruise to the Passage of Peter the Great, led by UA political science professor Pat Willerton, an expert on Russian politics, sold out months in advance, she said. Willerton, whose trip was scheduled to leave Tucson this weekend, is leading a similar travel program in 2007, she said.

The astronomy professors' cruise was timed to coincide with the total eclipse on March 29, which at a maximum duration of about four minutes was the longest eclipse until July 2009. (The next, in August 2008, will be shorter and mostly in the Arctic.)

A cruise is the best vantage point for an eclipse, said the UA's Impey, because a ship on the open sea is best able to dodge clouds.

The Costa Classica's captain diverted the ship's usual course so the watchers wouldn't be disappointed. The ship reached the centerline of the eclipse path and turned along it. Usually it's windy on deck because of the 20-knot speed; but suddenly the speed dropped to five. Any slower and the ship would rock, spoiling the view through telescopes.

The excitement began to build as the first group noticed a small bite taken out of the sun, showing that the invisible moon was really there and the prediction was coming true. Earth, moon and sun were moving into rare alignment. A long wait followed as the sun slowly became smaller and the sky and sea grew darker. People looked at the dwindling sun through protective goggles. Suddenly the blazing sun was totally obscured by the black moon. A strange light burst out: the silvery rays of the sun's corona.

For Foothills resident Joyce Schroeder, it was "the most amazing thing I've seen in my life. I saw a ring of fire that shouldn't have been there!"

Jamie King, from Oro Valley, bounced up and down and beat her husband, Jim, on the ribs.

One passenger had observed 18 solar eclipses, but it was the first for newlywed King and many others. Her husband watched the 1998 total eclipse from a cruise ship in the Caribbean, and he wanted to share a similar experience with her.

Just as there were some who had never seen an eclipse, there were others who had never taken a cruise.

Existing in a vast floating hotel for up to two days between ports can be boring, though there was plenty to do if you wanted to do it: weight-loss seminars, T-shirt painting classes, crazy darts, cultural quizzes, dance lessons, bingo. Most of the university alumni avoided these activities in favor of the lectures given by Impey and several other astronomers.

At night the casino beckoned with its slot machines and blackjack tables. A few danced to the Millennium band and sipped drinks at the piano bar. But, Impey said, you probably wouldn't find the eclipse crowd at these places. "They don't usually frequent bars."

And, as everyone knows, cruises let you gorge. When was the last time you tried baby cuttlefish, wild-mushroom risotto, chilled cherry soup, baked Alaska? One of Impey's teenage sons took a plate of bacon and drowned it in syrup.

At each port the ship docked for up to 14 hours, and most passengers took one of several excursions. Those cost extra, ranging from $44 for a tour of Naples to $165 to see the Pyramids of Giza. When the ship docked at Alexandria, nearly everyone, including Schroeder and her family, opted to take the air-conditioned coach to the Pyramids. The Kings visited El Alamein, site of the famous World War II battle. Their bus was almost empty.

Schroeder wasn't sure if she'll be cruising again. But as for the eclipse, she said, it was amazing to see it from the ship — "the surrounding water and clouds on the horizons really enhanced the experience. I still think it was one of the most phenomenal things I have ever seen."

● The UA Alumni Association started its travel program in 1971 — making this its 35th year.

Lisa Roubel, who belongs to a national organization for alumni association travel programs, said the program is regarded as one of the top 10 in the country based in part on the number of people it draws, tours it offers, and faculty it includes.

Participation is open to anyone who is a member of the University of Arizona's Alumni Association. Memberships start at $40 per year.

Trips this year range from a $649 tour to Thailand (excluding airfare) to a trip around the world in a private jet at $37,000 per person.

The 2007 travel schedule will be posted at www.arizonaalumni.com online within the next few weeks. For more information call 621-5333.

Trips centered on athletic events are popular, Roubel said. For example, the trip the association and Bon Voyage Travel organized to last year's Maui Invitational drew 300 Wildcat basketball fans.

Many of the participants are UA alumni. "When they come together as a group they are already bonded," she said.

"We're a fun group to travel with."

Arizona Daily Star staff