Hawaii cruise and NO night stay in The Big Island...

[eskay]

We are still in the planning stage. This is our first visit to Hawaii and we have children. Expected travel time is July and we are considering NCL. According to NCL schedule, the ship stays in The Big Island for two days, but not in the night. It goes from Hilo to Kona during the night.

 

Initially we thought it was important for us to (1) stargaze from Mauna Kea Visitor Center (not summit) and (2) watch lava flow in the night. Both require night stay in the island. Our questions are:

 

(1) Is the visitor center above the cloud level? Could we get a similar stargazing experience from a remote place (less light pollution) in Maui or Kauai where the ship stays in the night?

 

(2) Will there be a guaranteed red lava flow on the surface for night time viewing? Is the night time viewing much better than day time viewing?

 

Staying in a hotel for one night in The Big Island will add to inconvenience, and expense. We don't want to do it if it is not worth the effort.

 

Thank you for your time and insight.

[sptrout]

(1) Is the visitor center above the cloud level? Could we get a similar stargazing experience from a remote place (less light pollution) in Maui or Kauai where the ship stays in the night?

 

(2) Will there be a guaranteed red lava flow on the surface for night time viewing? Is the night time viewing much better than day time viewing?

 

Thank you for your time and insight.

 

1. I do not believe that the Visitor Center is above the cloud level, I do not think any place is for that matter. That said there are many isolated roads, and areas, that could be used for stargazing. A couple that comes to mind are Saddle Road (the road that goes by the entrance to the Park that has the Visitor Center that you mentioned). Very isolated and if there are no clouds, should be fine. Secondly, Haleakala National Park on Maui. Actually, almost anywhere on the outer islands away from manmade lighting will provide for a much better stargazing experience than what we are use to in most of the continental US. Should be good on the ship if they have any dark areas.

 

2. I have been to VNP three times (day light hours) and have never seen lava flowing. The last time we even took a helicopter trip and did not see anything except steam. There are no quarantees. Visiting VNP can be a very time consuming, especially if you are really intent on trying to get to a position to see lava flowing (assuming that it is even possible the day you are there).

[karen327]

We just did the POA in Feb 2010 and my husband loves astronomy so I should be able to answer your questions.

 

We chose to go to Hawaii for one week of precruise vacation, first we stayed on Waikiki, then near Volcano National Park, and last at a bed and breakfast in North Kohola, which is north of Kona.

 

Volcano National Park is very interesting, but all you will see is steam from land. I understand that if you do a helecopter ride, you will see some volcano lava, but is hard to see in daylight. The lava tube that took lava to the ocean colapsed, so you will not be able to see that. When the ship sailed from Hilo to Kona, it got within 1/2 mile of the volcano, turned off the outside deck lights, and we saw a beautiful sight. So much lava streaming down the mountain, just make sure you have a good binoculars if you want to see it much better. You can also look up at the sky than and see quite a bit.

 

The rest of the time, the ships lights were too bright for star gazing, my husband searched the ship trying to find a dark spot. We didn't splurge for a balcony room, that would have helped.

 

While on big island, we took a tour with Mauna Kia Summit tours to see the top of Mauna Kia, then look through their telescopes, which were set up near, but not at, the visitors center. It was very cold, so we were glad to have their parkas and was interesting to see the major telescopes open up for the night. The frustration my husband had though was the fact that they would talk about an elementary concept, then have people line up and look at that through their telescope. If you go to the visitors center on your own, they have telescopes set up and you can do what you want with them. My husband also observed on his own several nights at the bed and breakfast we stayed at and thought what he saw was just about as good as the view at the higher altitude, minus the long drive, cost and cold. He was very impressed. I am assume one could drive around and find somewhere on Maui or Kaui to observe, just got to find a spot away from any lights. One thing to remember, Kona is a tender spot, if the weather gets bad, it could be possible to miss the ship if you were to stay overnight on your own. Also, even though most car rentals don't let you drive up the saddle road, it didn't look like a bad drive to the visitor center. We had originally planned to stay on Haleakala until after dark to observe, but changed our mind when we saw the sharp turns, drop offs without railings, etc.

 

If it would be possible for you to spend a few days in hawaii before or after the cruise, my advice would be to spend that time on Big Island to observe. The North west part of the island is desert, almost always clear. Find a bed and breakfast that is away from the resorts, town, etc and you will have a wonderful time observing.

[CruisingGoddess]

Volcano National Park is very interesting, but all you will see is steam from land. I understand that if you do a helecopter ride, you will see some volcano lava, but is hard to see in daylight. The lava tube that took lava to the ocean colapsed, so you will not be able to see that. When the ship sailed from Hilo to Kona, it got within 1/2 mile of the volcano, turned off the outside deck lights, and we saw a beautiful sight. So much lava streaming down the mountain, just make sure you have a good binoculars if you want to see it much better. You can also look up at the sky than and see quite a bit.

 

We are already planning a helicopter ride of the whole island from Kona but was thinking of driving to VNP from Hilo also. Do you think VNP is still worthwhile to visit by car then?

[bluesky10]

You could go on a lava boat ride while docked in Hilo. It is several hours long and it takes you very close to the lava. do a google search for lava boat rides on the big island. There are several companies.

[sceptic]

Re the lava - we've been to the big island many times, and on most of them we've seen flowing lava (but we work at it!). Not right now, though. There hasn't been any ocean entry for a couple of months, and activity is way up on the pali. If this situation persists there is no point in trying to see lava on the ground. However, it can change quickly - for a while last week it seemed like it was trying to establish a new tube system, but that stopped again. You just can't forecast what it will be doing a week from now, let alone a few months. Keep your eye on

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php

for the latest info. So obviously no guarantees, but believe me - if there is visible lava flowing from a reasonably accessible viewing site it is far, far more beautiful at night. And daytime is pretty darn impressive also.

 

Most of the time the Onizuka Visitor Center at Mauna Kea is above cloud level. It's at 9200 feet, so if there is persistent high clouds it won't help. But your odds are better of clear skies than not.

 

Frankly, it sounds like you want to spend some serious time on the Big Island. It's an awesome place, and I think a few days before or after the trip are warranted. Stay a few in Kona, a few in Volcano.

[beachchick]

There is never a guaranteed red lava flow on the surface for day or night viewing. It can change drastically, just like that.

 

Yes, the Visitors Center is generally above the cloud level. The stargazing is held every clear night, about 300 or so, throughout the year.

 

I agree with sceptic that you would do well to consider spending several days on the island either before or after your cruise, or on another land-based visit to Hawaii.

 

beachchick

[eskay]

Thank you all for your valuable information. We really appreciate the time you took to answer the questions.

[Tai Mai Shu]

We were on PoA in January and when we were on Maui, we went to the top of Haleakala at around 3:00 PM the first day. We stayed for a gorgeous sunset and hung around a little more for the stars to come out. Because the ship is docked overnight, it didn't matter what time we came back. The only thing was it took a bit to find a parking space back at the cruise terminal.

 

Aloha

 

Dan