Hawaii - Kilauea Volcano evening sail question

[Hoopster95]

Hey everyone,

 

I've been trying to compare Rhapsody vs. Radiance itineraries for Hawaii. A couple of the itineraries specifically include a midnight "Kilauea Volcano evening sail" and a couple do not. All itineraries include a stop at Hilo.

 

For those who have experienced this itinerary or have asked the question to RCL, is it true that if the Kilauea evening sail is not specifically mentioned in the itinerary, that the ship will not do that evening pass-by sail?

 

ie. check out Rhapsody vs. Radiance Sept 2014... Rhapsody shows the volcano evening sail-by between Lahaina and Hilo, Radiance doesn't at all.

 

Thx in advance:)

[boulders]

The map on the Rhapsody itinerary is screwed up. Kilauea is between Hilo and Kailua Kona on the south coast of the Big Island. Both Radiance and Rhapsody sail between the two towns by the southern route. You should be able to see the ocean entry from either ship. How spectacular it is depends on whether lava is entering the sea. It currently is not.

[Hoopster95]

Thanks for the quick thoughts... so since the Radiance itinerary specifically does not include an evening sail-by but the Rhapsody does, you feel both ships will likely do a sail-by anyways?? Something doesn't jive with me there as I would think RCL would specificlly include that in the Radiance itinerary.

[Coralc]

Last time we were on Radiance from Sydney to Honolulu (April 2012), we stopped in Hilo before sailing to Honolulu. There was no Kilauea sail by on the itinerary and although we were all "hoping" for one...the captain did not sail by.

 

I don't know if the lava was flowing into the ocean or not on that trip (I think not) but it was further up on land and it would have been neat to see it.

 

We did see it on previous trips when it was on the scheduled itinerary. :)

 

ADDED: In light of the Costa Concordia and the costs of operating the ships, I don't think there is much in the way of spontaneity or surprises anymore.

[Hoopster95]

I think I figured it out... please correct me if I'm wrong as seeing this volcano (weather permitting) during the trip is important to me and my decision.

 

Reading Celebrity and RCL past reviews, checking Youtube etc, it looks like when the evening sail is part of the itinerary the ship gets close(er) to land and hovers/spins around for an hour or two (like at the glaciers in Alaska) to watch the lava flows. I suspect the Radiance which does not have the sail-by specifially in the itinerary makes no attempt to stop, nor does it sail close enough to land to actually see.

 

Too bad... I've been on Rhapsody twice and would rather sail on the Radiance. Since the Radiance sails right by, it's a shame they don't include this short stop in the itinerary. I may have to look harder at the Soltice.

[Coralc]

We did the helicopter trip over the volcano on a previous trip...that's a really neat way to see it. :)

[chefcaw]

Just returned from a Hawaiian cruise that did a sail by. Almost nothing to see. Our captain hovered, spun and sailed. We were about a mile offshore, we could see very little, just points of light in the distance.

 

Chris

[Desert Cruizers]

Our April 27, 2014 does include the sailby on the Radiance, however according to their Web Site it is showing NA. We did the sailby back in 2008 on the Radiance and we had a wonderful show, however as mentioned it all depends on the activity at the time on whether you will see much.

[fort langley]

Recently did the sail past on the Rhapsody, the lava wasn't running at the time and only saw intermittent flare ups of light in the distance.

[Coralc]

Recently did the sail past on the Rhapsody, the lava wasn't running at the time and only saw intermittent flare ups of light in the distance.

 

Darn Mother Nature! :D:):D

[pspercy]

All you can do is hope for the best, hard to use it as a reason to book one versus another this far out.

http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm

[Paulxyz2004]

Recently did the sail past on the Rhapsody, the lava wasn't running at the time and only saw intermittent flare ups of light in the distance.

 

So was this part of the itinerary?

Was it another cost cutting measure from RCI in not having the Lava flow turned on? DId you complain and / or given a refund?

Or is this a national park and the Lava flow was not running due to the shut down?;):D

[emeraldcity]

So was this part of the itinerary?

Was it another cost cutting measure from RCI in not having the Lava flow turned on? DId you complain and / or given a refund?

Or is this a national park and the Lava flow was not running due to the shut down?;):D

 

Too funny!

 

As mentioned by previous posters, 2008 saw an amazing amount of volcanic activity at the edge of the sea. We were very privileged to sail at that time on the POA, but the sail-by didn't have the impact that visiting the park had. I can't express enough how amazing it was to walk across lava fields that were recently formed -- studying the twists and turns the molten material took as it spread, marveling at the determination of the plants that were forcing their roots down into rocks and launching the natural process of reforestation, discovered deep holes that looked like they were punched in the fields by telephone poles and trying to guess if those were slender trees that didn't burn up until the lava had cooled. Then we stopped at the visitor's center and saw a film of the lava flow taken a few months earlier that captured dramatic footage of the lava in motion. We talked to those who did the helicopter tour, but I felt that visiting the park on the ground offered much more impact.

 

The following review may help you decide how to plan your trip ... although, what worked for one person, might not work for you.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=821097