Looking for Live Volcanos

[danacline]

We sail next month on the NCL Spirit from Barcelona to Venice. En route, I would like to see an erupting volcano. Possible candidates are Stromboli (I love it - an island named after food!) and Etna.

 

We leave Naples at 7 pm, headed through the Strait of Messina for an at-sea day before Mykonos. I assume we would pass Stromboli around 1 AM, and it should be visible if erupting.

 

My question is...what time would we be passing through the strait? Mt. Etna should be visible at that point. I don't really want to get up at 5 am or so to see it, so I'm hoping we pass after dawn.

 

So...if you've done this route, I'd love to get feedback on whether anything is visible and when...

[mskaufman]

We passed Mt. Stromboli. The captain was very definite on the time. I was on deck and all I could see was black. If there was I mountain you couldn't tell.

 

When all of a sudden a red-orange plume of fire went up. Awesome.

[danacline]

Do you remember approximately what time that was? On the map it looks like we come very close. And we should have a full moon just two days before...

[RJHNorthyorks]

We saw Stromboli erupting from a ship just can't remember which cruise. The captain made an announcement and opened up the helipad so people could watch.

[mskaufman]

Do you remember approximately what time that was? On the map it looks like we come very close. And we should have a full moon just two days before...

 

We were going in the other direction (Greek Isles to Naples). It was about 11pm.

[3ssn]

Etna will be a bump in the distance if watched from the ship. If you stop at Messina or Taormina you could do a tour to Etna.

 

Stromboli is nice and you usually pass quite close (like a mile). If you are lucky you can see some activity but nature does not sync its activity with cuise itineraries. We passed Stromboli and it was marked as "scenic cruising".

 

You can get up to Vesuvius from Naples. Great trip.

 

From Santorini you can hike on the vulcano (don't know if that is on your itinerary).

[dolittle]

Our first time in Europe we passed Stromboli on a sea day the ship circled the island ,you could see the smoke and where part of the island had slide into the sea . B.T.W. I had never heard of it (I am pretty good at geo.) where I live a stromboli is kind of and inside out pizza.

[cinnamon]

Two weeks ago. On Azamara, Captain Carl took us within a mile of Stromboli en route from Corsica to Siracusa. From the MDR at dinner time we crowded around the windows and were rewarded with shots of flame and 'fireworks'. I only managed a photo of the smoke afterwards.

 

At 11.30 we sat up in the Panoramic forward lounge and watched the wonderful passage through the Straits of Messina.

 

A couple of days later we did a private tour from Giardino Naxos that went up Mount Etna. In thick fog! She erupts far less frequently.

 

This was the view from our balcony early in the morning before Etna was enveloped in cloud for the rest of the day.

 

 

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[danacline]

Etna will be a bump in the distance if watched from the ship. If you stop at Messina or Taormina you could do a tour to Etna.

 

Stromboli is nice and you usually pass quite close (like a mile). If you are lucky you can see some activity but nature does not sync its activity with cuise itineraries. We passed Stromboli and it was marked as "scenic cruising".

 

You can get up to Vesuvius from Naples. Great trip.

 

From Santorini you can hike on the vulcano (don't know if that is on your itinerary).

 

Actually my son and I are booked to summit Vesuvius on Father's Day. It will be his first volcanic summit, my third (also Haleakala in Maui and Mt. Rainier).

 

We aren't scheduled for Santorini but I bet it's an alternate port if the unrest in Turkey continues.

 

Thank you all for the feedback!

[puppycanducruise]

We did a Med cruise last spring.

We sailed by Stromboli and saw white and black smoke erupting from the volcano - no lava flows or anything spectacular, but very interesting.

We could see Etna in the distance, but it was shrouded in cloud.

We looked down at the caldera in Santorini.

We hiked up Vesuvius and saw wisps of steam.

Next year we're going to Iceland - lots more volcanoes to see there.