Norwegian Wind volcano sightings?

[drjakir]

The 7 day NCL cruises show an evening sail by Mt Kilauea as part of their itinerary. Does the Norwegian Wind also go past it? Are there any good lava sightings etc. I am booked on a 10 night Nor Wind cruise.

[Das K]

If they go from Hilo to the At Sea/Fanning Days. The 11-night WInd goes from Hilo to Lahaina, and does not pass the lava flow.

[p2lockhart]

I researched the same question and found out the following:

I just read the following on the message board for the Sept 3rd Wind cruise posted by a Hawaiian resident who lives in Hilo and who has taken this cruise before:

"..there is really no other way to see the lava other than hiking out to it. And right now the hike is VERY long. Actually, a large portion of the lava viewing area is closed right now due to unsafe conditions with a large lava shelf about to break away from the coastline. Several years ago, the lava was flowing into the ocean at a much closer area, but the volcano goddess, Madame Pele, decides when and where the lava will be flowing from day to day. As long as it stays away from our house, we are not going to complain! Many folks take helicopter tours to view the lava flows...but they are expensive. We still have not done this, but I know we will some day. Unfortunately, your are right, the WIND does not cruise by the lava flow at night. After leaving Hilo, the ship heads north toward Maui. It would be great if the captain could take the other way around the island....but I guess that would make the ship late to Maui the next day. Even if you do not want to do the hike out to the flow, the Volcano Park is still an amazing place to visit. There are lots of things to see and lots of very new lava flows to walk around on. It is awesome to think that you are walking on the newest land on earth."

 

I am disappointed because I thought that we would cruise past the lava at night and see it.

[breeding]

The 7 day NCL cruises show an evening sail by Mt Kilauea as part of their itinerary. Does the Norwegian Wind also go past it? Are there any good lava sightings etc. I am booked on a 10 night Nor Wind cruise.

 

The 10 day wind goes to Fanning not Maui so you will go by it and it is wonderful!!! We got a bunch of pictures but they don't really turn out very good so you really will get a treat by seeing it in person!!

[jlines]

Our 11 day Wind cruise itinerary was Kona, Fanning, Hilo, Lahaina, Kauai in April 2003. A night sail past the volcano flow was not on the itinerary but we were treated to one anyway. We had engine problems so the trip to Fanning and back took a day longer. This left us with only 1 day in Lahaina but added the night sailing along the south shore of the Big Island. I don't know if this was to appease the grumbling passengers (we also got shorted on our time on Fanning) or because the flow was very cooperative at the time. The next day at our Hilo stop we went to VNP and it was only a 15 minute hike to the active flows. What an incredible adventure!

[vivian02]

We were foutunate to sail by the lava flow in December of 2003 while sailing on the Star. The trip was altered because of a medical emergency. At 10:30 that night most of the passengers were out on the deck to see nothing but pure darkness. Like the captin said "It looks like the volcano didn't do much today" sometimes you are lucky and sometimes your not. Maybe next time. Tim

 

Norwegian Sky Alaska 05/2002

Norwegian Star Hawaii 12/2003

Royal Caribbean Splendor of the Sea Meditterean 05/2004

[dacwpark]

We were sailing on the 8/24/05 NCL Wind, and after leaving Hilo on the way to Fanning we passed the lava area around 8-9pm. You could see the red glow of lava in the darkness coming down the mountain. When it hit the water sometimes the lava would shoot up in the air. Although the ship was a distance away you could see it. Based on the above post I didn't even try to photograph it, but rather my wife and I just enjoyed the experience.

[southerntraveler]

we were on the 7/30/05 sailing of the pride of america and were able to see the lava flowing into the ocean at night. the ships captain turned off the lights for a few min. it is one of the highlights of my life! Hope you get to experience it.