Staying Overnight on land on the Big Island

I was wondering, if the POA isn't sailing past the volcano at night, does anyone stay on the Big Island overnight and then catch back up with the ship at Kona?

Is this even allowed if you arrange it with NCL ahead of time?

I would love to see Volcanoes National Park in the dark and at sunrise or sunset.

The problem is Kona is a tender port, and subject to serious wind conditions at times, causing ships to miss Kona. So you would be responsible to get yourself to the next port, no refund for any missed time, including the night you spend ashore between Hilo and Kona. Plus, it is not all that common that night time viewing is a possibility. Recently it has been, but that can change very quickly.

The volcano is easily reached from Hilo. I would get back on in Hilo.

I was wondering, if the POA isn't sailing past the volcano at night, does anyone stay on the Big Island overnight and then catch back up with the ship at Kona?

 

Is this even allowed if you arrange it with NCL ahead of time?

 

I would love to see Volcanoes National Park in the dark and at sunrise or sunset.

I have read about those who "miss the ship" by design in Hilo in order to take advantage of extended touring options in the area. You can probably find those threads by using the search box above to see who they notified, and when. I would not call customer service at NCL and inquire as they are not knowledgeable enough to give you a correct answer.

Of course, you would notify the ship that you will reboard in Kona so that they are not paging you in Hilo or delaying the ship unnecessarily. Careful planning of your your time the following day of course to make sure that the return trip and any touring along the way will get you to Kona before sailaway, but it is easily driveable.

If the ship is doing a sail by of the active lava flow to the sea as it is currently, it would be a trade off between that and whatever you choose to do with your extra time in Hilo, plus the extra expense of a hotel and meals. And of course, there is a small chance that the ship could not dock in Kona and you would need to rejoin it in Kauai the next day, but if you look on the positive side, YOU would have a full day in Kona if desired that those on the ship would miss. I don't think a flight from Hawaii to Kona is very expensive, or hard to come by, and you could probably fly on the Kona port day or that evening, or first thing the following am, probably giving you a head start on the Kauai touring.

I don't think a flight from Hawaii to Kona is very expensive, or hard to come by, and you could probably fly on the Kona port day or that evening, or first thing the following am, probably giving you a head start on the Kauai touring.

If you mean flying to Kauai from Kona, there is only one non-stop flight per day (unless you don't mind laying over in Honolulu), and it runs $125, per person.

Thank you all. That gives me a bunch to think about. I tried searching, but I must not have been using the correct words because I couldn't find any threads with the info.

Thank you all. That gives me a bunch to think about. I tried searching, but I must not have been using the correct words because I couldn't find any threads with the info.

Sorry, in my post above, I was saying "flight from Hawaii to Kona" when what I meant was "flight from Hawaii to Kauai".

In the Search Cruise Critic box ( not the Search Thread Box ) at the top far upper right corner, I typed in "Overnight in Hilo" and found a link to the thread I remembered from a few years ago which details exactly what you want to do. In the search box type in "The Somewhat Definitive Guide To Skipping a Port on the POA". This will link you to the 5-06-13 thread by brrrdog outlining his experience and advice.

His cruise did not have to skip port in Kona, but you'd need to have a contingency plan in place in the event that happened. I'd research the flight schedule and seat availability on short notice out of Kona ( only one per day per another post above ) and also out of Hilo which may have more daily flights, so you have a plan in the event this does happen.