Specific Hawaii cruise questions?

[tammymacb]

I'm sorry to bother you again, but the search is still down, and I have never sailed Princess or Hawaii..

 

Two questions-

 

Does Princess sail past the active volcanos at night?

 

and

 

Does the cruise sail down the Napali coast?

 

I'm looking at a 14 night round trip if it matters.

 

Thanks folks! :D

[Working 2 Cruise]

The answers are no and no, unfortunately. The ships' routes do not allow for this. The ships go to Hilo (instead of Kona). For the Napali coast you would have to take an excursion via a Zodiac boat.

[tammymacb]

Thanks for the answer.

 

I, unfortunately, don't know anything about Hawaii, but I was told these were important things to see.

 

When it comes to the Caribbean, I'm a pro. But, Hawaii, not so much.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree, they had done it when they first started these cruises from LA many years ago but switched the ports around.

[JF - retired RRT]

Thanks for the answer.

 

I, unfortunately, don't know anything about Hawaii, but I was told these were important things to see.

 

When it comes to the Caribbean, I'm a pro. But, Hawaii, not so much.

 

I read on a different forum (HAL, I think) that the volcano isn't very active right now, so not much to see.

 

You will enjoy the Princess cruise - we did a B2B last year and felt like experts the second time around;)

One thing we DID do on the first cruise was to get online tickets for the Arizona (they are "free", but there is a small service charge - $1.50 if I recall). Then we rode the bus to the memorial (takes about 45 minutes) so DON'T get a res before 11 AM to be safe. The bus costs $2.00 or $1.00 if you show your Medicare card (if you have one). It was great fun. Felt very adventurous and saved a ton of $$. The ship excursion was very expensive. Our "excursion" cost $5.00, the ship's was >$60 (don't recall exactly how much).

BTW: I found the info about how to do it on CC. I think in the forum for Ports or possibly the roll call for our cruise (it was in November 20).

Edited March 2, 2014 by JF - retired RRT

[skynight]

I'm sorry to bother you again, but the search is still down, and I have never sailed Princess or Hawaii..

 

I'm looking at a 14 night round trip if it matters.

 

Thanks folks! :D

 

Believe all the Princess sailings RT from the west coast are 15 nights.

[tammymacb]

Thanks very much all. Please throw any advice at me you'd like, I'm very appreciative.

 

Thanks for the Arizona info. DH is retired military and will be very interested in visiting.

 

I have to say this Princess board is very friendly and helpful and I appreciate it!

[4realrod]

Thanks very much all. Please throw any advice at me you'd like, I'm very appreciative.

 

Thanks for the Arizona info. DH is retired military and will be very interested in visiting.

 

I have to say this Princess board is very friendly and helpful and I appreciate it!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip last march. Here is a secrecy for the Arizona. You don't need advanced tickets. Even if they are sold out you just go over to the area where you go into the theater. There you speak with the ranger and he will put you in a stand by line. Usually several people miss their ticketed time and you are able to go in. We had a group of 6 and had no problem. In fact the allowed about 20 stand by to go in.

[Nancyquilts]

There is a ship's excursion that goes to the Napali Coast. Unfortunately, the time I tried to take it the zodiac boat had problems so I didn't get to go.

[cnd crsr]

A great way to see the volcanoes is by helicopter. We did this last month on the Big Island. You fly over VNP and we saw lava. We booked this independently.

[JF - retired RRT]

A great way to see the volcanoes is by helicopter. We did this last month on the Big Island. You fly over VNP and we saw lava. We booked this independently.

Wow!! Mega expensive!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Our first Hawaiian cruise was back in 2005 when Kona was on the itinerary and we had the volcano drive by just after leaving Hilo. It was definitely one of the highlights of the cruise. A couple of years later, Kona was dropped as well as the 15th day (which was reinstated this year but without Kona).

 

Of course, if the lava isn't flowing, it doesn't matter if the ship is going past or not.

[Jasperdo]

Does the cruise sail down the Napali coast?

Three years ago we did a sail by of the Napali coast on the Golden Princess. Unfortunately, it was a substitute for missing Kauai due to high winds in Nawiliwili harbor. So it was a mixed blessing.

[skf]

For the Napali coast you would have to take an excursion via a Zodiac boat

We personally recommend you do this. It was among the very most excellent adventures of all our cruises.

Steve & Pete

[partybarbie]

For the Napali coast you would have to take an excursion via a Zodiac boat

We personally recommend you do this. It was among the very most excellent adventures of all our cruises.

Steve & Pete

 

I second this recommendation. The Zodiac pilots took us under a waterfall, and so close to dolphins and turtles that you could practically touch them. This is by far, one of my favorite Princess excursions.