Sailing past Volcano at night...

[JWGrayson]

We will be on the Carnival Legend this September. I've read about ships sailing past Kilauea Volcano at night and what a beautiful sight it is. Since it happens very late at night, many of us older folks will be in bed and would like to see it from our balcony without having to get dressed and go out on deck.

 

So, if the ship sails from Hilo to Kono, past the volcano, then the starboard side of the ship would have the view.

 

But, someone on our Roll Call suggested that the ship will turn around to give both sides a chance to see the lava glow.

 

Has that been the case on other Carnival cruises? John

[Susan-M]

Hi John,

 

I wonder if the person on your roll call did their last cruise past the volcano prior to autumn of 2013? It was quite a sight to see, but the lava stopped flowing down Kilauea and into the ocean around Sept./Oct. 2013.

 

There might still be some distant views of the glow from small lava outbreaks, and maybe you'll be able to see the brightness from the glow of lava in Halemaumau Crater.

 

A helicopter tour might be a better option to see Kilauea close up, along with any lava outbreaks (I think most of the lava is now flowing underground, with the occasional surface outbreak.) The situation could change prior to your cruise though, so it's something to keep an eye on.

[chengkp75]

When the lava was flowing to the sea, and as the PP mentioned, that stopped a few years ago (I thought even earlier), I know the NCL ships stopped and rotated to give everyone a view.

 

Now that the lava is not flowing visibly from the sea, most lines sail between Hilo and Kona, or vice versa, the shorter way around the north side of the island.

[JWGrayson]

Hi John,

 

I wonder if the person on your roll call did their last cruise past the volcano prior to autumn of 2013? It was quite a sight to see, but the lava stopped flowing down Kilauea and into the ocean around Sept./Oct. 2013.

 

There might still be some distant views of the glow from small lava outbreaks, and maybe you'll be able to see the brightness from the glow of lava in Halemaumau Crater.

 

A helicopter tour might be a better option to see Kilauea close up, along with any lava outbreaks (I think most of the lava is now flowing underground, with the occasional surface outbreak.) The situation could change prior to your cruise though, so it's something to keep an eye on.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. I posted them on our Roll Call so none of us will be disappointed by staying up to see the volcano as we pass. John

[Susan-M]

You're welcome John ... VNP is an impressive sight even without seeing lava flowing - hope you get to enjoy the park for your port day in Hilo. :)

 

chengkp - we did a hike in April 13th to see the lava flowing across the dried lava fields and into the ocean - I followed Tripadvisor forums afterwards and noticed that in September '13 there was talk of the lava flow changing - here's a post from the guide who we went with, who also posted regularly on TA with updates re the lava.

 

John - If there are any changes, someone usually posts pretty quickly on the "2016 Lava Viewing" thread on Tripadvisor.