Scenic cruising question

[EGCruisers]

We will be on the POA in February. The itinerary says that we will be cruising past the Na Pali coastline after we leave Kauai. How long does that last? I don't want to plan dinner too early and miss some of the beautiful scenery.

 

Same question for cruising past some of the active lava flows. I am guessing that is after we leave Hilo, correct? About what time would I want to be on my balcony or on deck watching?

 

Thank you.

[punkincc]

We will be on the POA in February. The itinerary says that we will be cruising past the Na Pali coastline after we leave Kauai. How long does that last? I don't want to plan dinner too early and miss some of the beautiful scenery.

 

Same question for cruising past some of the active lava flows. I am guessing that is after we leave Hilo, correct? About what time would I want to be on my balcony or on deck watching?

 

Thank you.

 

As I recall, it was approaching sunset as we reached the end of the Na'Pali coast and began to turn. This was in March of this year, sunset was @6:30. Looks to be about the same in February for your cruise. We leave port at 2:00 or 2:30, so it takes about 4 hours of cruising to complete. We were on our port side balcony the whole time and we thought the entire coastline was beautiful, even before we reached the Na'Pali portion. I would do dinner around 7:00 or 7:30.

 

On our cruise, the ship started the turn and then stopped in the water for a long while, giving us a wonderful prolonged view of the sunset and the coastline. Usually it just quickly turns and steams off. We later found out that a crew member had spotted something unusual looking in the water looking toward the west. We had seen it too, but just shrugged and said wow, what the heck is that? It appeared to be either a makeshift boat or "something" large floating in the water. I don't remember what they finally determined it was, but no one needed assistance.

 

We did not have a volcano sail by, but I seem to recall reading that it is around 9:30 pm from the starboard side. Someone will be along I'm sure who knows.

[phillygirl63]

Unless things have changed (and maybe someone else can confirm), there has not been an opportunity to see the lava flows during the sailby since the Tsunami a few years ago (I think in 2011), which caused the flows to shift away from view of the coastline. However, the sailby of the Napali coast is breathtaking. Both sides of the ship get the opportunity to see it, but port side has the view first, closer and for a longer period of time than starboard. We had a portside penthouse suite and ordered the special pineapple drinks to be delivered to our room. It was great.

Edited November 11, 2016 by phillygirl63

[phillygirl63]

Update to my previous post. It seems there has been some change over the last 6 months or so, and lava is now making its way to the ocean.

[punkincc]

Update to my previous post. It seems there has been some change over the last 6 months or so, and lava is now making its way to the ocean.

 

Yes, indeed! There was no lave flow toward the sea on our cruise in March, unfortunately. I don't recall when the first itinerary change was made to pass by the flow, but I believe it has continued for several months. Crossing fingers that it is still flowing that direction come next October. That's the thing with active volcanoes, you can never predict what they will be doing.

[cb at sea]

If you aren't facing what you want to see...walk to the other side of the ship....there's no reason to miss anything!

[astridwilson]

Na Pali coast can be seen port side and lava flow starboard side. The lava flow started again in September of this year. If you have a balcony starboard room you can watch most of the coast cruise from your balcony and the head to the aft dining bar area for the buffet dinner and watch the starboard side.

[chengkp75]

I'm told that the lava flow is nothing compared to what was visible in 2004-2008, when I was there, so they are probably just sailing by slowly. All three ships used to stop and rotate to give everyone a better view. The problem with this is that the sea temperature is so much higher there that we needed to monitor the engines closely and inform the bridge if we needed to get out of dodge quickly before they all overheated while doing the "lava turn".

[punkincc]

Na Pali coast can be seen port side and lava flow starboard side. The lava flow started again in September of this year. If you have a balcony starboard room you can watch most of the coast cruise from your balcony and the head to the aft dining bar area for the buffet dinner and watch the starboard side.

 

It started well before September. ( Unless it temporarily subsided and then started again in September ). I found a July 26, 2016 report on Big Island Video News that stated the flow had just reached the Pacific, for the first time since August 2013. The flow may have been visible on the mountainside as it approached the sea for some time before that.

[astridwilson]

I believe it was in August when the Lava actually reached the ocean, not positive; however we were there in August and then again in early September. It was not until September that we saw the lava lake in the summit crater, Halema'uma'u.

[punkincc]

I believe it was in August when the Lava actually reached the ocean, not positive; however we were there in August and then again in early September. It was not until September that we saw the lava lake in the summit crater, Halema'uma'u.

 

In addition to the report from Big Island Video News which referenced the flow reaching the sea on 7-26-16, I found two other posts on this forum, one dated 7-04 that the flow was heading toward the sea, and a second by another poster on 7-28 which indicated that the flow reached the sea. So I think the late July estimate seems pretty accurate.

 

It was my understanding that the lava lake in Halema'uma'u is not always visible, usually just a glow ( after dark ), or seen as a plume of smoke or steam during the day. You were lucky to see it. From what I understand, the flow which is, or was, going toward the sea comes from a volcanic cone, Pu'u'Oo, on the eastern rift zone of Kileaua rather than from Halema'uma'u.