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? Re: Princess Hawaiian Cruises & Na Pali Coast


mlbcruiser
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I know that NCL's ships cruise past the Na Pali Coast line and have seen posts in which a passenger has said they were able to take great photos of the Na Pali scenery, etc. I am guessing that on an itinerary where a Princess ship's itinerary includes a north westerly course from Hilo, HI to Honolulu, Oahu to Nawiliwili, Kauai, it would be possible to pass the Na Pali Coast? That is IF, upon sailing from Nawiliwili, it sailed up & around, past the north coast of Kauai and then turned south on it's route to Lahaina, Maui. Even so, since the ship leaves the port in Kauai at 5 pm (in winter), it would be too dark to even see those georgeous cliffs. Still, I just have to ask!

 

Wondering if anyone can speak with any (Feb.) experience?

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No, Princess ships don't sail past there. It is way over on the north west coast of Kauai. You have to take an excursion which is 7 hours long, 2 hours of which are travel. Current cost is $199.95. On one of our previous cruises a roll call member arranged a private tour. The tour planning was quite complicated. NCL has their Pride of America which is home ported in Hawaii doing their 7 day cruises. They have time to sail over there.

Na Pali Cruise & Snorkel

 

LIH-775 | Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii

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We would consider returning to Hawaii on Princess!

We have spent a week on Kauai, so, for us, we have experienced the Napali Coast. (AMAZING!)

We did the large catamaran tour with Captain Andy's... and it was very nice!

This tour begins SOUTH of the Napali Coast, and would really not be do-able from the Ship.

 

There are shorter and closer tours that depart from the North of Kauai (Hanalai Bay)

They would sail Eastward from there, past Ke'e Beach, and down the Napali Coastline.

I believe that these are on smaller boats/vessels and not bigger catamarans.

I am not sure if any of these work with the Ship's Schedule???

The Kauai forum on the trip advisor has some very good experts who could help you find a tour. Highly recommend!

 

The easiest option, as mentioned, might be by air.

There are several good Helicopter Tours (Look for one that flies over the crater/cone of the Mountain!)

And, there is the Airplane tour, mentioned above.

These would be excellent options!

 

I have some major Vertigo, so a helicopter tour is a no-go for me!!!

I think I might be able to handle a tour with the airplane.

I think I would have to charter the plane, and have the pilot be very sensitive to Vertigo!!! (major banking and 'swirling' would really hit me)

 

Happy Planning!

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As I expected. Oh, well . . .

 

I don't feel as badly about it as someone who has never seen the Na Pali Coast. Actually, we, too, have seen it. Both from the air (helicopter), sea (dive boat). Even from the beach (I think it was Ke'e Beach - ?? From there you see a bit of it and get an idea of the beauty, but not the full experience.) I did do some research on the tripadvisor boards and got some boat excursion recommendations. In doing that I began thinking and realized that it would really be a push, needing time to get off the ship and pick up a rental car, drop it off, and make it back to the ship on time. Have not found anything yet with regard to smaller boats from the north, nor do I think I'll bother trying to. It's likely just not going to be doable for us. What got me thinking about Princess passing the Na Pali Coast was the ship's route shown on a travel agency's website when I was looking at the itinerary, thinking of booking. A drawing, really, representing the route, and on it the line showing the route goes sort of over the top of Kauai and loops down a bit and then up to Maui. No doubt that's not exactly "exact" but just a general representation.

 

Thankfully we once got to spend a week on Kauai. Matter of fact, one day we were up near Hanalei and saw an NCL ship passing by, towards Na Pali and then really not that much later, back to the east. Didn't know about the plane option until I was researching things to do on tripadvisor about 2 or 3 days ago and found it.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with scottann92's comment and think anyone would be hard pressed not to agree once they have seen Na Pali!

 

Thanks you all very much for the info. and replies!

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