She noted that there are cruise ships scheduled to come to Bali later in the month. Princess Cruises' Sun Princess is expected to call on November 19, Ponant's Le Soleal the following day and Royal Caribbean International's Radiance of the Seas on November 22.
Diamond Princess departed Bali for Australia (Geraldton) last Sunday, before the airport closure was triggered by volcanic activity at Mt. Barujani, a smaller volcano inside the caldera of Mt. Rinjani on neighbouring Lombok island. Bali International Airport has been closed since November 3 and hundreds of domestic and international flights have been cancelled.
According to Malaihollo when the airport closed for several days in July due to volcanic ash from Java's Mt Raung, 'cruise ships twere still calling in Bali'. She expects this time round it would be the same. By comparison, the ash from Java's Mt Raung, which closed Bali's airport then was greater in quantity, but not as fine as the current ash cloud. Wind direction is also a key factor.
Added a hopeful Malaihollo , 'The airport so far is closed until November 5, 08:35am (Bali time) so there is still the possibility of clear skies soon,' added a hopeful Malaihollo. Sun Princess is due to visit Komodo Island on November 13.
