Spotlight on NCL's Hawaiian Cruise Experience

Today's Chicago Sun-Times has an article by Jaymes Song that discusses the success of NCL America's Hawaiian cruises. That seemed to be a good indicator that we should talk to you about the unique cruise experience offered by the NCL America fleet in the Hawaiian Islands.
Before September 11th 2001, the Hawaiian cruise market was dominated by just one line American Classic Voyages, the only line offering inter-island cruises. A few of the other major cruise lines offered seasonal itineraries that visited the islands, but for true inter-island cruising American Classic Voyages was the only option. However in the weeks immediately following the terrorist attacks many of American Classic Voyages passengers cancelled their trips and the line had difficulty getting new bookings. By the beginning of November 2001 the company declared bankruptcy, cancelled it's plans for two new ships, and discontinued operations.

The sudden demise of ACV however didn't deter Norwegan Cruise Lines, nor did the restrictive US maritime rules that have prevented other cruise lines from offering inter-island service in the Hawaiian Islands. US law prohibits foreign built vessels from operating passenger service between US ports, however NCL managed to get a waiver of this requirement for it's US subsidiary NCL America which operates the line's Hawaiian fleet.

NCL America's liners are all US flag vessels, by comparison must cruise liners operate under foreign flags such as Liberia or Panama. In addition NCL America's ships feature 100% American crews, and must abide by US labor laws. According to NCL, this makes their labor costs approximately 3 times higher than foreign flag ships. In the past having an all American crew has caused problems for the line as some crew members weren't prepared for the challenges of working on a cruise ship, however this is something that the line seems to have learned from.

Currently NCL America operates two ships the Pride of Aloha, and the Pride of America. A third ship, the Pride of Hawaii will join the fleet in the summer of 2006.

The Pride of Aloha was originally the Norwegan Sky went through an extensive refit before being renamed and reflagged as an American vessel entered service with NCL America in 2004. Onboard you'll find 6 restaurants, 13 different bars & lounges, 2 swimming pools, 5 hot tubs, a spa and fitness center, jogging/walking track, basketball/volleyball court, 2 golf driving nets and even a golf pro shop.

The Pride of America entered service this past June and is the first new cruise ship to sail under the US flag in almost 50 years. It also holds the honor of being the largest US flag cruise ship in history. The Pride of American features 10 restaurants, 12 different bars & lounges, 3 swimming pools, 7 hot tubs, a health spa beauty salon and fitness center, jogging/walking track, basketball/volleyball/tennis court, golf pro shop, and a card room.

Both ship's offer 7 day sailings departing from either Honolulu on O'ahu or Kahalui on Maui. Pride of America offers Honolulu round trips with port calls in Kahului and Lahaina on Maui, as well as Hilo and Kona on Hawaii. As an alternative, the Pride of America also offers itineraries that substitute a port call at Nawilliwili Kauai for the Lahaina port call.

The Pride of Aloha makes it's rounds between Nawilliwili, Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo. Passengers can make the round trip from either Honolulu or Kahului.

Since these are NCL ships they all offer NCL's signature "Freestyle Dining" option. Unlike on most other cruise lines where passengers are assigned a specific dining room and seating time for dinner, onboard NCL's ships you're free to eat at what ever onboard restaurant you want whenever you want. In addition NCL has also introduced a streamlined "Freestyle Disembarkation" process intended to ease the disembarkation process and eliminate the "hurry up and wait" that many travelers experience when going through disembarkation on other lines.

Each ship's Hawaii Ambassador is onboard to introduce passengers to the unique traditions and culture of the Hawaiian Islands. Some of the things you can enjoy are lei making classes, polynesian line dancing, moko tatooing, Hawaiian hula lessons, Tahitian dance lessons, palm frond weaving and more.

The one thing you won't find onboard ships of the NCL America fleet is a casino, making the cruise line the second operating out of a US port to not have a casino onboard. Neither of Disney Cruise Line's two ships have casinos onboard either.

For more information or to book a Hawaiian cruise onboard either of NCL America's ships visit www.mycruiseplanner.net