HONOLULU, Aug. 17 (Nationwide Times) — Travelers sailing between Hawaii’s islands faced itinerary changes after Tropical Storm Lala approached the state, prompting Norwegian Cruise Line to reroute two ships and push back one Honolulu departure by a day.
The changes affected Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, which operates seven-night inter-island cruises, and Norwegian Spirit, which was completing a longer voyage from Vancouver to Honolulu.
What happened to Pride of America?
Pride of America began a seven-night sailing from Honolulu on Aug. 8. The ship shortened its scheduled overnight call at Nawiliwili on Kauai and left for Honolulu on Aug. 13, according to a Norwegian Cruise Line guest communication.
The ship reached Honolulu early on Aug. 14. Norwegian told passengers they could leave the ship early or remain aboard while the vessel waited, according to the guest communication.
The ship’s scheduled Aug. 15 disembarkation was moved to Aug. 16. Because that delayed the normal process of preparing the vessel for its next group of passengers, the next seven-night sailing was also moved from Aug. 15 to Aug. 16.
Norwegian has not publicly provided, in the information available for this report, a final revised itinerary for that delayed sailing. Passengers booked on it may need to review changes to flights, hotels, airport transfers and other Hawaii plans directly with Norwegian and their travel providers.
What changed for Norwegian Spirit?
Norwegian Spirit was sailing from Vancouver to Honolulu. The ship canceled planned calls at Hilo and Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island and headed toward Honolulu after arriving there early, according to Norwegian’s passenger communication.
The ship then went back to sea while waiting for conditions to allow the voyage to continue. Norwegian expected the cruise to finish in Honolulu on Aug. 16, according to the communication reported at the time.
Passengers on the affected ships were offered the choice of leaving early or staying aboard, according to Norwegian. The available reports do not establish a single final compensation policy for every passenger, and Norwegian has not provided an official total for refunds or credits in the information available here.
Why were the routes changed?
The National Hurricane Center said that at 8 a.m. Hawaii time on Aug. 14, Lala was about 365 miles east-southeast of Hilo. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 12 mph, with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph.
Norwegian said the developing storm could bring strong winds and difficult conditions and could lead to the closure of Honolulu’s port.
The U.S. Coast Guard captain of the port Honolulu set Port Condition Zulu for Hawaii, Maui and Honolulu counties and Port Condition Yankee for Kauai County. These designations are maritime safety measures that signal increasing restrictions on port operations as severe weather approaches.
The supplied information does not include a direct Honolulu port notice confirming the exact closure period or the time normal operations resumed. It also does not establish whether Lala later strengthened beyond the tropical-storm classification reported by the National Hurricane Center on Aug. 14.
What should cruise travelers watch for?
A port change can affect more than shore excursions. For passengers ending a cruise, an altered disembarkation date can affect flights, hotel reservations, rental cars and transfers. Passengers starting a cruise from Honolulu may also face changes if the ship’s turnaround is delayed.
Travelers with bookings on Pride of America or Norwegian Spirit should check Norwegian Cruise Line’s direct updates for their sailing rather than rely only on the original itinerary. They should also contact airlines, hotels and transportation providers promptly if a one-day change affects their plans.
The disruptions illustrate a basic cruise-planning risk in storm-prone regions: a ship may skip a destination, return to its home port early or remain at sea even when the original schedule shows a port visit. Those changes are made to protect passengers, crew and vessels, but they can affect the land-based parts of a trip as well.
