HONOLULU, July 4, 2004 -- Everyone says the world is a smaller place than it once was. Jets conquered the physical distances half a century ago, then the end of the Cold War dissolved political barriers that had separated peoples in Europe and Central Asia. Sure, we still have a hard time visiting places like North Korea, Burma, and Saudi Arabia, but this week saw yet another previously difficult travel destination open up big-time.
I'm talking about . . . Hawaii?
Strange but true, and here's a little background so you don't think I'm nuts. For decades, the 150-year old Passenger Vehicle Services Act has forbidden ships from sailing all-U.S. itineraries unless they're built in the U.S., owned by a U.S. company, flying the U.S. flag (and thus subject to U.S. taxes), and manned by a U.S. crew. That's why so many ships visit nearby foreign ports even when doing short 3- and 4-day cruises, rather than sticking to more interesting U.S. ports. It's also why Hawaii has always been a difficult cruise destination, requiring foreign-flagged ships to either visit as part of longer itineraries or to include other Polynesian destinations in their round-trip Hawaii itineraries, requiring at least two days at sea, coming and going.
Cruise lines can't use American-flagged ships for these itineraries because for the past decades there just have hardly been any: Most of the old ships built in the U.S. went to the breakers long ago, U.S. shipyards have essentially stopped building passenger vessels, and the cost of U.S. taxes and wages makes it more economical to register vessels abroad and hire foreign crew.
So, with all these obstacles, one could forgive Norwegian Cruise Line (tel. 800/327-7030, www.ncl.com) president and CEO Colin Veitch for hyperbole on Sunday when he and a host of dignitaries officially christened Pride of Aloha as the first modern U.S.-flagged cruise ship in more than a generation.
Paraphrasing Shakespeare's Henry V and alluding to his competitors at Carnival and Royal Caribbean, Veitch predicted that, "in the future, those that lie on their lounge chairs, around their barbecues in Miami, will feel themselves accursed that they were not here today."
NCL America, says Veitch, has proven that "what cannot be done, can be done," launching Hawaii as a cruise destination that, he predicts, "will be the new Alaska" for cruise travelers.
The Beginning of Something Big
NCL's welcome in the islands has been effusive, symbolized by the huge floral lei painted around Pride of Aloha's bow.
Speaking at the ceremony on Aloha's sunny pool deck, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye welcomed the line to his state, saying, "This is a good company. This is a good ship. And this is a good state. Together, they'll make a wonderful ohana," the Hawaiian term for extended family.
It's big enough news that the 77,014-ton, 2,002-passenger Pride of Aloha (which began life in 1999 as Norwegian Sky and has been completely Hawaii-fied for her new itineraries) will be offering 7-night Hawaii cruises year-round in perpetuity, visiting five islands and spending a total of almost 96 hours in port, including overnights in Kauai and Maui. But Aloha is only the beginning.
At the christening ceremony, it was announced that Pride of America, a ship based on a U.S.-built hull originally intended for defunct American Classic Voyages, would finally be delivered after many delays on June 6, 2005, and be in service in Hawaii by July. Additionally, that vessel's sister-ship, Pride of Hawaii, is now officially in the works and will hit the water in April 2006. A fourth ship, the foreign-flagged Norwegian Wind, continues to offer Hawaii cruises that also visit Fanning Island in the Kiribati Republic.
In total, the four ships are expected to introduce more than half a million passengers to Hawaii annually -- a significant boost to the islands' economy. Currently, approximately 65 percent of Pride of Aloha's crew hails from the islands, as do 85 percent of its food supplies and a range of other products. According to Captain William G. Schubert of the U.S. Maritime Administration, who spoke at the christening ceremony, nearly 7,000 jobs are being created as a result of Aloha's reflagging.
We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers
When was the last time a waiter walked up to you in a cruise ship dining room and, in a perfect southern California accent, said, "Hey, how're you doing?" Unless you're of a certain age, the answer is probably "never."
It's a very strange thing to be aboard a U.S.-manned ship, with none of the cultural barriers that sometimes separate passengers and crew on other large cruise vessels. Strange too to be aboard a ship where every single crewmember is brand new to his or her job.
"Pride of Aloha is a work in process" regarding her crew, noted CEO Veitch in a press conference. "They have the aloha spirit, and they're willing to work hard. What they lack is experience."
On the inaugural sailing, which departed Honolulu immediately following the christening and will return there on Sunday, this lack of experience manifests in some extremely long lines at buffets, long waits in formal restaurants, and a general lack of polish. Rationally, though, little more can be expected.
"This crew is unlike any other in the industry in terms of its newness," noted Veitch, pointing out that new ships typically draw their crews from experienced workers on other vessels. In the case of Aloha, there simply were no other U.S. crews to raid.
Prediction: Give them a month. By then, Aloha's crew should have learned to play the ship like a ukelele, smooth and happy.
"Stand Like Your Honey Is Holding You, Feeling the Soft Caresses of Your Hula Hands"
"The visitor industry can walk a thin line between wanting to be entertaining and being culturally accurate," noted Hawaii governor Linda Lingle in her remarks. "But Colin [Veitch] has a vision that the culture of the native Hawaiian people will be accurately presented on these ships."
It's a given on most ships today that what you experience on board will have little relation to the destination you're visiting. Not so aboard Aloha, where most entertainment and decor have been retooled to reflect island culture, from the reproductions of classic 1950s Matson Line cruise ads that line public areas to the surfboards hanging from the ceiling in the Longboard sports bar to the Kumu Cultural Center, a large space featuring displays on island history and culture, split evenly between traditional arts and mid-20th century travel memorabilia.
Hands-on experience of Hawaiian culture is to be had in daily hula classes (source of the "hula hands" quote above) and crafts sessions in which passengers can make leis and string kokui nuts into necklaces. In the ship's various lounges, entertainment leans strikingly toward Hawaiian songs, and even when more traditional pool-deck entertainment is on tap -- renditions of Jimmy Buffet tunes, for instance, or Celine Dion's Titanic hit -- it's likely to be delivered in a laid-back way by two guys with guitars and aloha shirts, strumming like they have nowhere else to be. You might feel that way too after sipping a Jungle Juice cocktail from what the bar menu describes as "your own Monkey sculpted from a real coconut," with a straw poking up out of the lid and the words "Have Fun" carved beneath its smiling face. You have your orders.
Pride of Aloha sails each Sunday from Honolulu's Aloha Tower complex. Stay tuned to the next Frommer's Cruise Newsletter for a complete post-cruise report card.
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