Norwegian Star on its way
By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Turns out Christmas won't be all coal for Hawai'i's tourism industry: Norwegian Cruise Line's Star is on its way to make Honolulu its home and should put some shine on the industry's otherwise dusty black nuggets.
Advertiser library photo
The brand-new 2,200-passenger Star — the first foreign vessel to be permanently based in Hawai'i — arrives in the Islands in just a few days, stopping first in Hilo on its positioning cruise from Mexico. It pulls into Honolulu on Dec. 15 for a lavish fund-raising event, and begins its maiden Hawai'i voyage the next day, launching its career as the state's only locally based interisland cruising vessel. The ship will offer seven-day voyages that spend four days in Hawai'i and three days cruising to Fanning Island in Kiribati.
The new 2,200-passenger Norwegian Cruise Line vessel, Norwegian Star, has 10 different restaurants.
Norwegian comes on a white horse to a tourism landscape deeply scarred by the economic downturn that followed Sept. 11 and by the bankruptcy of American Classic Voyages. Since the terrorist attacks, visitor arrivals to Hawai'i have fallen 20 percent below normal levels, a decline that will contribute to a projected $150 million shortfall in state revenue this fiscal year. The bankruptcy of American Classic, the single largest closure to result so far from the post-terrorism economic crisis, took 1,100 jobs and 100,000 visitors a year with it.
Portside vendors and other tourism businesses say Norwegian by itself cannot save Hawai'i's tourism industry, and it won't even completely replace what was lost with American Classic. But many merchants say they are thankful the business is coming, and some say that without the new ship they would be cutting staff.
| Star of the Norwegian Cruise Line | |
| • | The new $400 million, 91,000-ton Norwegian Star will be based in Honolulu starting this month. |
| • | It will be Norwegian Cruise Line's largest ship, accommodating 2,200 passengers and 1,100 crew members. |
| • | It will be Norwegian Cruise Line's fastest ship, cruising at a maximum speed of 25 knots. |
| • | The 15-deck ship is at the maximum size to fit through the Panama Canal. |
| • | It will include 36 suites, 372 standard staterooms with balconies and an entire deck of 107 minisuites with balconies. |
| • | The Norwegian Star's maiden voyage is Dec. 16. |
| • | Before that voyage, Norwegian Cruise Line will take the ship to Miami and Los Angeles for introductory festivities. |
| Source: Norwegian Cruise Line | |
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Bell is one of dozens of portside merchants around the state who draw a large part of their business from the passengers who get off the ships and look for something to do in town.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism estimates that the average cruise ship passenger spends $83 a day in port, mostly in shops, restaurants and at activities and entertainment venues.
Already the Star, which Norwegian chief executive officer Colin Veitch says is 96 percent booked through March, has inspired United Airlines to add a twice-weekly Denver-Honolulu flight timed to bring people booked on the ship -- and anyone else with a yen for a Hawai'i vacation.
Norwegian's long-term plan, Veitch says, is to make Hawai'i one of the company's major destinations, and to be known as a "Hawai'i specialist." If all goes well, he says, Norwegian will consider adding a second Hawai'i-based ship.
"The first quarter is nearly fully booked and the second quarter is more than half-booked," Veitch said. "That's a good strong start. But I'd want to make sure it's not just a flash-in-the-pan new ship phenomenon. This is entirely new to us. We know what the demand pattern is in the Caribbean and so on. We're very pleased with the demand pattern in the first half of the year in Hawai'i, we'll see what the second half is like."
Norwegian has already added a second ship on a semi-permanent basis.
The Norwegian Wind will be based in Honolulu from Sept. 2002 to April 2003, giving the year to 10- and 11-day Hawai'i cruises except for the summer, when there is high demand in Alaska.
If Norwegian makes a big splash, cruise industry consultants say other lines could follow, though there will be hurdles. Hawai'i is already recognized as a fresh, new destination, some said, and many lines are simply trying to figure out how to get in on it. Over the last two years, a cruise industry coalition has worked with state officials to try to improve the ports and passenger terminals, to win support among lawmakers and reticent parts of the tourism industry, such as hotel operators, and to sell the community on the economic impact of the cruise industry.
"All those efforts tell me that it's certainly a destination the cruise industry is eager to be involved with," said Mark Ittel, director of maritime and destination development at Miami-based Bermello, Ajamil and Partners, which advises clients on cruise destination development.
Advertiser library photo • April 18, 2001
"Everyone watches each other to see how they're doing in all markets, and Hawai'i is no different. They're going to look at them from a sales and marketing perspective, in terms of how NCL really does in terms of (fares), and they're also going to look at it in terms of operations," he said.
Norwegian CEO Colin Veitch said the cruise line may add a second ship.
But like Norwegian, all cruise lines that want to build their Hawai'i business will have to contend with restrictive maritime laws that require foreign ships to touch a non-U.S. port at some point in their Hawai'i itinerary.
Veitch says Norwegian is very happy with its itinerary, that people like open-water time when they cruise, and that if the laws were to change he is not sure the company would abandon its run to Fanning Island. But Ittel says lines with slower ships and different operations might not be so willing.
"(The need to touch a foreign port) makes longer cruises," Ittel said. "NCL has found a way around that. Will the other cruise lines do that? Probably not."
Some tour operators say that while they are grateful for the ships that come, they will not be able to do much good for the Islands until those laws are changed.
"We in Hilo are going to see the Norwegian Star once and not again," said Doug Arnott, owner of Big Island tour operator Arnott's Lodge and Hiking Adventures. "It calls at Kona for only four hours. Because of the time it takes to get to Kiribati, the Big Island is going to lose millions in potential income over the next 52 weeks."
No real efforts are under way to change the law, though letters to the editor, opinion pieces and talk among tourism executives suggest public sentiment for change is building.
Some merchants have nothing but good words for the Star and other ships, but also say that in the wake of the terrorist attacks and the decimation of tourism that followed, they are shifting strategies to focus more heavily on the local market.
The Original Red Dirt Shirt Company says business didn't fall off as much as feared at its cruise-heavy stores in Lihu'e, Lahaina and Waikiki after American Classic died, and that it expects brisk sales from Norwegian's new presence.
But all the same, said company consultant Mike Umakoshi, the business is actively courting local buyers, a decision that was already in the works but was sped up after Sept. 11.
"(The cruise lines) should bring a lot more visitors and hopefully they'll be spending a lot," Umakoshi said.
But, he adds, the company is really trying "to get back to the local people."
"The way Hawai'i's structured, we rely on tourism so much that when tragedy strikes we're left in a hole," he said. "So we're restructuring our entire company so that we can cater to the entire market ... As far as relying only on cruise ships, we're not just relying on them."
Reach Michele Kayal at mkayal@honoluluadvertiser.com.
