New interisland cruise ship stirs revitalization hopes
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Norwegian Star sailed effortlessly into Honolulu Harbor yesterday morning, and with it came the promise of better times.
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Even drizzle and overcast skies were not enough to dampen what appeared to be the brightest ray of economic sunshine Hawai'i has seen in months.
The Norwegian star, a newly built 2,200-passenger cruise liner, docks at Aloha Tower.
The brand-new, $400 million, 2,200-passenger Star — the first foreign vessel to be permanently based in Hawai'i — is launching its career as the state's only locally based interisland cruising vessel. Its arrival could not have come at a better time for a state tourism landscape deeply scarred by the economic downturn that followed Sept. 11 and 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, which had two cruise ships in service here and is the single largest closure to result so far in the post-terrorism economic crisis, took 1,100 jobs and 100,000 visitors a year with it.
While Norwegian by itself cannot save Hawai'i's tourism industry, it is a welcome spot in an otherwise scary landscape, providing business to hundreds of vendors and merchants who rely on the cruise industry and pumping millions into the state's struggling economy.
The Star arrived after a few stops around Neighbor Islands on its positioning cruise from Mexico. Last night it left on a lavish fund-raising event and will begin its maiden Hawai'i voyage today, offering four days traveling in Hawai'i and three days cruising to and from Fanning Island in Kiribati.
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Benjamin and Judy Yee, both 66, of Kailua, were among the 1,200 people making the overnight $250 "cruise to nowhere." They said they didn't plan on sleeping.
Colin Veitch left, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, and Capt. Geir Lokoen, of the Star, right, untie the maile lei at the ship's blessing officiated by the Rev. David K. Kaupu, center, of Kaumakapili Church.
"We've been on a couple of 10-foot dingies, but this is the first time we have ever been aboard a cruise ship," said Benjamin, who said they will be taking a full seven-day trip in February because the two are convinced the Star will provide the necessary economic boost Hawai'i needs.
Rates on the colossal, 15-deck ship begin at around $900 a person and go as high as $26,000 a week for either of two 5,350 square foot Garden Villas. The Star has 36 suites, 372 standard staterooms with balconies and an entire deck of 107 minisuites with balconies.
Colin Veitch, president and chief executive officer for Norwegian Cruise Line, predicted that the arrival of the Star is only the start of what will become an expanded cruise industry in Hawai'i. Contrary to what some may think, he said his company was sorry to see American Classic leave the state because there's room for several cruise lines in Hawai'i.
Company surveys, he said, show overwhelmingly that today's pleasure-boat passengers prefer to travel to three world destinations: the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawai'i. The Caribbean and Alaska each have a large, seven-day cruise ship presence.
But "there has been no seven-day Hawai'i product on a modern cruise ship," he said. "We see a huge opening in the market for this modern style of product in a very natural cruise destination. The Hawaiian Islands are geographically ideal for a seven-day cruise."
Veitch said the direct economic effect from the Star on Hawai'i's economy will be $90 million annually. By itself, the Star will account for 90,000 hotel nights in Hawai'i. After September, when the line's Norwegian Wind begins home porting in Honolulu for six months a year, he estimated that the two-ship effect on the state will total $140 million.
Already, he said the Star is 95 percent booked through March 31, giving it more bookings than any other ship in the company's fleet.
The Star will not offer kama'aina rates because travel agents asked that the line not have them. The reason, said Veitch, is that at $900 a week, meals included, travel agents consider discount rates unnecessary.
The Star's arrival comes as cruise ship officials are projecting sizable growth in the industry in Hawai'i next year, despite the troubles tourism has had worldwide since Sept. 11. The North West Cruise Ship Association said last week that 250,000 cruise ship passengers are expected to visit the Islands in 2002, up 56 percent from 160,000 passengers this year.
The association agrees with Veitch and estimates the cruise industry's annual economic benefit to Hawai'i at $91.9 million. That includes $28.6 million spent by passengers on pre- and post-cruise packages, $16.1 million for shore excursions, and $24.7 million in fuel costs.
Still, even as the Star dominated the scene at Aloha Tower yesterday, Brandon Hiromoto, with the guest service kiosk at the Boat Days Bazaar, was cautious in exuding the same amount of optimism as Veitch and others. He wanted to believe, but it was clear his hopes had been dashed before.
"People have anticipated this," Hiromoto said. "It's something the merchants have been talking about. After the Patriot and Independence left, we didn't know what to expect. I mean, it happened so suddenly. We knew nothing about it.
"But, you've got to keep a positive attitude. It's possible. I'm hoping."
