Norwegian to shuffle local cruise vessels
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Norwegian Cruise Line will be reassigning its Norwegian Star ship from Hawai'i to Seattle next year to offer Alaska cruises through September 2004, but will bring in at least two other ships next year.
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Chief Executive Colin Veitch, meanwhile, plans to introduce the company's first U.S.-flag cruise ship in Hawai'i in summer 2004. That 2,000-passenger ship will not need to stop at a foreign port as the Norwegian Star has been required to do to comply with federal law.
The Norwegian Star will move to Seattle next year for Alaska cruises through September 2004. A spokes-man says it will not return after it leaves next spring.
Another reflagged, 2,000-passenger ship for Hawai'i cruises could be introduced as early as the end of next year, according to Veitch.
The Norwegian Star, a ship with foreign flags that employs largely foreign workers, stops at Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati to fulfill a non-U.S. port visit requirement during its Hawai'i cruises. The Star will not return to Hawai'i after it leaves next spring, said Steve Hirano, Norwegian's local representative.
In addition to the U.S.-flag ships, the 1,740-passenger Norwegian Wind will return to Hawai'i for a permanent stay, offering 10- and 11-day cruises starting in May 2004, Hirano said. The Wind was based in Hawai'i from September through April and is used for Caribbean or Alaska cruises the rest of the year.
Norwegian said it will announce details of its Hawai'i schedules in coming weeks.
Under legislation spearheaded by Hawai'i Sen. Dan Inouye and approved by Congress in February, Norwegian will be able to fly U.S. flags on three ships that would not typically qualify as U.S.-built under the federal Passenger Vessel Services Act. All three could call on domestic ports and would be in operation in Hawai'i by 2007, according to Norwegian's plans. Hawai'i would then make up nearly 20 percent of Norwegian's business.
The 2,240-passenger Norwegian Star has been homeported in Honolulu and sailing in Hawai'i since December 2001.
"Alaska cruises will now be able to enjoy a ship that only Hawai'i cruisers have experienced," Veitch said in a written statement.
The ship will sail Alaska cruises from May through September 2004, and will be one of three ships sailing from Seattle and Vancouver for seven-day cruises.
When the Norwegian Star leaves Hawai'i, a casino will be added to the nightclub on board. Inouye won federal legislation to prohibit ships with gambling facilities to operate in Hawaiian waters. That forced the Norwegian Star to remove its casino.
Another cruise line, Crystal Cruises, plans to include its first series of 10-day Hawai'i cruises sailing from Honolulu and stopping at Christmas Island in its 2004 itinerary.
