Princess Cruises has launched a new Hawai'i cruise itinerary that will continue through April, providing a seasonal bright spot in a visiting-cruise schedule that sank in numbers after NCL America reduced its Hawai'i-based ships from three to one.

Even with the 14 added voyages by Princess, however, overall cruise ship tours in Hawaiian waters are expected to decline by 25 percent next year, compared with 2008.

What had been a booming cruise ship passenger business has taken a double hit this year.

First it was the loss of two NCL America vessels: the Pride of Hawaii, which departed in February, and the Pride of Aloha, which left in mid-May.

State tourism officials said the second hit came when a federal agency proposed changing the rules for foreign-flagged vessels that would have required a longer stay in foreign ports in between calls at U.S. destinations. Although the proposal failed, some of the cruise lines lightened their Hawai'i-bound schedules because they didn't know how the changes might have affected their companies.

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said the uncertainty "made them very leery as they were putting their schedules together for 2009 and the latter part of 2008."

For its 2008-09 schedule, Princes Cruises put its 951-foot Golden Princess into service in the Hawai'i market. The ship offers 14-day round-trip Hawai'i cruises from Los Angeles that include calls at Hilo, Honolulu, Kaua'i and Maui, through April 1, 2009.

Programs onboard the ship include a variety of cultural presentations and demonstrations, interpretive lectures, learning to play the 'ukulele, other hands-on activities and Hawaiian cuisine, said Jan Swartz, Princess' senior vice president.

Princess Cruises operates a global cruise and tour company running a fleet of 17 ships with sailings to all seven continents, ranging in length from seven to 107 days. The company is part of Carnival Corp.

The loss of the NCL America ships is dragging down the overall visitor numbers. Wienert said 18 percent of the total 19.5 percent decline in visitor arrivals for September can be attributed to the decline in cruise ship passengers.

Wienert also said some islands are feeling the pinch even more keenly, such as the Big Island, where 67 percent of the arrival decrease is due to loss of cruise ships, Wienert said.

NCL America had pushed for a change in the interpretation of a federal law that prevents ships flying under the flags of other countries from carrying passengers between U.S. ports. The other companies had predicted 53 fewer calls by Princess Cruise Lines and Holland America Line ships from the West Coast to Kona and Hilo.

From 2004 to 2006, the record numbers of visitors to Hawai'i were being boosted by the growth of NCL's three ships traveling the Islands nearly every week as well as other visiting ships.

Wienert said the state can work with the cruise ships to try to attract future business. But it's unlikely that an impact will be felt before 2010 because cruise ship companies plan their itineraries six months or more in advance.

"There's not a lot we can do for 2009," Wienert said. She remains hopeful for the longer term, looking ahead to 2010 and 2011.

A recent study commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association found that the North American cruise industry contributed $712 million in direct spending to the Hawai'i economy last year.

The study concluded that the spending generated 22,894 jobs and put the state at sixth in the nation in terms of cruise industry spending.

Hawai'i continues to be one of the most popular cruise destinations with ships visiting from Canada, the continental U.S. and Mexico as well as those in Hawai'i.

But last year's total cruise ship passenger tally of 1.7 million won't be matched this year. State statistics indicated that for the first nine months of this year, a total of 192,273 visitors came by cruise ship or by air to board cruise ships, 48.5 percent lower than the same period of the previous year.