Guests aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America are not enjoying the cruise they originally thought they would be sailing this week.
A technical issue forced the ship to remain in Hilo, Hawaii longer than anticipated, which led to the cancellation of two additional port visits. Guests are being provided with compensation for the dramatic itinerary modifications, including credit for a future cruise.
Pride of America Technical Issue Causes Cancellations
Pride of America has developed a technical issue impacting her current sailing, a 7-night inter-island Hawaii cruise roundtrip from Honolulu. Originally, the ship was to have visited four amazing destinations in the Aloha state, but the need for repairs caused the ship to remain in Hilo longer than intended.
“Despite our best efforts to maintain our original itinerary, unfortunately, on April 16, 2024, a technical issue impacted our departure from Hilo, Hawaii, leading to the cancellation of our scheduled visits to Kona, Hawaii on April 17, 2024 and Nawiliwili, Kaua’i, on April 18, 2024,” a letter sent to guests’ staterooms read.
The letter goes on to confirm that the situation has been resolved, though details of the technical issue have not been disclosed.
The 80,439-gross-ton ship is now en route to Nawiliwili for a much shortened visit. Originally, guests were to be able to enjoy the port for a lengthy overnight stay from 8 a.m. on Thursday, April 18, through 2 p.m. on Friday, April 19. Now, the visit will instead be from approximately 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.
Pride of America Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Jose Gil / Shutterstock)
Furthermore, the ship’s planned visit to Kona was cancelled completely. Fortunately, the visit to Kahului, Maui took place as planned from 8 a.m. on Sunday, April 14 through 6 p.m. on Monday, April 15, before the technical issue developed.
Pride of America‘s return to Honolulu, Oahu at 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 20 is not expected to be impacted and there should be no further delays or changes to the ship’s itinerary.
Compensation Provided
Because of the dramatic changes to the itinerary, Norwegian Cruise Line has provided generous compensation to guests onboard.
“We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding throughout the course of these changes as we know how disappointing itinerary changes can be,” the letter acknowledged. “Therefore, due to the multiple modifications, and as a genuine acknowledgement of the inconvenience caused, we have arranged for a $200 non-refundable onboard credit per stateroom.”
There are restrictions on the non-refundable credit, and it will be applied as $100 each for the first two guests in each stateroom. Pride of America can welcome 2,186 guests onboard at double occupancy.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America (Photo Credit: Jose Gil / Shutterstock)
Additionally, all guests are receiving a 20% discount as a future cruise credit (FCC) for any published future Norwegian Cruise Line sailing through December 31, 2025. This will hopefully encourage guests to enjoy a different cruise, one without the technical difficulties.
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As would be expected, all shore excursions booked through Norwegian Cruise Line for Kona and Nawiliwili are automatically cancelled and fully refunded back to guests’ onboard accounts.
Will the Next Cruise Be Affected?
Pride of America operates inter-island Hawaii cruises year-round, and there is no indication that the next cruise or any future sailings will be impacted by the now-resolved technical issue.
Nevertheless, repairs and maintenance can be necessary on any cruise ship anywhere in the world, and travelers should always be flexible with their expectations in case itinerary changes, port cancellations, or route modifications may be necessary.
Staying in close contact with one’s cruise line in the days and weeks leading up to departure can ensure that guests stay informed about their cruise and any possible changes.
