Hawaii 7 day cruise???

[Cinderose]

Why doesnt Carnival do a 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands? I see where they have a 15 day one but some of us cant take two weeks in a row off from work. Am really interested in a family reunion cruise at the end of 2011 or 2012 but I dont want to do it on NCL!!! Carnival are you listening out there???

[MrPete]

You must be an American flagged ship to start and stop in an American port without visiting a foreign port. You may wish to reference the Passenger Service Act.

[sanmarcosman]

You must be an American flagged ship to start and stop in an American port without visiting a foreign port. You may wish to reference the Passenger Service Act.

That's correct, you know your facts.

[MrPete]

That's correct, you know your facts.

 

1886 was before 1912.

[Sargent_Schultz]

More than just American flagged. It took an act of Congress for NCL to create NCLA and be allowed to sail the islands.

[cardinalfan]

The Hawaiian cruise will be leaving from California and will be round trip but will stop in Mexico for a few hours before returning to California.

[Kevin]

More than just American flagged. It took an act of Congress for NCL to create NCLA and be allowed to sail the islands.

 

Only because the ships were not built in the US and were therefore ineligible to be flagged with the US flag.

 

If you could afford to build a ship in the US you could do it without an act of Congress.

[flag fan]

The only ship now sailing those 7-day Hawaii cruises is the Pride of America. The Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii, which were both part of NCLA, were apparently not making enough money and were repositioned (Pride of Aloha has since been sold and Pride of Hawaii is now the Norwegian Jade and sails (I think) in Europe). Because of NCL's experience, I wonder if Carnival would want to get in the Hawaii market even if it could.

 

I took a cruise on the Pride of Hawaii and thought it was great; I want to return for a Pride of America trip sometime--it was nice to sail from one American port to another with an American crew as something a little different than the Caribbean cruises.

[hazeleyez3]

Another reason are the employees needed. I believe that if you have a US Flagged ship you have to have a specific amount of American staff members.

 

Salaries for Americans along with the required benefits are quite different than those who are not U.S. Citizens.

[tiggerman101]

The only ship now sailing those 7-day Hawaii cruises is the Pride of America. The Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii, which were both part of NCLA, were apparently not making enough money and were repositioned (Pride of Aloha has since been sold and Pride of Hawaii is now the Norwegian Jade and sails (I think) in Europe). Because of NCL's experience, I wonder if Carnival would want to get in the Hawaii market even if it could.

 

I took a cruise on the Pride of Hawaii and thought it was great; I want to return for a Pride of America trip sometime--it was nice to sail from one American port to another with an American crew as something a little different than the Caribbean cruises.

 

The Jade is based out of Barcelona now. I am on her in January for an Eastern Mediterranean cruise. They did add a casino onto her since she couldn't have one when she sailed Hawaii.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Only because the ships were not built in the US and were therefore ineligible to be flagged with the US flag.

 

If you could afford to build a ship in the US you could do it without an act of Congress.

 

Pretty much. Pride of America was partly built at Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi with heavy federal subsidies (something we criticize other countries for) and the company it was being built for went bankrupt.

 

NCL bought the ship and had it towed to Germany for completion.

 

Not only can you not afford to build cruise ships in the US, but it is usually unprofitable to operate them. NCLA found that out and is down to 1 ship from 3.

 

Yet another stupid law allegedly designed to protect an industry that ended up bankrupting it.

[familycruzinnewbie]

The reviews I read for Pride of America didn't look very positive. Even booking a basic room would cost us $4000 for the week, plus excursions and it didn't look like it had a lot of kid friendly items on board (waterslides etc). We have plans to be in Honolulu with DH on business, and I have been trying to plan a cruise and thought I could combine the two but it is not looking favorable, so I will do a Caribbean cruise on a different trip.

[jimbo5544]

The only ship now sailing those 7-day Hawaii cruises is the Pride of America. The Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii, which were both part of NCLA, were apparently not making enough money and were repositioned (Pride of Aloha has since been sold and Pride of Hawaii is now the Norwegian Jade and sails (I think) in Europe). Because of NCL's experience, I wonder if Carnival would want to get in the Hawaii market even if it could.

 

I took a cruise on the Pride of Hawaii and thought it was great; I want to return for a Pride of America trip sometime--it was nice to sail from one American port to another with an American crew as something a little different than the Caribbean cruises.

I asked your very question to a Area VP of Carnival and his response "will never happen".

[clearwatergirl]

We are celebrating a 50th Wedding Annivarsary and have reserved several cabins on the Pride of America for a June 2011 sailing.

 

We all know about "crew" issues, no gambling and other issues associated with NCL. But, as the original poster stated, who has the time for a 15 day in Hawaii. I for one wouldn't want to take half my cruise up with sea days either.

 

So, we're taking a shot. There will be 20 family members together for the first time ever. That is to be celebrated! Hawaii is the added bonus.:D

[hazeleyez3]

The reviews I read for Pride of America didn't look very positive. Even booking a basic room would cost us $4000 for the week, plus excursions and it didn't look like it had a lot of kid friendly items on board (waterslides etc). We have plans to be in Honolulu with DH on business, and I have been trying to plan a cruise and thought I could combine the two but it is not looking favorable, so I will do a Caribbean cruise on a different trip.

 

We did the cruise for our honeymoon, and although we thought the cruise part wasn't good, the ports more than made up for it - especially since we couldn't narrow it down to where we wanted to go.

 

I did a 10 day land vacation (about 12 years before the cruise) to Honolulu which was wonderful. The area is gorgeous. I was 21 and at that time I was more interested in the hustle and bustle of the city combined with the beaches, palm trees, etc. We did a day trip over to Maui and although the area was pretty it wasn't a place I wanted to stay (at that time) in.

 

That being said, your kids might enjoy Oahu more than a cruise that goes to Hilo, Kona, etc.

[tiggerman101]

We are celebrating a 50th Wedding Annivarsary and have reserved several cabins on the Pride of America for a June 2011 sailing.

 

We all know about "crew" issues, no gambling and other issues associated with NCL. But, as the original poster stated, who has the time for a 15 day in Hawaii. I for one wouldn't want to take half my cruise up with sea days either.

 

So, we're taking a shot. There will be 20 family members together for the first time ever. That is to be celebrated! Hawaii is the added bonus.:D

 

You will have a great time. My parents did it a few years ago and loved it. It is very port intensive anyway so a cruise like that isn't really about the ship.

 

As I said I am on the Jade in January (former Pride of Hawaii). It is a 12 day cruise, but I am not too concerned about the ship itself. The itinerary is outstanding and completely the reason why we booked it. I understand that the ship is still decorated in a total Hawaiian style which should prove to be interesting.

[hazeleyez3]

We are celebrating a 50th Wedding Annivarsary and have reserved several cabins on the Pride of America for a June 2011 sailing.

 

We all know about "crew" issues, no gambling and other issues associated with NCL. But, as the original poster stated, who has the time for a 15 day in Hawaii. I for one wouldn't want to take half my cruise up with sea days either.

 

So, we're taking a shot. There will be 20 family members together for the first time ever. That is to be celebrated! Hawaii is the added bonus.:D

 

Take a look at the Hawaii Revealed books. They are wonderful - all types of tips and details about the areas. There is one for each island.

 

We actually took the books, and just rented a car in each port. That way we could see exactly what we wanted and not have to either 1) race back to the bus or 2) wait for everyone else to be done taking pics, using the restroom, etc. It was also a lot easier on our wallet.

[SmogMonster]

Actually, some of the NCL ships used to make a stop at Fanning Island which is part of the Republic of Kiribati and therefore considered a foreign port. NCL used it as their private Island through an agreement with the local govt. Fanning Island is a small atol only 7 miles wide with no electricity or indoor plumbing. It also only has 2000 residents!

 

So, technically, Carnival could figure out a way to do Hawaii if they wanted to. That being said, NCL did not find the Hawaii itinerary profitable so its unlikely that Carnival would want to make the investment..

[jcfcruise]

We ( a group of 12) did the Pride of America cruise of the Islands last year. We had read several BAD reviews about this ship also. But we had a very good time. Going from Island to Island overnight is a neat way to do it. No wasted daytime sitting in the airports.

Be sure to go to the Luau & Fire Dance through NCL. It is rather costly, but really Great!!

The staff is mostly American. Our waiter (James) was from North Carolina & our cabin stewart was from Arizona.

[DALSAL]

We did POA cruise a few years back, and heard all the negative reviews, but, since we are not demanding people, decided to give it a try. It was awesome. Everyone was great, our cabin was kept up, and had NO problems at all. Of course, its Hawaii, and we spent most of our time on the Island, not on the ship. I would do it again in a second! As a matter of fact, my brother was wanting us to do another Alaska cruise, and hubby said, why dont we do another Hawaii! This coming from the man that I had been begging for YEARS to take me to Hawaii. One of our best cruises so far!

[wadethegringo]

Actually, some of the NCL ships used to make a stop at Fanning Island which is part of the Republic of Kiribati and therefore considered a foreign port. NCL used it as their private Island through an agreement with the local govt. Fanning Island is a small atol only 7 miles wide with no electricity or indoor plumbing. It also only has 2000 residents!

 

So, technically, Carnival could figure out a way to do Hawaii if they wanted to. That being said, NCL did not find the Hawaii itinerary profitable so its unlikely that Carnival would want to make the investment..

 

I took the NCL STAR on that itinerary a few years back.... The ship had no casino.. I am sure that is a huge loss of profit.

[Jenbo57]

Don't be afraid of the negative reviews; this is a great way to get a feel for each of the islands! We were on the POA last month, and while I wasn't crazy about much of the food (which is subjective anyway), we had excellent service, the ship is beautiful and well laid out, and we loved our aft balcony! We'd been to Hawaii several times, but always to Oahu, and figured we needed to see more of the islands before deciding where to go for a week in November. This was the perfect way to do it. Wasn't blown away by Maui, thought the Big Island was incredible, and fell in love with Kauai. (But, we're going back to Oahu in November!)