Pride-Of-America

Tsunami waves generated by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia on July 29, 2025, caused cruise ships, among them the 'Pride of America', to leave the port of Hilo, leaving passengers behind on Hawaii. The ship notified all guests via SMS and advised them "to seek higher ground and follow instructions from local authorities if they were unable to return to the ship in time for its departure. Affected passengers on excursions frantically called the Norwegian customer service line and asked for the ship to be held until they got back. Originally, NCL said it would hold the ship for them. But at 3:38 p.m., the company said the ship was leaving after a request from the state’s Department of Transportation in response to local emergency procedures and to prioritizing the safety of the guests and crew. The ship left at 4 p.m., two hours earlier than its scheduled 6 p.m. departure. After the ship departed, the excursion guests boarded their bus again and drove uphill, before eventually being taken to the Waiakea High School, where they slept on the gym floor or in tour buses, while the 'Pride of America' remained at sea, waiting for permission to re-enter the port and collect its passengers. On the morning of July 30, the authorities in Hawaii canceled the tsunami advisory and issued an all-clear. Report with photos: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/travel/tsunami-hawaii-cruise-ships-passengers.html

The 'Pride of America', sailing around Hawaii on a cruise which embarked on Nov 16, 2024, had to cut short an overnight call on Maui that was supposed to take place from Nov 17-18, due to a problem with the fresh water line at the Kahului Pier. The passengers were supposed to have until 6 p.m. LT on Nov 18 to explore Maui. But because the cruise ship was not able to bunker fresh water in port, all guests back had to be back onboard by 8:00 a.m. on the Nov 18 instead instead ofthe] scheduled evening departure to produce fresh water. The 7-night itinerary, which the Norwegian Cruise Line ship has been operating on repeat out of Honolulu, Hawaii, calls for stops at Hilo, Hawaii; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island; and Nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii; as well as the overnight visit to Kahului (Maui), Hawaii.

The 'Pride of America' suffered a technical issue on April 16, 2024. Despite the efforts to maintain the original itinerary, the issue impacted ots departure from Hilo, Hawaii, leading to the cancellation of the scheduled visits to Kona, on April 17 and Nawiliwili, Kaua’i, on April 18. In collaboration with local experts work was on to resolve the issue. The 'Pride of America' finally left the port of Hilo on the morning of April 18, after three days docked. Before ending the current cruise in Honolulu on April 20, the vessel was set to make a shortened visit to Nawiliwili. Passengers will receive a $200 non-refundable onboard credit per stateroom, in addition to a Future Cruise Credit (FCC). The FCC will be equivalent to 20 percent of the paid fare for the current cruise and can be used towards any of Norwegian’s published itineraries scheduled through December 31, 2025. Pre-purchased excursions for the cancelled ports of call were also fully refunded.

Six crew members on the 'Pride of Americ' which was docked at Honolulu Harbor have tested positive for coronavirus, and two weenow hospitalizedre. There were 500 crew members onboard the vessel. Passengers haven’t been allowed on board since March 14. The state was coordinating with the cruise line and following CDC protocol to determine when healthy crew members can be allowed to leave the ship and return to their home state. The ship is scheduled to depart Hawaii later this month to enter dry dock.