Seafarers already are working aboard NCL America’s newest cruise ship—the Pride of Hawaii, which is scheduled to reach the United States in late April. The Pride of Hawaii—advertised as the largest U.S.-flag passenger ship ever built—is slated to stay in Baltimore for at least a week and then sail to Los Angeles for its christening. The vessel will join its sister ships, the SIU-crewed Pride of America (christened last summer) and Pride of Aloha (2004) in offering seven-day cruises around the Hawaiian Islands.
The Pride of Hawaii was floated out of Germany’s Meyer Werft dock Feb. 19 and berthed at the shipyard’s outfitting pier for final touches before sailing along the River Ems to Eemshaven for sea trials March 11. After a series of initial voyages, the Pride of Hawaii will begin its regular inter-island schedule, probably in June.
“This is another great development with more new jobs for our union,” said SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez. “SIU members already are doing an outstanding job aboard NCL America’s other ships, and there’s no doubt the tradition will continue aboard the Pride of Hawaii.”
“Consumers will now have the choice between three different NCL America ships in Hawaii,” noted Colin Veitch, NCL America’s president and chief executive officer, “each with its own personality and style but all delivering incredible inter-island freestyle cruises.”
At more than 93,000 gross tons and with a passenger capacity of nearly 2,400, the Pride of Hawaii and its sister ships are creating thousands of American jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits to Hawaii and to the United States in general. In fact, with this third vessel, NCL America is providing employment for some 4,000 shipboard personnel.
While all three of the vessels offer seven-night cruises to Hawaii’s four main islands, the Pride of Hawaii will depart from Honolulu on Mondays. And like the Pride of Aloha, which departs Sundays, and the Pride of America, which departs Saturdays, the new ship offers many of the same amenities and “freestyle” options in its choice of restaurants and other shipboard and excursion activities.
One of the differences, however, is the expansive suites aboard the newest vessel, each of which includes a private courtyard with pool and whirlpool, concierge service, and much more.
Both the Pride of Aloha and the Pride of America have dramatic artwork painted on their hulls. The Pride of Hawaii features a distinctive and equally vivid look. To celebrate its name, the hull artwork features a hula dancer on one side and a conch shell blower on the other. Each is joined by a lei—a welcome symbol of Hawaii, made up of yellow, red and orange hibiscus blossoms.
On all three NCL America ships, union members and their families can secure reduced fares through Union Plus, a nonprofit organization founded by the AFL-CIO. In fact, since NCL America and Union Plus first teamed up last summer, thousands of union members have taken advantage of the discounted rates. The toll-free number for this benefit is (866) 867-0593.
As previously reported, NCL America faced some relatively brief growing pains in 2004, but since then has successfully refined its product—a fact not lost on professional and amateur critics alike. In the media and on internet message boards populated by passengers, the reviews these days are very favorable.
Some of the magazine reviews point to the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center as one reason why things have improved. In 2005, more than 3,000 students successfully completed the Paul Hall Center’s three-week course given to prospective NCL America shipboard employees who fill hundreds of non-marine positions.
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