Thousands of NCL guests have been left with more questions than answers as Tropical Storm Lala drenches the Hawaiian islands.

Current guests were supposed to disembark from Norwegian Spirit in Honolulu on August 16, 2026, while a new round of guests was supposed to board the ship for a 16-night, one-way sailing to Vancouver, Canada.

But with Tropical Storm Lala still bringing dangerously heavy rain and strong winds to the Hawaiian Islands, the 1,972-guest ship is stuck at sea, riding out the storm in deeper waters until it is given clearance to return to Honolulu.

“At this time, we do not have any new information to share. Ongoing tropical storm conditions continue to affect the area, and as a result, the Port of Honolulu remains closed,” Norwegian Cruise Line wrote in a letter to guests on August 15, which has been shared on Reddit.

“We understand that your travel plans have been impacted, and we appreciate your patience and understanding. Please be assured that our team remains in close contact with port officials and is actively monitoring the situation,” the letter continued.

As of 6 a.m. HST, cruise tracking data shows that the ship is positioned off the coast of Hilo and sailing in the direction of Honolulu, in rough seas with 2.9-meter swells (about 9.5 feet).

Norwegian Cruise Line promised to provide an update by 8 a.m. HST on August 16, even if there is still no news to share.

Cruise Hive previously reported that the 75,904-gross ton ship made an early arrival in Honolulu because of the coming storm, but the ship had to go back out to sea when the port closed.

Similarly, NCL’s Pride Of America also made a beeline to Honolulu because of Tropical Storm Lala. This ship was supposed to return to Honolulu on August 16 to debark its current sailing one day late, but could potentially be delayed further if the port is unable to reopen.

Ports Remain Shuttered As Storm Rages

According to the National Hurricane Center (NOAA), Tropical Storm Lala has been downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane but is still bringing near hurricane-force gusts, heavy rain, and massive waves to the islands.

“Strong wind gusts are expected to continue across the Big Island of Hawaii this morning, particularly over areas of higher terrain. Across portions of the smaller islands, tropical-storm-force winds accompanied by gusts to near hurricane strength will persist through today,” NOAA wrote in its 5 a.m. HST update on August 16.

“Large and dangerous waves are expected to persist across portions of the Hawaiian islands today…The heavy surf may cause localized coastal flooding and significant beach erosion,” the update continued.

At this time, Tropical Storm Lala is positioned about 140 miles west-northwest of Kailua-Kona and about 75 miles south of Honolulu. It is moving northwest at speeds of 14 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds are reaching 70 miles per hour.

The US Coast Guard has closed all of Hawaii’s ports for the time being, with each port listed at Condition Zulu. This is an emergency alert that means gale-force winds are expected to arrive within 12 hours.

For safety reasons, the ports cannot reopen until ships can safely navigate without excessive risk to port infrastructure and to the vessels themselves.

With Tropical Storm Lala bearing down on Hawaii, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America is making sure to steer clear of the intensifying storm. 

The 2,180-guest ship is making an early return to Honolulu, where the vessel will be able to safely ride out the inclement weather in the vicinity of its homeport.

Unfortunately, this means that the Hawaii-based ship will not be able to operate the rest of its 7-night itinerary as planned and debarkation will be pushed back by one day. Of course, this also means that the 7-night cruise that was supposed to begin on August 15 will also be delayed.

“A developing tropical storm in the Central Pacific, southeast of the Hawaiian Islands, is expected to bring strong winds and challenging conditions to the region, resulting in the potential closure of the Port of Honolulu,” Norwegian Cruise Line wrote in a letter to current guests.

The ship is following in the footsteps (or should we say wake) of Norwegian Spirit. Cruise Hive previously reported that the other NCL ship also booked it to Honolulu to get ahead of the tropical storm.

Avoiding Port Closures Leads to Delays

Pride of America departed from Honolulu on August 8, 2026, to begin its current 7-night sailing.

Guests have already gotten to enjoy an overnight visit to Maui and day trips to Hilo and Kailua-Kona. Nawiliwili (Kauai) is the first port call to be impacted.

With closures expected, NCL has decided to cut the overnight port call to Nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii, short, heading back out to sea at 6:30 p.m. on August 13 instead of 5:30 p.m. on August 14. Pride of America is now expected to arrive in Honolulu at 7 a.m. on August 14.

“To ensure we can safely arrive in Honolulu ahead of these anticipated restrictions, Pride of America will depart Nawiliwili on August 13, 2026, and proceed to Honolulu where we intend to remain until 5:00 pm local time on August 14, 2026,” Norwegian Cruise Line wrote.

However, the 2005-launched ship won’t actually wait out the storm in the port. Instead, it will head out to deeper waters just outside of the Honolulu Cruise Port to safely weather the storm.

“We then intend to head back out to sea ahead of the anticipated port closure, and return to Honolulu on Sunday, August 16, 2026 for disembarkation,” the cruise line added.

Debarkation was originally scheduled for August 15, meaning guests will have to scramble to adjust their travel plans and the next sailing (which also should have begun on August 15) will be delayed by one day.

Guests booked on the following 7-night sailing should have been spending August 16 in Maui, so at least one port call will be cancelled or rescheduled for the subsequent voyage.

It’s unclear how Norwegian Cruise Line will handle the delayed embarkation, but current guests have two options when it comes to debarkation.

They can either disembark early when the ship arrives in Honolulu on August 14 or they may remain onboard until the official disembarkation process occurs on August 16, 2026.

The cruise line encouraged passengers to reach out to hotels as soon as possible to ask about booking a new stay or to extend an existing reservation and recommended three hotels that have availability, including the Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach, Hilton Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa, and Embassy Suites By Hilton Waikiki Beach Walk.

How Likely Are Port Closures?

With Tropical Storm Lala expected to strengthen into a fully-fledged Category 1 hurricane before it reaches the Big Island of Hawaii, storm-related port closures are likely.

The ports close for safety reasons, as high winds, violent storm surges, and heavy swells can lead to severe damage to both pier infrastructure and any ships that are docked.

As of the evening of August 13, 2026, the US Coast Guard has nearly every port in Hawaii listed as Condition X-Ray, meaning gale-force winds are expected in the next 48 hours.

The only two ports not at Condition X-Ray are Port Allen and Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai, which will feel the brunt of the weather slightly later. They are both at Condition Whiskey, meaning gale-force winds are coming within the next 72 hours.

At the time of this writing, the National Hurricane Center (NOAA) has the storm positioned 620 miles east-southeast of Hilo, moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour. NOAA predicts that Lala will reach Hawaii on Friday night (August 14) or Saturday morning (August 15).

Currently, NOAA has all of Hawaii County under a Hurricane Watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible in the next two days.

Guests aboard Norwegian Spirit are having a rougher sailing than they might have wished for their 16-night, one-way trip from Vancouver to Honolulu. The ship departed Canada on Friday, July 31, 2026 with visits to various destinations in Alaska before turning out into the Pacific Ocean to head for Hawaii, expecting to debark in Honolulu on Sunday, August 16.

While the 2,018-guest ship has reached Hawaii as planned and enjoyed visits to Kahului (August 11) and Nawiliwili (August 12) already, her last two calls have now been cancelled. She was to have visited Hilo on Friday, August 14 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., followed by Kona on Saturday, August 15 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The west-northwest track and growing intensity of Tropical Storm Lala, however, have made it prudent for the ship to avoid calling on those ports, both of which are on the Big Island, and instead go to Honolulu earlier than planned. As a matter of fact, a hurricane watch is already in effect for the entire county of Hawaii, which is all of the Big Island.

Guests onboard the ship have shared updates on Facebook noting the changes, including screenshots from the cruise line’s app confirming the change. The ship arrived in Honolulu on Thursday, August 13 at roughly 12:45 p.m.

Announcements have also been made over the ship’s public address system to keep everyone informed of the itinerary change and what they can expect.

If guests wish to debark the ship early, they have been permitted to do so, but Norwegian Spirit will leave Honolulu at roughly 11 p.m. Thursday night to remain at sea until Sunday as planned. This will ensure the ship can be safely in deep water and not at risk from any debris or waves while docked.

According to guests onboard, onboard credit is being provided to those guests who remain on the ship as compensation for the missed ports.

As with any hurricane-related itinerary changes, the situation is fluid and further adjustments or announcements may yet be necessary as plans are refined and updated.

Are Hawaii’s Ports Closed?

While Norwegian Spirit is taking appropriate precautions to stay safely out of the way of the storm, the state of Hawaii is preparing for the impact of Tropical Storm Lala.

The US Coast Guard has all but two Hawaiian ports at Condition X-Ray, with gale-force winds expected within 48 hours. The remaining two ports, Port Allen and Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai, are both Condition Whiskey, with gale-force winds expected within 72 hours.

Full closures of the ports are likely as Tropical Storm Lala moves closer to Hawaii and is expected to strengthen.

According to the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center, Lala is expected to become an official hurricane as she approaches the Big Island of Hawaii. At the moment, she is 620 miles east-southeast of Hilo (830 miles east-southeast of Honolulu), moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour.

“On the forecast track, Lala is forecast to be near or just south of the Big Island on Saturday, and pass south of the remainder of the islands later in the weekend,” the public discussion reads.

Read Also: Cruising During Hurricane Season – What You Must Know!

Maximum sustained winds have been recorded at 50 mph, still well below the 74-mph threshold for a Category 1 hurricane. Higher gusts have already been noted, while tropical-storm-force winds are extending out up to 205 miles from the center of the storm.

Storm surge and heavy rains are also expected with the storm and can impact port conditions. After the storm passes, ports will need to be inspected to be cleared for reopening.