With rough water still impacting Honolulu, Hawaii, following the passage of now Tropical Storm Lala (downgraded from a hurricane), Norwegian Cruise Line has delayed the return of Norwegian Spirit until Monday, August 17. Pride of America, also operated by NCL, awaits the reopening of the Honolulu cruise port.

The cruise line has texted guests booked on the ship’s August 16 departure to alert them to the confirmed delay and how their embarkation will be impacted.

“Delayed Embarkation Update: Hurricane Lala brought strong winds and challenging conditions to Hawaii. While Honolulu Harbor is expected to begin supporting vessel operations upon a successful inspection by the United States Coast Guard [USCG] later this afternoon, berth availability will be limited,” the text notification explained.

As of 1:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, the USCG Port Status website lists Honolulu Harbor still as closed under Port Condition Zulu. Once the port is inspected and reopened, vessels can begin to return.

Another text message from Norwegian Cruise Line, this one sent to guests booked on Pride of America who were supposed to embark on Saturday, August 15, confirmed that a USCG inspection was scheduled for 2 p.m. local time.

Inspections are essential to assess any potential debris or damage following a storm, as well as to check the integrity of docks, channels, and equipment so ships can safely use the facilities.

Following the inspection and port reopening, berth schedules must be rearranged to accommodate all necessary traffic. For the 2,018-guest Norwegian Spirit and the 2,186-guest Pride of America, that now means delaying Norwegian Spirit until Monday, August 17, and Pride of America does not yet have a confirmed day or time.

Guests waiting to embark the next Norwegian Spirit cruise are being advised to use the same check-in arrival window they originally selected for Sunday, August 16, but instead move the date to Monday. More detailed emails are being sent with further instructions.

For Pride of America, guests are being asked to continue waiting for further instructions as details are confirmed.

“We appreciate your continued patience and flexibility as we work through this evolving situation and will keep you informed as new information becomes available,” text messages to guests for both ships said.

The cruise line noted that they will provide additional information by 3 p.m. local time, which would likely be after the USCG inspection has been completed and docking plans can be confirmed.

In the meantime, satellite tracking shows Norwegian Spirit due south of Honolulu and heading toward the port city at 10 knots (11-12 miles per hour). The ship stayed clear of the storm’s direct path and safely out at sea to avoid the worst effects of Hurricane Lala.

How Will the Next Cruise Be Affected?

Norwegian Spirit‘s next sailing is a 16-night, one-way voyage from Honolulu to Vancouver, with stops at both Hawaiian and Alaskan destinations along the way.

The delayed embarkation will be frustrating and disappointing to guests eager to start their cruise vacation, but any further itinerary impact is not yet known.

It may be possible for Norwegian Spirit to speed enough to recover the time on the cruise so port visits could be preserved, or a port or two may need to be cancelled in order for the ship to arrive in Vancouver on Tuesday, September 1 as planned.

Any itinerary adjustments in Hawaii will need to be coordinated with ports that could still be recovering from the storm and have the same berth availability challenges as Honolulu.

Cruise Hive has already reported on the storm’s impact to Norwegian Spirit as well as Pride of America. While this latest update may not be the news guests had hoped for, any confirmed update is certain to be reassuring.

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.