It’s kind of ironic that water would be the reason for a cruise itinerary change, but that’s exactly what happened on Pride of America’s current sailing around Hawaii, which embarked on November 16, 2024.
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 an overnight visit to Kahului (Maui), Hawaii.
But unfortunately, the overnight call on Maui that was supposed to take place from November 17-18, 2024, has had to be shortened due to a problem with the fresh water line at the Kahului Pier.
The up to 2,186 guests onboard the NCL ship were supposed to have until 6 p.m. local time on November 18 to explore all that Maui has to offer. But because the cruise ship won’t be able to bunker fresh water in port, she will need all guests back onboard by 8:00 a.m. on the morning of the 18th to make an early departure.
“Due to technical issues with Kahului’s pier Fresh Water (FW) line, Pride of America is unable to bunker fresh water. Because of this, we must depart tomorrow morning instead of [our] scheduled evening departure to produce fresh water,” reads a letter that was delivered to guest cabins on November 17.
“We share your disappointment and apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause,” continued the letter.
With thousands of people onboard between guests and crew members, a large cruise ship can go through hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh water daily.
Most cruise ships can actually make their own water through a reverse osmosis or stream evaporation process where salt content is removed and the water is treated to make it safe for consumption.
Even so, vessels still need to supplement this process by bringing fresh water onboard while in port – and can usually store around 500,000 gallons of fresh water in massive tanks located in the ship’s hold.
Guests Compensated for the Change
While cruise lines are allowed to change itineraries for a multitude of reasons, Norwegian Cruise Line is trying to soften the blow by compensating guests for the inconvenience – especially since the change came at the very last minute.
“As a result of the modification and as a genuine acknowledgment of the inconvenience caused, we have arranged for a $100 non-refundable onboard credit per stateroom,” reads the letter from the cruise line.
The onboard credit will be divided in half between guests one and two in the same stateroom.
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As an added show of good faith, NCL is also offering guests a 15% discount on a future cruise that sets sail on or before December 31, 2025.
“In addition, we will be issuing a 15% discount in the form of an FCC (Future Cruise Credit) to be used towards any of our published sailings through December 31, 2025,” continued the update.
The future credit credit is expected to be available for use on December 1, 2024, which might even coincide with the last of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Any shore excursions that were booked directly through the cruise line were also automatically cancelled and refunded with no effort required on the part of passengers.
However, guests who booked activities through outside vendors would need to coordinate with their tour providers directly – or submit a claim with their travel insurance for non-refundable cancellations.
