- Several major cruise ship itineraries modified due to Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Lowell caused severe infrastructure damage on Kauai
- Ruby Princess skips Nawiliwili Kauai stop
- Pride of America cut overnight stay in Kauai short
- Norwegian Spirit scrapped Hilo and Kailua-Kona port calls
Several major cruise ship itineraries have been modified due to a highly active Pacific hurricane season impacting the Hawaiian Islands. The primary disruptions stem from Hurricane Lowell which caused severe infrastructure damage on Kauai following earlier disruptions from Hurricane Lala. Cruise lines have modified their routes to keep passengers safe allow the islands to focus on recovery or avoid closed commercial ports.
The Ruby Princess on its 16-night Hawaiian Islands roundtrip cruise from San Francisco has altered its schedule. It will skip its scheduled stop in Nawiliwili Kauai due to ongoing island recovery efforts. Instead the ship will arrive early in Honolulu Oahu for an extended overnight stay before continuing its itinerary to Kona Kahului and Ensenada. Earlier in the season Hurricane Lala made a direct impact on the islands as a Category 1 storm forcing the temporary closure of Honolulu Harbor.
The Pride of America was forced to cut its overnight stay in Kauai short while the closure of Honolulu Harbor delayed its scheduled turnaround day. The Norwegian Spirit completing a 16-night sailing from Vancouver to Honolulu had to scrap its final port calls in Hilo and Kailua-Kona as the storm closed in with the vessel diverting straight to Honolulu. Cruise lines generally do not offer cash refunds for missed ports as cruise contracts permit itinerary changes for safety. Passengers on these sailings typically receive refunds for prepaid shore excursions and port fees combined with goodwill gestures like onboard credit or future cruise credits.
