NCL quits Hawaii-last of the large US cruiseships

[Ordinaryseaman]

Don't know if this is public yet-

NCLA is pulling the Pride of America from Hawaii in April.

It is the last large cruise ship that is US flagged.

I served on the America. The Pride of Hawaii was reflagged as the Norwegian Jade- and the Pride of Aloha was sold in 2008.

sad times- but no surprise

[c.captain]

WOW...now that IS news! Gotta be the down economy and American's not willing to pay the premium price for the chance to cruise Hawaii without needing to start or end on the mainland. In any event that are a whole lot of people on the streets looking for a job!

So far Majestic and now NCLA. Who will be next?

[Captmad]

The real reason NCL quit Hawaii was the last administrations refusal to enforce Cabotage laws.
Foriegn crewed passenger ships were allowed to depart Los Angeles then drift (anchor) off Ensenada for six hours enroute Hawaii. Went on too long then the recession hit.....
CBP attempted to get them to disembark passengers with a 48 hour stay while in Ensenada but too late.

This issue was brought to CBP attention some time ago and met with, "What's cabotage?" Another indication of Security takes precedence over all.

[c.captain]

I never could understand how a ship which had to come all the way from the mainland to Hawaii could offer cruises for less that inter Hawaiian Islands even with the wage differential? That is alot of fuel to burn just getting there and then back. I have to wonder if the quality issue played a role in the reason the NCLA ships just never made the grade so to speak?

I do agree with you whole heartedly that the USCG and CBP have totally droped the ball enforcing the Jones Act and other relavent statutes which are supposed to protect US shipyards, shipowners and mariners. Some a relatively recent giveaways but others have been going on for year (vis foreign shuttle tankers lightering ULCC's on the OCS and then going into US ports) Those should be US flagged Jones Act ships and everybody here already knows about the offshore subsea vessel situation which I have detailed previously.

The only way for these practices to be stopped is for action to be taken in the courts! It is too late for NCLA however so another failed attempt at US flagged cruiseships goes into the history books. Indeed, very sad.

[Ordinaryseaman]

c.captain- I'm not 100% sure- but I think NCLA was the cheapest of the large cruise lines- largely because the cruises were 7 day intead of 10-14 day.

Not sure of the retail on cruises- but I know they often sold for $500-$600- not a bad deal.

I agree on the Jones act- but unfortunately I think it was the American crew that sank the operation. Great ship- great itinerary- bad crew.

Not the deck and engine guys (they were all harworkers) but some of the hotel side- waiters,bartenders, cooks, diswashers, housekeepers-etc.


When I sailed on the Pride of Hawaii we had 1200 crew members- mostly hotel people.

NCLA paid millions to recruit us- send us to Piney Point and take BST. We sailed a new ship from baltimore to Hawaii. As soon as we got to Hawaii and before we had passengers HUNDREDS of people quit- walked off the ship. I'm not sure but I've been told that the number was close to half the crew.

Some of us who stayed were working 15-20 hours a day for months. We saw it as an opportunity- as well as a responsibility and tried to take up the slack so our guests would have a good time. We had some of the best- and many of the worst- workers I've ever seen.

Most of the crew was/is in their teens and twenties- many had never had a "real" job before. They were unwilling to work that hard for 5 months straight.

We also had LOTS of people who stayed, but refused to work hard- took 1 hour smoke breaks-etc. Management was scared to fire them- because it took 1-2 months to recruit someone and get their mmd/bst.

The foreign cruise ship workers I've met (in general) genuinely WANT to be there,have a good attitude work hard, and do a good job. They are paid WAY less- work twice as long (10 months) don't get free round trip flights, and many "hot bunk" which opens up more cabins for passengers- all creating less cost/more revenue for the company.

I'm gonna piss people off saying this-but the American cruise industry is failing largely because of the American Workers

[c.captain]

SInce you have worked the big and small US cruise vessels would you say there was any difference between the hotel staff on them?

I know the chief on the PoA and he has given me the full rundown on how bad the service was there. I went on the PoAloha in Honolulu once and was appalled at how dirty the ship was but it was turn around day. Still handprints on all the glass doors, trash cans overflowing, carpets non vacuumed. I worked on a couple of Cruise West vessels over the years and always felt the hotel staff did an excellent job keeping the vessel looking good and giving good service. Must be a whole lot easier on the smaller vessels because there is so much less to have to take care of and I always prefer the small crew...much more close knit.

[Ordinaryseaman]

c.captain-

HUGE difference between hotel/restaurant crews on the small ships vs the large ones (at least the 5 I've been on) There are great people- and not so great people everywhere- but I was STUNNED at the difference when I got on my first small ship.

On the small ships everyone knows everyone by name,eats together, goes ashore together etc. A lot of the crew has worked for NCLA and is happy to be somewhere where everyone does their job. The job pace is much slower-more relaxed-and you work less hours. Everyone goes out of their way to help each other.

As far as the deck/engine guys-...Most are excellent- but you get the feeling from a lot of them that they'd rather not be there.... A lot of them have either just come out of the academy- others are veterans- and it seems like the majority are just there biding their time- waiting for a "real" gig.

You have to have a real "attitude of service" and be a people person to work deck on cruise ships. I genuinely enjoyed helping our guests, talking with them, etc. many others absolutely hated it. They just wanted to do a watch, or their daywork,etc.

Ahhhh- turn day on cruise ships..

Turn day is always a jungle- no matter what ship. I rememember working 19 hours straight in the galley of the Pride of Hawaii then walking back towards my cabin. The provisions guys were short staffed-and half of the guys they did have were on their first day on the ship- so I jumped in helping them. We formed a line and started throwing milk crates full of milk I made it a bout 3 hours before my energy crashed and I (finally) went to sleep. Between the fast pace, yelling, empty boxes piling up,etc- 3 new provisions guys quit. There's nothing like turn day on a cruise ship!

Which cruisewest boats were you on?

what was your overall impression of working there?

Anthony

[franklnooner]

HI
Just wondering why this is not public yet, or perhaps I just cant see it? I know some people who have the TUG contract and they dont know or dont want to say??

[Ordinaryseaman]

franklnooner- I'm not sure if it's public or not- i'm on the NCLA crew group on myspace- heard about it there-Anthony

[CMA Cadet]

I also served on board the PRIDE OF AMERICA last spring-summer. During my time out there, I heard rumors about PRIDE OF AMERICA being pulled out by 2009 (and other near-future dates). I thought NCLA would be making some sort of money since they did not have to compete with themselves by having three ships out there. But given the current economic crisis, I would not be surprised if demand is lower now.

Hopefully this is just another speculation. NCL has placed a beautiful ship out there, and the crew I worked with (mainly deckside) were a great bunch of people.