Locust Point’s soon-to-be-completed cruise terminal was a hub of activity Friday as the Pride of Hawai’i welcomed more than 200 crew members from its Piney Point, Md., training facility and loaded up on provisions in preparation for its first revenue producing cruise next month.
The 15-deck cruise ship is the newest and largest ship to sail under the U.S. flag and is one of three Norwegian Cruise Line ships that will offer seven-day inner-island cruises in Hawaii. It docked in Baltimore on Wednesday to add crew and supplies, but will not offer any cruises out of Locust Point.
According to Colin Veitch, president and chief executive officer of NCL Corp., the company has invested millions of dollars in the Maryland economy in training and supplies and will continue to do so as it trains new employees in the region.
Meanwhile, Veitch said that the addition of the third ship completes the company’s business plan for the Hawaiian Islands that it launched in 2004.
“Our business plan has always been built around three ships,” he said. “We see this as kind of the crowning glory of the whole venture.”
He added that NCL is the only company to offer inner-island cruises in Hawaii and that the seven-day cruise packages are appealing to consumers because they are able to see more of the islands as the ship docks in a different port each day while enjoying a “top-quality cruise experience.”
“Because of what we’ve done, Hawaii is the second-largest domestic cruise destination next to Alaska,” Veitch said.
The ship, which was built in Germany, took more than 18 months to complete and cost more than $400 million, said Susan Robison, the company’s vice president of corporate communications and media promotions.
Among the ship’s highlights are 10 restaurants, an underwater-themed nightclub and a 1,042-person theater that will feature three live productions. The ship can accommodate 2,466 people double occupancy and will employ 1,000 crewmembers.
For the really high-end cruiser, the ship features two 4,400-square-foot garden villas with private gardens, sun deck, hot tub and sauna. The garden villas also offer two 24-hour butlers, three bedrooms and three bathrooms — and a price tag of $26,000 for the week.
Robison said that celebrities such as Kim Cattrall and Reba McEntire have stayed in garden villas on the company’s other ships.
Along with the other company’s other two ships, the Pride of Aloha and the Pride of America, NCL expects to carry more than 450,000 passengers per year with each ship offering 52 cruises annually.
Pride of Hawaii’s Agenda
» Once the ship leaves Baltimore, it will travel to Miami and then to San Francisco and Los Angeles where it will offer two-day cruises in each city for media and travel agents.
» On May 22, it will see its first revenue passengers sailing out of Los Angeles and San Francisco before beginning its weekly seven-day cruises out of Honolulu.
bmiller@baltimoreexaminer
