David Y. Ige

Passengers will not be allowed to leave the ship in Hawaii

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division is preparing to accept two cruise ship arrivals at Honolulu Harbor in order for the vessels to refuel and restock on food and supplies. However, passengers will not be allowed to leave the ship. All cruise ships are on a 30-day pause in operations that took effect March 14, 2020. At the time of the directive pausing operations, these two ships, the Maasdam operated by Holland American Line and the Norwegian Jewel operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, were already at sea.

“The health and safety of all people in Hawaii is always at the forefront of operational decisions. Presently, all state resources are focused and directed towards containing the spread of COVID-19. Allowing more than 2,500 passengers and crew to disembark will further strain these resources,” said Director Jade Butay, Hawaii Department of Transportation. “HDOT and the State are allowing the ships to dock at Honolulu Harbor so they may refuel and restock. Neither ship had originally planned to make Hawaii its final port and both will carry on to mainland destinations, where more resources can be marshalled to handle the passengers and crew properly.”

On Tuesday, the Governor announced the State’s 15 Days to Slow the Spread effort. As part of this announcement, he directed visitors to consider postponing their travel to Hawaii for at least 30 days. Pursuant to the Governor’s announcement, HDOT made the decision to deny the two requests to allow passengers and crew to disembark.

The Maasdam is scheduled to arrive at Honolulu Harbor Pier 2 on Friday, March 20. It is scheduled to depart the following day. There are approximately 850 passengers onboard.

The Norwegian Jewel is scheduled to arrive Sunday, March 22. It has approximately 1,700 passengers on board.

There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on either ship.

There are 16 cruise ships that have canceled scheduled visits to Hawaii during the 30 day suspension in operations. For information regarding the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) directive please click here.

For additional transportation related information and resources please visit the HDOT COVID-19 webpage by clicking here.