dockman

Yes it is.

yes all tied into the PSA requirements

Yes....the american crew part has been a major headache since day 1 for NCL hawaii...it is both the wages and benefits that they must provide...and according to many reports a lot of the american crew just does not and will not work as hard as the international crews who may have much fewer job options than an american so lot of turnover....NCL received a waiver as the POA was not really built in USA shipyard and essentially has a monopoly on the 7 day hawaii cruise market...

and the lowest 7 day hawaii on POA NCL princess in sept oct? $1200-$1400 ppdo....inside room plus port

just looked...lots of sep princess alaska cruise right now for $359 ppdo...

as i said...yes i know the expenses in hawaii are higher....do you have the figures on POA revs and expenses? I would love to see them... and i do know a bit about doing biz in hawaii as have been here for 45++ years.... ok alaska??..i saw cruise after cruise in alaska this summer on princess and others some of them were around $499 ppdo for seven day cruises....i actually went on 21 days of alaska for little over $100 a day single room....right now there are alaska cruises avail in early sep for less than $500 a person? Never ever saw an NCL hawaii cruise anywhere near that cheap,,if you can find one for me i will sign up today.

Far as i can tell they do not break out the numbers for POA....but if you take a look at the prices they charge...try $1399 or so plus taxes for inside room for 7 day cruise...and seem to run full a lot...of course when you compare the cost of hotels/food/transport in hawaii these days i guess it is better for many than trying to do it themselves...on the other hand 7 day carib cruises can often be found for about $499 ppdo or sometimes even less ...and yes i know their expenses are higher in hawaii thanks to all the psa requirements...but ....still think 50 K rather paltry ...anyway at least they donated so good for that....i hope a lot of the hotel and other companies in hawaii will also donate which i bet they will...

NCL has donated 50 k to maui....seems rather paltry considering how much $ they make on having a virtual monopoly on interisland cruises for decades....they make more than 50 k in a single day in a single port selling shore excurisons....hopefully they will come up with a bit more substantial contribution.

It is just horrible to watch all the local coverage. Of course a few sleazebags have already appeared more interested in pointing fingers and filing lawsuits than taking care of the massive problems at hand like recovering and ID bodies most of all of which were burned to dust...the fire was so hot it melted metal and human bone fragments are about all that is left to be recovered...they now have 20 cadaver dogs flown in from mainland...they are taking dna samples from relatives to try and identify the dead. They had some problems with a few people ignoring signs and trapsing around and walking through the ash that may well have peoples remains. There have also been some realtors who have apparently called some of the most vulnerable people trying to buy their lots as in additon to all the other problems apparently the entire area is full of toxic chemicals etc that is all going to have to be cleaned up taking a long long time and realtors hoping to encourage people to sell now . The governor today said that there are some unscrupulos people trying to scare people to sell but he has now got a bunch of local maui layers lined up to try and stop that garbage. Listening to the police chief , mayor, fire chief, hawaiian electric, human society, fema the governor and more everyday certainly paints a different picture than a lot of the big mainland news outlets seem to want to push. It was not a simple fire and a lot of very tough decisions had to be made very quickly and some maybe could have been better....but there will be time to sort that all out a bit later. The governor says he has spoken with Biden several times and Biden does not want to come yet and distract resources etc as there is so much that is going on right now...so gov and Biden have ageed that it would be better for all concerned if he delays visit for a while rather than show up and complicate things further. The Gov says the feds have made it clear that whatever Maui needs the feds will get to them. There are already 450 fema people there not to mention lot of military resources helping...in additon lots of volunteers both local and out of state. Most all the tourists have now left at the request of Maui officials as they try and sort out moving displaced locals into hotels airbnb etc...if is not quite as simple as some would believe....there are many celebs who have homes on maui and several are there now...oprah is there and has been trying to help ...in the middle of it all apparently paris hilton and her husband decided to come on vacation and stay in wailea for fun...as you can imagine that has gotten a very negative reaction thus far and her PR people are trying to spin it all...my guess is paris will be writing a big check to donate to try and salvage a bit of her reputation...Bezos who has a home there has donated 100 million which is certainly nice (from his net worth of 161 BILLION)...the rock and a few other big name hawaii celebs are also donating etc..three will likely be many more celebs with maui ties who i fully expect will step and donate...willie nelson has had a home in upcountry maui for years and it would not at all surprise me to see old willie assemble and do some sort of big fundraiser concert with a lot of his musician friends (who can say no to willie) and they could likely raise a ton of $$ it is depressing as hell to watch all the local coverage but of course sitting at home on oahu and watching it on tv is certainly nothing like the people who are still living through it every minute ands for years to come...it is truly heartbreaking anyway...count your lucky stars that u were not in lahaina one week ago right now...

or better yet ask her if she doesn';t have a good friend or ? to share a room with her?

My clothes are pretty simple but i am a single guy that doesn't do "fancy"....

I guess some want to do their own laundry for whatever reason...the biggest single perk to me when i reached elite was free laundry done by the staff....princess is pretty slow compared to holland but they do get it done eventually in a couple of days on last cruise.

no single supplement chances are likely slim to none especially on a sold out cruise...

yes i got priority boarding as 5 star/elite so surprised to see some say they did not? The big hassle was getting through us immigration/customs where global entry tsa precheck did nothing for me even though i did ask and was told no....i guess best advice is to board very very late by which time i assume the lines have gone down...

did not work for me...it was a long line to get through immigration...it is all machines once u finally get to the front of the line ..i estimate about one hour in line for me....just the immigration part....as for the boarding of ship that was very quick and easy as got priority...it is all the govt stuff that is slow as molasses in january

Kihei and wailea area has some beautiful hotels and beachs...i do hope that they don't decide to gouge people who want to come there as no doubt the demand will be high and the supply is very limited. Who knows if september will be ok so i encourage you to keep checking on the web for updates as they come along....but u may want to go ahead and try and make a refundable res in kihei area now rather than wait...i have no idea if the hotels are even accepting more res yet. Maui is a big beautiful island and you could go and see a lot of pretty places without even going near lahaina when the time is right.

https://www.kitv.com/news/tourism-for-west-maui-discouraged-but-other-portions-of-maui-are-open-for-tourists/article_274d0df0-39f0-11ee-8901-b7a129841b01.html

The question was asked by a reporter at a news conference last night and was worded something like are tourists still welcome in maui...the mayor said rather strongly that YES eventually but he did point out that a day or two ago when they opened part of the road for people to at least see from a distance if their house was still standing but DO NOT go into restricted areas that are still being searched for bodies etc....apparently a few tourists disregarded the clear instructions and went right into the restricted area tromping around taking pics...the mayor then graphically explained that this area still had not been searched and that many of them contained bone fragments which needed to be recovered and sent for dna testing so they can identify victims and that the fire was so hot it had melted metal and many of the bone fragments were almost reduced to dust and sure did not need people tramping around as disrespectfull to the dead and made recovery even harder......the mayor of course was pretty harsh on this calling it rude, as they had to close the road again due to bad behavior people (also a few locals disobeyed)..you could tell he was pretty pissed and emotional over this as most would be. .the mayor then did go on to say that tourism is important to the peope of maui and specifically mentioned kihei area would eventually want to welcome tourists again but not right now and that basically lahaina would be off limits for a long long time..and that he would ask future tourist to show respect to the maui people that had lost friends and realtives not to mention their homes etc when the tourists do return....the news conference was on KITV and very informative and probably can watch it all on KITV web site i guess.

No doubt money is the best way to donate...but loads of local hawaii people have already responded with tons of food and clothing etc and i suspect that over time hawaiian and southwest air and maybe a shipping company will get it all to maui where i am sure it will be very welcomed by the maui people...imagine fleeing your home with a pair of shorts a tee shirt and a pair of flip flops is all you have....the people on nearby molokai went to stores (and it is expensive there) and bought all kinds of stuff and used their own boats to transport it to maui... The mayor of maui also wanted to remind potential tourists that south maui, kihei etc is still open for biz and they do need tourist to still come to maui eventually but just be respectful and recognize that lahania is not a place for photo opps as it will be a construction zone for a long time. I would guess that the kaanapali hotels, nearest to lahaina, will be the ones most appropriate to use as housing displaced locals and constrution workers so probably better if tourists do not use those hotels..

was on emerald two years ago...four friends in single rooms...3 of us got covid...1 did not...the did not never got into the elevator ever...walked stairs for exercise and apparently also provided him with some protection...we were all vaxxed and only mild symptons but 3 of us ended up on the isolation floor for several days...no fun at all

to me near stairs and elevators is a premium location as i like to be able to get around quickly without having to walk down long hallways...never had any problems with noise around stairs or elevators...

#512 Posted 1 minute ago I live in honolulu so have seen lots and lots of video and stories from Maui...bottom line is :Lahaina is simply GONE...over 2000 buildings burned and so far 93 dead but search of ashes is only less than 5% complete as they are having to bring in a lot more cadaver dogs from mainland...in short it is HORRIBLE.. My condo and i am sure many others in Honolulu asked people to go through their pantry and closet and donate non perishable food/clothing etc by putting it in lobby area two days ago...great idea and the lobby was pretty well full of canned foods/clothes/diapers/paper towels etc...not sure how it all gets shipped to maui but lot of maui folks lost EVERYTHING and had only what the were wearing when they fled for their lives.. They now estimate 5.5 billion to rebuild and years before it will get done..My guess is it will be a lot more $$ and at least 3 or 4 years...one huge problem is housing for all the construction workers that will be needed....maui already had a severe housing shortage which of course now is even worse....the gov is talking to the hotels to try and work out getting the hotels to house people for as long as it takes....many of these hotels have been making record profits for years with room rates of $500 or more...i hope that now the big hotels will step up and not try and gouge from this disaster...many of the people who lost everthing are the very maids, bellboys etc that worked at the hotels...and of course the number of construction workers that will need a place to stay for years is huge. Already donations are pouring into maui from all over the world as many truly love the people and place of lahaina and have many great memories from what once was. IF you would like to and can spare please consider a donation...below is a list of vetted places to donate provided by local tv station.. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/09/want-help-those-devastated-by-maui-wildfires-heres-how/

i live in honolulu so have seen lots and lots of video and stories from Maui...bottom line is :Lahaina is simply GONE...over 2000 buildings burned and so far 93 dead but search of ashes is only less than 5% complete as they are having to bring in a lot more cadaver dogs from mainland...in short it is HORRIBLE.. .my condo and i am sure many others in Honolulu asked people to go through their pantry and closet and donate non perishable food/clothing etc by putting it in lobby area two days ago...great idea and the lobby was pretty well full of canned foods/clothes/diapers/paper towels etc...not sure how it all gets shipped to maui but lot of maui folks lost EVERYTHING and had only what the were wearing when they fled for their lives.. they now estimate 5.5 billion to rebuild and years before it will get done...one huge problem is housing for all the construction workers that will be needed....maui already had a severe housing shortage which of course now is even worse....the gov is talking to the hotels to try and work out getting the hotels to house people for as long as it takes....many of these hotels have been making record profits for years with room rates of $500 or more...i hope that now the big hotels will step up and not try and gouge from this disaster...many of the people who lost everthing are the very maids, bellboys etc that worked at the hotels...and of course the number of construction workers that will need a place to stay for years is huge. Already donations are pouring into maui from all over the world as many truly love the people and place of lahaina and have many great memories from what once was. IF you would like to and can spare please consider a donation...below is a list of vetted places to donate provided by local tv station.. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/09/want-help-those-devastated-by-maui-wildfires-heres-how/

I would rather have a lesser cabin with a great location than a "better" cabin with a lousy location. I prefer to be near the back of the ship but close to stairways with quick access to outdoor deck space. I book way in advance so i can usually pick the room that i want...put down the deposit and then have a long time to decide if i want to go or not...if price drops i may ask for refare...if i find a cruise i like better i cancel and get back the deposit. All my flights are booked with miles so that is not a problem as they reinstate my miles/taxes no problem....but sort of like cruise cabin i book the award ticket way in advance and generally get a much more attractive flight schedule for fewer miles than waiting when the choices often go down and the miles required go up...not always but usually this works out pretty well for me... up to you

Obviously there will be no Lahaina port calls for long long time and not even sure ships will dock at kahului for at least several months if that quickly....it will be a very very long time to return to some semblence of the beautiful island... Please consider a small donation to help maui people if you can. It is really really bad. The local tv stations kgmb khon and kitv all have online ways to donate that have been checked out as legit as no doubt some evil scammers will try and take advantage of the misery.