Seabourn Itineraries To Hawaii?

[PeaSea8ch]

In thinking of new destinations for Seabourn to cruise to, my thoughts turned to the Hawaiian Islands. These thoughts were heightened last Mar. when I was cruising there on the QM2. Think about it: a Seabourn Yacht can go to the coves and inlets the big ships can’t, scuba divers and snorkelers will be in sensory overload, having the deck BBQ and Rock The Boat show in those balmy tradewind breezes, caviar in the surf at a private or semi-private beach (if available), possibly a Marina Day in paradise, a crossing-like Team Trivia Tournament, oh the endless possibilities!

 

This last Mar. while onboard the QM2 it was overcast in the morning but sunny and hot in the mid to high 80’s in the afternoon. The weather was cold and quite windy (due partially to QM2 zipping along at 30 knots) after leaving Los Angeles with one day and night of rough seas (with only minor vessel motion). Returning to Los Angeles, the temperature decreased as we sailed eastward and the ocean was like glass for the four days.

 

I think to make this a special occasion, this sailing should be a once a year offering. Considering how the triplets are currently positioned, the Legend would be the likely choice. After some rearranging of the current itineraries this proposed cruise could be scheduled before the final eastbound Panama Canal sailing before the spring crossing. Proposed itinerary would be departure from LA, 5 days at sea followed by 4 or 5 days at a different island or anchorage and 5 sea days back to LA.

 

I would love it if Seabourn had such an itinerary! I am going to write on my comment card at the end of my future cruises to investigate adding a Hawaii cruise itinerary. If you agree this might be a good idea, please do the same. If enough passengers make this or similar comments, Seabourn might just look into it! Any comments or suggestions Seabourn Sailors?

[loungeboy]

We'd love to see Seabourn come to our state. Great idea Paul!

Does anyone know if they have ever sailed here?

[PeaSea8ch]

We'd love to see Seabourn come to our state. Great idea Paul! Does anyone know if they have ever sailed here?

Hi Loungeboy, I have Seabourn brochures as far back as 2000 and Seabourn has not sailed to Hawaii since then. Before that, I am not sure (I think not). Even if they had sailed to Hawaii over 6 yeas ago, it has been a long enough time that this could become a very popular itinerary! :D

[sue marco]

What a lovely thought, Paul. Seabourn in Hawaii sound like double paradise:D . Sue.

[blackbird71]

I am moving to mid state California after my gig at the railroad in Roanoke.:p

Like with my In Search of Lost Hobbits cruise down under, I have been looking at the mass market lines again for a cruise to Hawaii from the San Diego. I would love to do that cruise on Seabourn.

 

Add my name to that list. :)

[cruisr]

Hi,

 

Nice thought but I believe that due to the Jones Act the ship could not sail from LA. It would have to sail from Ensenada, Mexico. I don't think its going to happen though. The closest any of the triplets came to being near Hawaii was when the Spirit was repositioned after her Asia season to Alaska for the summer 2002 season.

 

Bon voyage

[Keith1010]

Hi,

 

Nice thought but I believe that due to the Jones Act the ship could not sail from LA. It would have to sail from Ensenada, Mexico. I don't think its going to happen though. The closest any of the triplets came to being near Hawaii was when the Spirit was repositioned after her Asia season to Alaska for the summer 2002 season.

 

Bon voyage

 

We were on a recent cruise RT from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The cruise stopped the night before in Mexico for one hour (passenger's could not get off the ship) to ensure that the ship visited a foreign port per the Jones Act.

 

Keith

[blackbird71]

Right Keith1010 there is a way around the Jones Act... I wish they would do away with it. I would also love to take a cruise to Hawaii, get off and spend a week or two and take one back. IMHO without the Jones Act there would be cruises like that offered.

[xplrcrzn]

Maybe this will happen when the rumoured, near-mythical, "new" ships arrive. For now, however, Seabourn's itineraries are becoming less varied, especially with the elimination of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

[CruisinMatt]

I've always wanted more "pacific" itineraries, i.e. Alaska, Hawaii, Tahiti, etc..

 

Soemthing different!!

[loungeboy]

I believe the Jones Act only applies to "goods and services", not passengers. So the law that pretty much mucks up the Hawaii cruise industry is the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886. This forbids foreign vessels from transporting passengers between U.S. ports without a penalty unless they visit a foreign port during the itinerary. So only U.S.flagged ships (meaning those built in America, owned by Americans and operated by Americans) can transport passengers between U.S. ports without visiting a foreign port.

Prior to the move to have their locally based ships sail under the U.S. flag, NCL would have to call on Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati on their circle Hawaii cruises.

I suppose Seabourn could do the same thing.:)

[bgood]

It is a LONG schlep out to Fanning Island (and back!), and about half the time you can't land because the surf's too rough. The place is basically an atoll with coco palms. The Seabourn sisters are lovely but not fast. Until such time as Senator Inouye's "special" exemption applies to all cruise ships, I wouldn't expect to see them in Hawaii.

 

bgood

[Keith1010]

I believe the Jones Act only applies to "goods and services", not passengers. So the law that pretty much mucks up the Hawaii cruise industry is the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886. This forbids foreign vessels from transporting passengers between U.S. ports without a penalty unless they visit a foreign port during the itinerary. So only U.S.flagged ships (meaning those built in America, owned by Americans and operated by Americans) can transport passengers between U.S. ports without visiting a foreign port.

Prior to the move to have their locally based ships sail under the U.S. flag, NCL would have to call on Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati on their circle Hawaii cruises.

I suppose Seabourn could do the same thing.:)

 

I'm not up to speed on all of the particulars but NCL was able to get approval by not only sailing under a American Flag but all by going with an all United States crew with the majority of the crew from Hawaii. Don't think any of this would be practical for Seabourn or for any cruise line that would only have their ship do a subset of cruises in Hawaii each year. And, the whole concept was so that NCL could provide seven day cruises between the Hawaiian Islands which would not be possible if the ship had to stop at a non-USA location. And a lot of the justification for all of this was to help the local economy in Hawaii by not only increasing passenger's visiting Hawaii but also through the hiring of much of the crew from Hawaii.

 

In the case of Los Angeles cruises to and from Hawaii it's no big deal for the cruise ship to stop in a port in Mexico as was the case on our cruise. It literrally goes into port for all of about an hour the night before disembarkation. It's too bad that the laws have not been revised as all of this seems silly but for whatever reason they have not been revised to address this issue.

 

Keith

[PeaSea8ch]

We were on a recent cruise RT from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The cruise stopped the night before in Mexico for one hour (passenger's could not get off the ship) to ensure that the ship visited a foreign port per the Jones Act.

Hi Keith, were you, by chance, on the QM2's Feb. / Mar. Hawaii cruise RT from LA? The "Technical Stop" was at Ensenada the night before disembarkation. It was a lovely trip!

[Winner]

On April 24, 1997 Seabourn Legend sailed from San Diego to Hawaii, via Ensenada, Mexico, on a 12-day cruise. We were bussed from San Diego, a non-scenic ride to a definitely non-scenic port. The cruise was six sea days (LOTS of trivia) and port calls at Kona, Lana'i, Lahaina and Honolulu. It was Legend's first cruise after its starring role in Speed II, which was shown several times on the crossing. Weather was fantastic and enough time was spent in ports (we overnighted in Honolulu), with interesting excursions, for those who had visited the islands before (most of the passengers, half of whom were Californians) to see something new or revisit something familiar.

 

I, too, would love to see a repeat of that cruise. The "necessary" stop, which most ships sailing West do, to Ensenada is just OK, with lots of leather knock-offs, a truly bad winery, and all the prescription medications you could carry home.

[PeaSea8ch]

Proposed itinerary would be departure from LA, 5 days at sea followed by 4 or 5 days at a different island or anchorage and 5 sea days back to LA.

Everyone, Thank you for your responses! Please replace the quoted text above with the following:

 

Proposed itinerary would be departure from LA, 5 days at sea followed by 4 or 5 days at a different island or anchorage and 4 sea days followed by a Technical Port Call (no passengers or crew allowed ashore) the following day at 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm followed by arrival in LA the next morning.

 

Thank you cruisr for pointing out my grandiose oversight! :o My propopsed itinerary was based on my earlier QM2 Hawaii cruise and Keith1010 also had a similar experience as well. When QM2 arrived in Ensenada, it was after dark and I could not see what was happening. I do not know if the Mexican Authorities came out to the ship or the Chief Purser and the Hotel Manager tendered ashore and handed the authorities money for "port taxes." :confused: Then we were off to Los Angeles.

 

Granted, the requirements of the Passenger Services Act are a big hassle for the cruise lines and an inconvenience to passengers. However, the cruise lines have been getting around it for decades. I think Seabourn can also do the same. As sue marco so eloquently posted earlier, "Seabourn in Hawaii sounds like double paradise :D " , and from a marketing standpoint the cruise would sell and if logistically and technically feasible from the provisioning and marine departments, this could become a very popular sailing! If you would like to do a Seabourn Hawaii cruise, please make a comment on your comment card on your future Seabourn adventures right after raving about the Chef, your favorite waiters, bar tenders and entertainers.

[Keith1010]

Hi Keith, were you, by chance, on the QM2's Feb. / Mar. Hawaii cruise RT from LA? The "Technical Stop" was at Ensenada the night before disembarkation. It was a lovely trip!

 

We weren't on that sailing, but our ship did stop at Ensenada. Think we docked there at around 10:00 PM the evening before disembarkation and we were on our way at around 11:00 PM.

 

Keith

[CruisinMatt]

On April 24, 1997 Seabourn Legend sailed from San Diego to Hawaii, via Ensenada, Mexico, on a 12-day cruise. We were bussed from San Diego, a non-scenic ride to a definitely non-scenic port. The cruise was six sea days (LOTS of trivia) and port calls at Kona, Lana'i, Lahaina and Honolulu. It was Legend's first cruise after its starring role in Speed II, which was shown several times on the crossing. Weather was fantastic and enough time was spent in ports (we overnighted in Honolulu), with interesting excursions, for those who had visited the islands before (most of the passengers, half of whom were Californians) to see something new or revisit something familiar.

 

I, too, would love to see a repeat of that cruise. The "necessary" stop, which most ships sailing West do, to Ensenada is just OK, with lots of leather knock-offs, a truly bad winery, and all the prescription medications you could carry home.

 

 

Winner - do you recall what the next voyage was? Did the Legend return to Mexico/US or did she continue on to Asia?

[CeeJay11]

Paul - this is the best idea. We would put our names on a waiting list just in case Seabourn ever decides to do this cruise. The one they did on the Legend in 1997 sounds fabulous and we would definitely do it since we both love Hawaii and we both love Seabourn and the only way to cruise there now is with some other INFERIOR cruise line :)

We will definitely add this to every comment card from now on!

Hawaii and lots of sea days all in one cruise = Heaven!!

[CeeJay11]

Paul - this is the best idea. We would put our names on a waiting list just in case Seabourn ever decides to do this cruise. The one they did on the Legend in 1997 sounds fabulous and we would definitely do it since we both love Hawaii and we both love Seabourn and the only way to cruise there now is with some other INFERIOR cruise line. :)

We will definitely add this to every comment card from now on!

Hawaii and lots of sea days all in one cruise = Heaven!!

[bgood]

The Passenger Services Act is a complicated beast.

 

Foreign flag ships are allowed to carry passengers between US ports if they call at a "distant foreign port." Mexico, Panama, most Caribbean islands, Canada, etc. are all not considered "distant" foreign ports. Therefore if the passengers embark at a US port they have to disembark at a non-US port unless they touch South America, and (as an exemption) the ABCs (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). That's why all the Panama Canal cruises used to visit Cartagena, Colombia.

 

However...foreign ships can carry passengers round trip from/to the SAME US port if they touch ANY foreign port. Thus the spot call at Ensenada on R/T LAX cruises. And that's why the one-way cruise to Hawaii had to embark in Ensenada instead of LA.

 

Most countries have these laws, by the way--called cabotage laws--to protect local shipping.