We've finalized our cruise around the Hawaiian Islands.
We'll be flying into Honolulu, and spending a few days in Waikiki before we board the ship for a 7 day cruise.
We'll be sailing on the Norwegian Pride of America.
Most all cruise lines and ships are flagged in either Panama, Bahamas or another country. I thought it was because of cost or stiffer regulations. And it is, partly. Us law dictates that a US flagged ship must be built and maintained in the US and staffed by US workers, and paid prevailing wages.
Well, that would make US cruise ships 3-4 times more expensive to operate than foreign competitors, so to compete, they flag their ships in a foreign port. And yes, this cruise is twice as expensive as a similar 1 week Caribbean cruise.
I also didn't know this but unless the ship is flagged in the US, it must include a foreign port in it's itinerary. So this ship is the only one that does just the Hawaiian Islands. All the others sail to Vancouver or Ensenada, Mexico and start or end on the west coast, adding another week to the cruise.
Anyway, here's a pic of the itinerary....
We've booked our flights, hotels, and picked out the excursions we want to take. Should be a really nice trip!
As with the Panama canal cruise, we booked an inside room to save money, and hopefully. 90 days before departure, they'll open bidding on a balcony room. We saved over $3200 that way and got a nice balcony room for that cruise. Of course, that was also a 2 week cruise. On this cruise, a balcony room is nearly $1000 more...per person than an inside room.
So, that's our winter trip this year.
Good luck with getting your better room!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a safe, fun trip.