NAWILIWILI — Fred Bergonia was more concerned about staying dry and catching fish than the arriving Grand Princess cruise ship Monday at Nawiliwili Harbor.
The Grand Princess, on its second stop following a stop in Honolulu Sunday, became the first cruise ship to berth at Nawiliwili Harbor since the onset of the novel coronavirus more than a year ago.
Measuring at 949 feet and with a load of 3,006 guests, the Grand Princess is also the first ship to visit Nawiliwili following port agreements reached between the state Department of Transportation Harbors Division and Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Lines, formalizing health and safety protocols for cruise-line operations in Hawai‘i.
The agreements were signed in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order requiring cruise ships with the capacity to carry more than 250 people to have formal port agreements with local port and health authorities.
In addition to the CDC order that requires each ship to have on-board testing and medical staff to ensure proper prevention, mitigation and response protocols and training, both Carnival and NCL have committed to full vaccination rates in addition to pre-board testing and onboard safety and cleaning protocols.
The state DOT also requires cruise ships to participate in the state’s Safe Travels digital platform requiring uploading proof of vaccination or negative test results for passengers and crew on cruise lines arriving in Hawai‘i from outside the state.
“Developing these agreements with the goal of
reducing potential negative impacts of cruise travel on our local health resources could not have happened without invaluable guidance from the Governor’s Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Hawai‘i Department of Health, the Hawai‘i Department of Defense, the Office of Enterprise Technology Services and the county agencies,” said HDOT Director Jade Butay.
“We appreciate everyone, including the cruise line representatives, coming together to finalize the required agreements to fulfill the CDC Conditional Sailing Order,” he said.
According to the hawaii.portofcall.com website, the next cruise ship, the 593-foot Insignia, with 450 guests, is scheduled to visit Nawiliwili on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
This was done in such a secretive way. Only Hawaii and Florida have politicians so corrupt they allow cruise ships to operate during the peak of a pandemic. They’ll wait until after the cruise has ended to announce all the COVID cases they spread. All to sell a few towels at ABC.
Well is is not correct that only florida and Hawaii have cruises. California, Carolinas, Texas among others are having cruises also. Good news is they have lowest covid percentage of any activity. Much lower than on land. They have made extreme changes and would be a great standard to follow for other venues.
And on the same front page, “Covid testing in high demand”……….wonder why???!!!
If you’re on this cruise around the islands and you are covid free has anyone told them they are more likely to get covid from the population here in Hawaii. This does not make sense. It makes cents for the cruise line until there is an outbreak and where are they going for help then? I drove by the testing at kukui grove and the line was astounding!
It is because half the island is terrified. The death rate in Hawaii is still less than 2% and less than 1% die without having other conditions. I’ve had COVID and it’s a very survivable virus. Don’t believe everything you see on KITV or HNN.
Here we go! Why would the powers-that-be allow cruise ships into Hawai’i right now? Couldn’t they have waited a few months until case counts go down? The almighty dollar speaking again. It’s sad. So much for attempting to stop the spread.
Floating superspreader events.
It is Ludacris to allow cruise ships to dock here. It is also Ludacris to allow any airline travelers without a pre and post test. Our leaders failed us. Tourist money over residents every time.
All the negative people on here about cruise ships.. you listen to the media too much.. you don’t know the truth.. people are vaxxed boosted, tested, N95 masked up.. the safest place to be in the world right now is a cruise ship.. so please talk about what you know.. obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about.. but by all means keep your heads in the sand.. smh
With these comments it’s more of a super speeder fear Mongering event.
Where is the 1000 Friends of Kauai? Why did you let this Covid infested Cruiser Ship in the harbor???