JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Norwegian Cruise Line's newest addition to its Hawaii fleet arrived yesterday in Honolulu. Nathan Fuelling of Redmond, Wash., hurried entrees out of the kitchen yesterday on the ship.

Shall we adjourn
to the buffet table?

Hawaii's new Pride of America
cruise ship offers dedicated
space for business meetings

Norwegian Cruise Line is trolling for its share of Hawaii's corporate meetings and incentive market by launching the first local cruise ship-based meeting facility.

Pride of America, NCL America's newest ship that begins regular interisland cruises today from Honolulu, offers a dedicated meeting facility, said Marianne Schmidhofer, director of charter, meeting and incentive sales for NCL, which is headquartered in Miami.

The ship's designation as a U.S.-flagged vessel offers a tax benefit to businesses, who can write off up to 100 percent of their meeting costs.

"NCL has always been in the corporate meetings and incentives market, but the tax advantage of having a U.S.-flagged designation gives us an opportunity to go after this market more aggressively," Schmidhofer said.

The vessel boasts a conference area that can seat up to 550 people, including six meeting rooms that range from board rooms for 10 to an auditorium that seats 260, she said.

While Pride of Aloha, the company's first U.S.-flagged ship, can accommodate business travelers, it does not offer dedicated meeting space. NCL's next planned interisland cruise ship, the Pride of Hawaii, will not have dedicated meeting space either.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM A worker cleaned one of the smokestacks of the Pride of America.

"We are using Pride of America as an opportunity to test the corporate market," Schmidhofer said. "If it's successful, we'll probably see similar facilities on other U.S.-flagged cruise ships."

Schmidhofer said the company is banking that Hawaii's status as a destination for incentive travel will complement NCL's push toward the business market. NCL America cruise ships are expected to comprise 35 percent of the company's entire business travel market.

Wendy Goodenow, president and owner of HNL Travel Associates, said NCL America's efforts to recruit the business have been well received. Goodenow has booked the Pacific Health Ministry, which is meeting in October at a Hawaii hotel, for weeklong cruise, she said.

"They'll continue their group event at sea," Goodenow said. "It offers people a chance to unpack once and see all the islands."

Despite competition from rival destinations and a trend toward shrinking corporate travel budgets, Hawaii's meetings industry had a 6 percent year-over-year increase in visitors in 2004 and officials are predicting bigger returns this season.

"This is certainly the busiest summer that we've ever had and the year 2005 will probably be our busiest year," said Ron Adams, senior director of sales and marketing for the Hawaii Convention Center.

The economy is doing well and companies that do well are rewarding employees with trips, Adams said.

Pride of America can only boost Hawaii's success with the convention, meetings and incentive market, said Frank Haas, marketing director for the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

"Convention, meetings and incentive travelers are higher-spending visitors because they typically come here all expenses paid and have more discretionary money," Haas said. Business travelers spend an average of 23 percent more per day during their stay in Hawaii than the average leisure traveler, he said.