The Buzz
The Buzz
The mammoth Celebrity Cruises ocean liner Infinity made its much-anticipated first visit to Honolulu last week. It was the subject of many oohs and aahs among those attending the International Association of Business Communicators monthly luncheon in the Plaza Club's Pacific Room. The ship seemed a mere stone's throw away from that vantage point. Flaks buzz
about big boatAmong those talking about the month-old vessel was Nathan Hokama, communications manager of Tesoro Hawaii Corp. Quite proudly he said Tesoro was fueling it up for the next leg of its journey. It would then head on to Ensenada, Mexico, before returning to Hawaii in April. Infinity will cruise to Alaska during the summer months.
Hokama checked with a Tesoro colleague to find out how long the fueling process for a more than 960-foot cruise ship takes, and the reply came back, "seven hours," he said, attributing the information to Andy Nomura, Tesoro vice president for marine fuels and utilities fuels marketing. In that time frame, Infinity took on 11,000 barrels - or 462,000 gallons - of marine fuel.
"Those are high-speed pumps," Hokama said.
Asked if the cruise line pays $1.879 per gallon, Hokama laughed. The answer was a no, though he wouldn't reveal the actual price.
It was unclear whether the Tesoro refueling crew also does windshields.
Hokama said normally cruise ships take "high sulfur fuel oil," but the state of the art Infinity, powered by gas turbine engines, was serviced with marine fuel, which is more highly refined. Tesoro also refuels the Independence, owned by American Classic Voyages.
Hokama is preparing his own piece about Infinity for an internal newsletter, complete with his own photography. During his photo shoot he encountered a friend who told him he'd be boarding the ship for a cruise next month.
The cruise line's Web site, www.celebrity-cruises.com, shows that staterooms aboard the Infinity range from $749 to $1,599 based on double occupancy. The site is perhaps best visited during personal time, as its exploration may not be conducive to a "back to work" frame of mind.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4757, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com