Aloha Tower Jim and Sunny Simmons have been on seven cruise ship tours so far, and they say they have never seen tight security to get onboard.
Marketplace shops
in slump since Sept. 11
Yesterday was the first double
cruise ship day since the attacks,
but it made little differenceBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comThe Daytona Beach, Fla., couple walked and talked quickly while on their way to the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, "Vision of the Seas," which was docked at Pier 2 in Honolulu Harbor.
"We just got off the plane at the airport and got dropped off here and they checked our ID's and scanned us and put everything in through the X-ray machine," said Jim Simmons. "I'd say it took about an hour to get on board."
In light of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., Simmons said he understands and even applauds the increased security measures. But that leaves passengers with less time for shopping at Aloha Tower Marketplace.
Not that anyone was spending much yesterday anyway.
"They're still reluctant," said Colin Kato, manager of Beyond the Beach Store.
Kato said customer traffic at Aloha Tower Marketplace was up by about 40 percent yesterday, but "the anxiousness to buy is not there yet."
Joe Glarner, general manager of Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, offered a similar comment, noting that business had been down about 20 percent since Sept. 11.
"No difference here," he said. "We see more people but not a lot of cash activity. People are being tight with their billfold and I don't think it'll change by the end of the year. I'm giving it until June (2002)," he said.
Yesterday was the first double cruise ship day for Aloha Tower Marketplace vendors since Sept. 11. Besides the Vision of the Seas, the interisland cruise ship the SS Independence also docked on Wednesday.
But while some Aloha Tower Marketplace vendors said they saw no difference in sales, others said they did a little better, even though airline shipping problems since Sept. 11 meant they could not get catalogs and promotional materials to cruiseline passengers before they disembarked.
"We made our monthly quota and even broke five monthly sales totals." said Black Pearl Gallery salesman Ron Imanaka.
The SS Independence can carry up to 867 passengers and 317 crew members. The Vision of the Seas, an international cruise ship, can carry up to 2,435 passengers and 765 crew members. Despite the capacity difference however, Aloha Tower Marketplace officials said Independence passengers and crew may have spent more money, because their ship docked overnight while Vision of the Sea left after less than a day.
Better days may be ahead, as the Carnival Spirit cruise ship pulls in Oct. 7-9.
