ASSOCIATED PRESS The Pride of America, a 920-foot ship, will begin offering weeklong interisland cruises from Honolulu on Saturday. It is the second U.S.-flagged vessel dedicated to interisland tours, along with the Pride of Aloha which began its route last year. The Pride of America's pool deck is shown yesterday. .

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Cruise debuts

Pride of America
joins Pride of Aloha
in sailing Hawaii

HILO » The Pride of America made its Hawaii debut yesterday morning, when the $350 million passenger liner arrived at Hilo Harbor with 1,600 passengers and nearly 1,000 crew aboard.

New attraction The Pride of America begins cruising Saturday from Honolulu: Cost of ship: $350 million Crew: 40 percent local Itinerary: Weekly interisland cruises Size: 920 feet Attraction: Its Soho Art Gallery is the largest floating gallery in the world and has nearly 1,000 pieces of original art for sale

After a dockside hula greeting, Kamehameha Schools chaplain Kahu Kordell Kekoa blessed the Norwegian Cruise Line ship and the crew, 40 percent of whom were recruited in Hawaii.

"This will be a great connection between Hawaii and the rest of America," Kekoa said.

Passengers were already feeling the connection and gave the first new U.S.-flagged cruise ship in nearly 50 years rave reviews after the five-day voyage from San Francisco.

"We thought five days at sea would be boring, but it's been anything but," said Jeanne Tweedy, 55, of Colorado Springs, Colo. "There's absolutely nothing we could want for."

"The service has been super and the staff are just wonderful," added her sister, Kathy Cleary, 54 also of Colorado Springs.

The women also had high praise for Capt. Kjell Nesheim, who has experience cruising the islands aboard the NCL's Pride of Aloha, which began interisland cruises a year ago.

The Pride of America is one of two ships from the failed "Project America" program that Norwegian bought after the U.S. cruise ship company American Classic Voyages declared bankruptcy in 2001. The ship, along with the Pride of Hawaii, were completed in Germany.

When the Pride of Hawaii is delivered in May 2006, "we'll be bringing almost 8,000 passengers per week here to Hawaii," Robert Kritzman, NCL executive vice president and managing director for Hawaii.

Sales have been strong through the end of the year and bookings already are being made well into next year in response to an East Coast marketing campaign, Kritzman said.

"That's a sign of the strength of Hawaii's tourism right now," he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS The ship is pictured below in Hilo Harbor on the Big Island.

Walking through sections of the 920-foot Pride of America is like going back in time, or at least jumping through several time zones. Each room or public area has a theme, with such attention paid to detail and decor that the atmosphere and ambiance change just by stepping through the door.

For example, in just one section of Deck 6 is the Lazy J Texas Steakhouse, complete with cactus plants and decorative saddles, the Cadillac Diner, an airy replica of a 1950s diner, and the Napa Wine Bar, which features rough stone and wood decor and a choice of more than 100 types of wine.

One deck below is the spacious Skyline Restaurant, which seats 644. Each support column is fashioned as a big city skyscraper in sparkling silver and is lit from inside to give each window a glow.

The top decks offer a full range of activities and amenities, from spas, hot tubs and swimming pools to sports courts and a golf driving range. The Soho Art Gallery is the largest floating gallery in the world and boasts nearly 1,000 pieces of original art for sale.

Junior receptionist Nathan Ursua of Mililani served as a stateroom steward aboard Pride of Aloha through its growing pains in the last year, during which passengers complained about service.

"A year ago I was still green about the cruise industry, but now we have a great team," he said. "You have to be born with the spirit of aloha, but you don't have to be born in Hawaii. If you have it, it just comes shining through."

Kritzman said an expanded recruiting and training program has helped solidify a strong crew.

"The staff is doing great. They seem ecstatic," he said. "Feedback from the passengers has been very good. We're very happy."

The ship was christened June 17 in New York and has made its way to Hawaii via Miami and the Panama Canal. Regular weekly interisland cruises begin Saturday from Honolulu.