Pride of Hawaii makes its last round

Pride of Hawaii, Norwegian Cruise Line's newest U.S.-flagged ship, has set sail on its final Hawaii voyage. It will dock in Honolulu once more on Monday before departing.

Norwegian Cruise Line, which has blamed Hawaii operations for widening corporate losses, announced last year that it would stem financial bleeding by sending Pride of Hawaii to Europe. Company officials have said that they hope the change will bolster pricing in the Hawaii market, which saw dramatic downturns after it expanded its fleet to three ships.

Next up, Pride of Hawaii will begin sailing to Los Angeles on Monday where it will undergo brief servicing before being reflagged and renamed Norwegian Jade, said AnneMarie Matthews, a spokeswoman for NCL.

"The first cruise will be March 30 from Barcelona, Spain to Istanbul, Turkey," Matthews said, adding that the ship will later offer a variety of itineraries that also include Egypt and the Greek Isles.

High labor costs and increased competition from foreign-flagged ships entering the Hawaii market from the West Coast have contributed to the company's struggle in Hawaii, company officials said. Reducing Hawaii capacity by a third is expected to have a positive impact on pricing and revenues, they said.