“We’ve survived a number of national disasters and nationwide calamities in the 26 years we’ve been here,” Cohn said. But the business is already suffering the effects of a worldwide decline in air travel. “It’s not the biggest piece of bad news we’ve had in the last few weeks,” said Jason Cohn, vice president of marketing for tour company Hawaii Forest and Trail.Ĭohn said Hawaii Forest and Trail serves Princess Cruises at three ports statewide - Hilo, Kailua-Kona and Honolulu - and will therefore lose 22 cruise days between Thursday and May 10. 7.īut the loss of Princess Cruises is just one piece of the blow to tourism caused by the pandemic. Europe-centric river and ocean cruise operator Viking River Cruises announced a shutdown until May 1 on Wednesday, while new cruise line Virgin Voyages announced Thursday that it will postpone the maiden voyage of its first ship from March 26 to Aug. Two other cruise lines also announced similar shutdowns this week, although neither offered service to Hawaii. Trombley said he expects other cruise lines in Hawaii will follow Princess Cruises’ lead. “It’s hard to have a positive attitude with all of this.”īecause the Hoppa-On Hoppa-Off buses only operate on cruise ship days, the Princess shutdown especially impacts Keikana Tours. “I can tell you, we’re all really depressed here,” said Jay Trombley, co-owner of Keikana Tours, which operates the ubiquitous Hoppa-On Hoppa-Off bus service in Hilo. With nine Princess Cruises port calls scheduled for OVERSET FOLLOWS:Hawaii between Thursday and May 10, the shutdown means potentially about 25,000 visitors will no longer be visiting the state’s harbors. The shutdown comes after more than 700 people were infected on the Diamond Princess last month, and 21 more were confirmed cases were found on the Grand Princess earlier this week. “By taking this bold action of voluntarily pausing the operations of our ships, it is our intention to reassure our loyal guests, team members and global stakeholders of our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of all who sail with us, as well as those who do business with us, and the countries and communities we visit around the world,” said Princess Cruises CEO Jan Swartz in a statement.
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