Selling Cruises: Selling Hawaii
by John Hawks

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NCL has made great strides over the past year in re-training its American crews to become accustomed to the service routines aboard a cruise ship. These changes should mean that your clients' biggest obstacle to enjoying their cruise in Hawaii is the long flight from the U.S. mainland!

In 2006, NCL remains the only cruise line operating Hawaii cruises every week of the year. Joining its first ship in the islands, the "Pride of Aloha," are the "Pride of America" (which debuted in Hawaii last year) and the "Pride of Hawaii" that's due next month.

Recent CLIA statistics gathered from cruise agents found that, to the surprise of many travel industry observers, Hawaii now ranks behind the Caribbean and Alaska as the most popular destination for cruisers!

Envying NCL's success in this market, other cruise lines have begun sending ships to Hawaii. Cunard's ships "Queen Mary 2" and "Queen Elizabeth 2" will stop there this year. Holland America will offer 11 different Hawaii sailings aboard the "Amsterdam," "Ryndam," and "Zaandam." And, Royal Caribbean and Princess also plan cruises to the islands.

What are the best selling points for Hawaii cruises? For first-time visitors to Hawaii, a cruise combines the best of both worlds: the chance to experience a different port almost every day, plus the comfort and onboard amenities of the cruise ship every night. For repeat Hawaii visitors, don't accept their objection that they've seen Hawaii already, because most travelers to the islands have actually only made it to Oahu and perhaps one other island. Therefore, a Hawaii cruise will let them cross off the other islands on their list with different stops -- plus, they'll get great pictures from the sea approaches as their ship pulls into port!

Hawaii cruises offer an enormous array of shore excursion options. In Oahu, your clients can visit Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach. On the Big Island, the main attractions are the Volcanoes National Park and the village of Kona. The port calls on Maui will be Lahaina and Kahului. On Kauai, your travelers may tour Waimea Canyon (the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific") and the main village in Lihue. On Lanai and Molokai, the beaches -- and the scuba diving! -- are the big draw.

Want to learn more about the advantages of selling Hawaii cruises? Take a look at the Hawaii section of the CruiseCritic.com Web site. (In fact, I'll give my standard endorsement here: You should subscribe to this site if you sell a lot of cruises. CruiseCritic.com is simply the best site on the Internet these days with updated and exhaustive information and reviews for cruises.)