The Napali Coast Sail-By Returns To NCL Pride Of America

A Beat of Hawaii reader said something this week that he did not realize was already out of date. Matthew B. commented that Pride of America no longer cruises the Napali Coast, adding that he still wanted to experience it someday but had missed that part of the itinerary when he sailed last summer.

His comment came in response to another reader recommending Pride of America as a good-value way to see the islands without changing hotels, taking interisland flights, or constantly repacking. Matthew did not know that the Napali Coast sailing he thought was still gone was returning to the schedule this fall.

After about two and a half years off the itinerary, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America is restoring its scenic Napali Coast cruise on the final afternoon of its weekly Hawaii sailing, starting with its October 3 departure from Honolulu. That closes a story we first reported in March 2024, when NCL canceled the Kauai Napali Coast sailing, which many readers considered the most memorable part of the entire cruise.

We have sailed Pride of America twice ourselves, and we have always been candid about what it is and is not. The ship was not the reason we went; the food was tolerable, with Jefferson’s Bistro a highlight, and the crew worked hard, though they often seemed stretched thin.

What worked for us was the simplicity of it all. We could unpack once, see people we know on multiple islands, avoid interisland airport logistics, and let the ship handle transportation, lodging, and meals for the week.

Even with that practical reason for going, the Napali Coast sail-by stood apart. Leaving Nawiliwili, making that familiar left turn, and watching Kauai’s cliffs rise from the water was the part that stayed with us after the rest of the cruise blurred together.

The coast is back on the schedule starting October 3.

The restored Napali Coast sailing returns on Day 7, after Pride of America’s second day in Nawiliwili, Kauai. The ship now leaves at 2:00 p.m., cruises the coast during the afternoon, then continues back to Honolulu for arrival the next morning around 7:00 a.m.

During the gap, when Napali was not included, Pride of America remained in Nawiliwili until 5:00 p.m., giving passengers three more hours on Kauai but skipping the coast from the water. With the sail-by restored, those three hours of land time are gone again. We would make that trade easily, because Napali from the water is one of those Hawaii experiences that still feels larger than the itinerary box it occupies.

The sailing is weather permitting, as it always has been. When conditions cooperate, the ship typically makes the run in a way that gives both sides a view, though port-side cabins generally have the better position on this itinerary.

Pride of America remains the only large U.S.-flagged cruise ship operating year-round entirely within Hawaii under the Passenger Vessel Services Act. Carrying about 2,180 passengers, the ship entered service in 2005 and completed a refurbishment in 2025.

What the sail-by was like from the deck.

We still remember the feeling of leaving Nawiliwili and knowing what lay ahead. The ship pulls away from Kauai’s working harbor, clears the breakwater, and begins the turn that changes the mood on deck.

Then the coastline starts to take over. The green folds of Kauai’s north shore grow steeper, the cliffs darken and sharpen in the afternoon light, and the whole ship seems to understand that this is not just another transit between ports.

That is what made the old Pride of America itinerary feel complete to us. The cruise already gave passengers the practical sweep of Hawaii, but Napali gave the week its most dramatic visual memory.

We have seen Napali from other vantage points, and each one has its own power. From the deck of Pride of America, the experience was not intimate, but it was cinematic in a way that fit the final afternoon of the cruise.

Readers never stopped missing it.

When we reported in March 2024 that NCL had removed the Napali Coast sailing, readers’ response was immediate and unusually strong. Many did not treat it as a minor itinerary adjustment, and several called it a flat deal-breaker.

Readers described Napali as the jewel of Kauai and the one part of the cruise they had most looked forward to seeing. Some said they had booked or nearly booked because of that sail-by, while others said they would now rethink or cancel Pride of America plans altogether.

One reader who watches the ship from Princeville near sunset asked what NCL was thinking. Another recalled a January sailing when the ship could not dock, and the captain instead repeatedly cruised Kauai’s coast while passengers filled the decks with cameras, oohs, and aahs.

There was also plenty of speculation about why the cut happened in the first place. Readers wondered whether the decision was about fuel, shore-excursion economics, or simply another case of paying the same or more while receiving less.

This is the long view, not the close-up.

A cruise-ship pass is the long-lens version of the Na Pali Coast. Pride of America is a large ship, and passengers should not expect the same experience they would get from a small boat, Zodiac, catamaran, helicopter, or hike.

Some readers told us in 2024 that they were underwhelmed by how far offshore the ship stayed. One said the ship passed too far out to get much of a sense of the cliffs, while another said a late departure left too little light by the time the coast came into view. If Napali is the main goal of a Kauai trip, a dedicated boat tour, helicopter flight, or trail experience will usually be more intense and memorable.

For many Pride of America passengers, that will not be the choice in front of them. Seeing Napali from the deck may still be the only realistic way for them to experience the coast from the water during a one-week, four-island cruise.

Not everyone wanted it back.

The restoration will not please everyone, and the 2024 comments made that clear, too. Some readers preferred the added Kauai land time, especially because three extra hours ashore can make a real difference on an island where rental cars, tours, beaches, and Waimea Canyon plans all take time.

Others said cruise ships should stay away from fragile coastlines altogether. For those readers, the absence of a large ship in the view from land or sea was not a loss, but a relief.

We still think restoring Napali was the right call for this particular itinerary. Pride of America is sold as an all-islands Hawaii cruise, and this was one of the rare moments that made the week feel bigger than a sequence of ports. Still, Kauai land time has real value, the coastline is not just a backdrop, and not every visitor experience should be measured only by how many people can see it.

What we still do not know.

NCL has not publicly given a reason for restoring the Napali Coast sailing. We are not going to assign one for them, especially after readers already supplied every theory the first time around.

The return does not erase the disappointment of passengers who sailed during the gap and missed what they thought they were getting. It also does not settle the larger argument over cruise ships, Kauai, and how close large-scale tourism should come to places people consider sacred, fragile, or simply overused.

Will you be trying the NCL Cruise with the Napali Coast added starting on October 3?

Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii on NCL Pride of America in 2014, sailing along the Napali Coast on Kauai.

By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.

Some of the most meaningful parts of Hawaii are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →