Hawaii depends on tourism for roughly a quarter of its
economy, and since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the industry
has suffered. Looks like a new US spending bill will help to bring jobs
and more cruising opportunities to the Hawaiian Islands and will overturn
a federal law that prohibits foreign-built ships from sailing exclusively
among U.S. ports.

While many ships sail between the islands – including two
of Norwegian ships – they are all foreign-flagged, and are therefore
required by U.S. law to put into a non-U.S. port during an American itinerary.
The Norwegian ships stop at Fanning Island in Kiribati, about 600 miles
(960 kilometres) south of Hawaii. The only cruise ship that offered solely
Hawaiian cruises, the US company American Classic Voyages, went bankrupt
a few weeks after 9/11. Norwegian Cruise Line (actually Malaysian owned)
plan to take up this space and sail exclusively among the islands without
a foreign stop.