UPDATE: Hawaii Tsunami Warnings Forced Cruise Ship to Depart Early, Leaving Some Behind

The tsunami warning that swept across the Pacific yesterday, triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, has now been lifted.

The “all clear” for Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast has allowed residents to return to their normal routines for the most part.  Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, which was forced to leave Hilo hours ahead of schedule to seek safety in deeper waters, has now been allowed by the Coast Guard to return to port in Hilo.

Communications from NCL were sent to guests through SMS messages and email to let them know of the ship’s activity.  Some initial reports on social media stated that around 600 were left behind.

*Update: A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line has sent Cruise Fever the following statement about these recent events:

“On July 29, 2025, the State of Hawaii declared a state of emergency and issued a tsunami warning following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake east of Petropavlovsk, Russia. As such, in response to local emergency procedures and to prioritize the safety of our guests and crew, Pride of America was required to depart Hilo, Hawaii immediately. The ship departed at 4 PM local time, two hours ahead of its scheduled departure time of 6 PM.

Before departure, all guests were notified via SMS and advised to seek higher ground and follow instructions from local authorities if they were unable to return to the ship in time for its departure. Guests participating in NCL shore excursions were brought directly to a local high school, a designated safe location in Hilo, where refreshments were provided for their comfort and well-being.  

As a precaution and due to the temporary port closure, Pride of America has remained at sea, a safer location in situations such as this.  

The tsunami warning has since been lifted, allowing for the affected ports to gradually reopen. Hilo Harbor, however, requires a safety assessment before it can receive clearance from local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard. This assessment is scheduled to take place in the early morning of July 30, 2025 local Hawaii time, at which point our guests will reboard the ship.  

We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as they become available.” 

Yesterday, Pride of America had to leave Hilo harbor hours ahead of schedule. This was a safety measure, as tsunamis are much less dangerous for large ships in deep ocean waters. The ship was originally set to leave at 6:00 PM Hawaii Standard Time (HST) on July 29. But with tsunami waves expected around 7:15 PM HST, the ship left early.

Many passengers and crew were still in port and not able to get back to the ship before the vessel was forced to pull away from the port.

This is a normal procedure for tsunami warnings, as a vessel in deeper water will barely even notice a tsunami traveling beneath it, and it’s much safer for the ship and all on board if the ship is away from the port when a tsunami strikes.

Passengers on shore excursions were caught off guard as you can imagine. One cruiser, Jeffrey Booker, spoke with ABC15 with the Pride of America visible in the distance.

He had been visiting Volcano National Park when the alarm sounded.

“We saw the tsunami warning go off on our phones and then one of the tour operators from our cruise ship, the Pride of America, said everyone back to the ship fast as you can. Um ship’s leaving at 3:30 [HST].”

But as Booker was too far to make it back, he knew it was going to be a challenge.

“We knew at that point we weren’t going to make it. So, it’s uh it’s pulling away now,” Booker recounted as the video shows the ship beginning to pull away from the pier.

Cut off from the ship, Booker described their situation as “uncharted territory.” They had to figure out their next steps, including managing their rental car and finding last-minute accommodations.

“When you heard about this tsunami, what were your emotion like?” he was asked by the interviewer, to which he replied, “Well, we were at 3,000 plus feet…. And it didn’t immediately dawn on us that that was going to affect the ship. Should have. Should have. Next time if I get a tsunami warning, I’m going straight to the ship.”

ENTIRE west coast is now under a Tsunami warning….the cruise ship “The Pride of America” which is a NCL ship…just left the port in Hawaiii and all the folks who were on an excursion have been told to….find higher ground! Guess they will come back and get them…later!!

— BRIAN!! (@BrianSimpsonKY) July 30, 2025

The ship’s tracking data on CruiseMapper corroborates this early departure. Tracking clearly shows the Pride of America moving away from the Hilo cruise ship dock and into the open waters of the bay around that time.

This move, standard practice during tsunami warnings, kept the majority of passengers and the ship safe. But it unfortunately left some cruisers behind on land.

These passengers had to deal with the tsunami warning from shore, following local alerts. There were even reports of traffic jams in Maui as people tried to reach higher ground. Flights to Hawaii were also canceled yesterday.

Inbound flights were cancelled in Hawaii due to the tsunami warnings and officials were estimating waves from 6 to 10 feet.  Fortunately, the worst is now over, and Hilo only saw waves at 4.9 feet at the highest.

Cruise tracking data from CruiseMapper now shows the ship has turned around, as it appears to be heading back toward Hilo, although no official word has been given.

Pride of America is now back in port at Hilo and stranded passengers should be able to board the ship soon.

While it is an unfortunate situation for those left at Hilo, the captain of the ship had no other choice and followed protocol when the Coast Guard gave the order for commercial ships to head out of the harbor.  

It all happened very quickly.

One Facebook user stated, “We are on the ship and thankful to have made it back! The coast guard made the call and NCL sent out a text but our tour guide got word faster.”

This is a developing story, and updates will be made as new information comes in.