Celebrity Cruises Informs Guests of Hawaii Itinerary Change

Celebrity Cruises has reached out to guests booked on the May 7, 2025 sailing of Celebrity Edge to alert them to an itinerary change removing a port in Hawaii due to the August 2023 wildfires.

Another port of call has been extended into an overnight visit, but guests may be understandably disappointed at the switch, especially so far in advance when many things can change before the sailing date.

Celebrity Edge Itinerary Change

Celebrity Edge‘s repositioning from Hawaii (an intermediate step from her summer Australian season) to Vancouver, Canada in May 2025 will not be quite the same cruise as originally scheduled. The cruise line emailed guests with an updated itinerary, alerting them to the change and explaining why.

“As the community in Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii continues to rebuild from wildfires earlier this year, we have replaced our visit there with an overnight stay in Kailua Kona, Hawaii,” the email read.

The original itinerary departs Honolulu on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and calls on Hilo the next day, followed by Lahaina on May 9 and Kailua Kona on May 10. Five days at sea follow as the ship leaves Hawaii and makes her way to Vancouver, arriving on Friday, May 16.

Now, the ship will proceed directly from Hilo to Kailua Kona, extending the visit in Kailua Kona to an overnight stay from 8 a.m. on Friday, May 9 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Guests should note that Kailua Kona is a tender port, requiring the use of small boats to ferry guests to shore rather than docking directly.

There are no other changes to the itinerary at this time, but considering the sailing is 18 months away, it is always possible that further adjustments may be made.

The 130,818-gross-ton Celebrity Edge can welcome 2,918 guests aboard at once, and is also home to 1,300 international crew members who work very hard to ensure everyone aboard has an amazing cruise vacation, no matter what the destination.

When Will Lahaina Be Ready for Cruises?

The devastating wildfires in August 2023 destroyed the vast majority of the quaint town of Lahaina, damage that will undoubtedly take years to fully recover from.

Immediately following the fires, many cruise lines removed Maui from their Hawaiian itineraries in order to relieve the strain on local resources as emergency needs took precedence on the island.

At the same time, however, the economic boost that every cruise visit brings to Hawaii can be critical to support recovery efforts by bolstering the local economy. While Lahaina may not be able to receive guests, Kahului is another popular cruise port on Maui, and some ships did switch their visits to that alternative port.

It is unclear why Celebrity Edge is changing her itinerary so far in advance of the sailing, though the cruise line may be working proactively to ensure they can have the longer time in Kailua Kona before space fills up and no alternative is available.

There have been no official announcements about when the bulk of cruise ship visits may resume to Lahaina, though some cruise lines have visits to the destination scheduled early in 2024.

Read Also: Norwegian Cruise Line to Resume Calls to Destination Hit by Wildfires

Crystal Cruises, for example, plans to bring Crystal Serenity to Lahaina on February 10, 2024, as part of the ship’s 18-night South Pacific cruise from San Diego to Tahiti.

Likewise, Oceania Cruises is still including Lahaina on Regatta‘s lengthy transpacific itinerary, with the visit to Maui on April 11, 2024.

Additional calls to Lahaina are still scheduled for ships from Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Viking Cruises, Seabourn, Holland America Line, Azamara Cruises, and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises throughout 2024 and into early 2025. It is always possible, however, that different cruise lines may also adjust their future itineraries if the port’s recovery cannot support ship visits.

Interestingly, Celebrity Cruises still has a number of other visits to Lahaina scheduled before the now-cancelled call on Celebrity Edge‘s May 2025 visit, though they may be in the process of adjusting those itineraries as well.

Any guests with Hawaii cruises that include visits to Lahaina in the next few months – or even years – will need to remain flexible with their cruise plans and destination expectations as the community continues to recover.