Kailua Bay’s been busy this week, hosting the first Norwegian Cruise Line call in over two years on Wednesday as well as a super yacht and its support yacht on Thursday.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s 921-foot Pride of America made its first call Wednesday in Kailua-Kona, more than two years after its last visit on March 11, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The vessel with capacity for 2,500 passengers will resume its normal weekly Wednesday calls going forward, albeit operating at reduced capacity around 50% to 60%.
Also gracing Kailua Bay Wednesday was super yacht Lonian, a 285-foot luxury vessel launched in 2018 at a reported price tag of $160 million. The yacht, sailing under the flag of the Cayman Islands, is owned by billionaire Lorenzo Fertitta, former CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
On Thursday, another large yacht showed up in Kailua Bay. The Hodor, is a 216-foot vessel specifically built to support the Lonian.
The Hodor, also sailing under the Cayman Islands flag, serves as a trailing garage, housing the “toys,” which include ATVs, motorcycles, boats and a helicopter, according to Super Yacht Times.
Also seen off the Kona Coast Wednesday was the Oscar Elton Sette, a multipurpose oceanographic research vessel that conducts fisheries assessments, physical and chemical oceanography research, marine mammal and marine debris surveys. The 224-foot NOAA vessel is homeported in Honolulu.