Princess Cruises has canceled the planned stop at Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii, for its Ruby Princess cruise ship on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. The 16-night roundtrip Hawaiian Islands cruise departed San Francisco on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at approximately 3 p.m. PT. Instead of Kauai, the ship will remain an extra night in Honolulu, arriving at 8 a.m. on September 22 and departing at 8 a.m. on September 23. Shore excursions booked through Princess Cruises for the Kauai stop will be automatically canceled and refunded. No other impacted stops have been announced.
Hurricane Lowell, which peaked at Category 5 strength but
weakened to Category 2 when passing the Hawaiian Islands, struck Kauai late Monday night and early Tuesday morning prior to the scheduled stop. The storm caused power outages affecting more than 91% of Kauai island residents, with over 30,000 still without power as of Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Brad Rockwell, COO of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, said, “We were pleased that some restoration could be made today, but unfortunately the majority of our members remain without power.” He added, “Our efforts over the next two days will focus on completing these transmission system repairs. If all goes well, we can
complete that work and shift to repairing distribution circuits by the end of this week, if not earlier.”
Passengers will no longer visit Nawiliwili port, originally scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and instead will stay nearly 40 hours in Honolulu due to the rescheduling. The Ruby Princess will arrive in Honolulu at 8 a.m. on September 22 and depart at 8 a.m. on September 23. All shore excursions booked for the Kauai stop via Princess Cruises are automatically canceled and refunded.
Hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific Ocean typically runs from mid-May to the end of November. Hurricanes
rarely impact cruise ship schedules in this region. In August 2026, Hurricane Lala caused itinerary changes for the Pride of America and Norwegian Spirit due to the Port of Honolulu closure. No Atlantic hurricanes have been reported since June 2026.
The Ruby Princess is a Princess Cruises ship with a capacity of over 3,000 passengers and features 900 balcony cabins. It embarked on this 16-night Hawaiian Islands cruise roundtrip from San Francisco on September 17, 2026.
