After canceling an advertisement that offended many Hawaiians and acknowledging its poor judgment in running it, Celebrity Cruises today accepted an offer from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) to provide cultural training for its marketing staff.

In a letter sent to the company over the weekend, HVCB President and CEO John Monahan said, "It's likely that this advertisement may have been created and approved by Celebrity Cruises due to a lack of understanding of Hawaii's society, history and traditions. If so, HVCB will be pleased to make arrangements to help educate your marketing staff about our islands."

HVCB has put Celebrity in contact with the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association to provide cultural values and awareness training.

Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity Cruises president, reiterated the company's regret over the insensitivity of the company's ads, which depicted the King Kamehameha statue holding a champagne glass.

"We are deeply sorry that our ads offended so many people," Hanrahan said. "It was certainly never our intention to be disrespectful to the people of Hawaii, and we sincerely regret any concerns that were raised by our indiscretion."

Celebrity announced it will publish ads in two of Hawaii's major newspapers this week to make its apology to the Hawaiian people more public.

The original ads, which Celebrity immediately pulled after learning of their unintended effect, had appeared recently in several travel-agent publications.

[ 10-12-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by mec1:
Good grief - the Hawaiians clearly aren't blessed with a sense of humour are they...

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I guess they have to much time on their hands living in paradise.

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Originally posted by joe at travelpage:
Here's what the ad looked like:

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[ 10-11-2006: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Originally posted by CGT:
P.S. Have never heard the bit about the sand...would like some proof....now THAT I find more insulting....

[ 10-11-2006: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Perhaps all the whiners should raise two or three glasses of bubbly,.....it might just relax 'em a bit.

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy: If you look at the islands untouched beaches many are volcanic rock or ground down volcanic rock or black sand. The big Islands are nearly all rock except for the ones remade w/sand brought from other areas (California). My dad told me about it years ago after he saw huge barges lined up w/sand in Honolulu in the 1950s. The sand was being used to 'build' beaches for new resorts then under construction. Many years later a Hawaiian man I met explained the process to me while I was on vacation on Maui in the 1980s. There are a few beached such as Makena on Maui that have pure white sand but that apparently is not common to the islands.

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[ 10-11-2006: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Originally posted by linerguy:
This just adds to the many reasons why I could care less about going to Hawaii,....

Perhaps all the whiners should raise two or three glasses of bubbly,.....it might just relax 'em a bit.

-Russ

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I'm sure Hawaii is fantastic. Truth is, I'm not all that into tropical destinations and the Polynesian culture and reported feel of Hawaii simply leaves me cold. I'd rather romp around some castle in Ireland or go back to Versailles.

Like I said, it's just not my cup o' tea. Perhaps someday I'll go and come back with a different outlook,...but there's about a hundred places I'd rather see first.

Unlike the atols around and about, Hawaii, as a whole, has a significant sand deficit. I would not be surprised in the slightest if it was necessary to import sands to resorts where beaches are sand-deficient.

There is one sure way to tell. The contents of sands are a signature of origin. During World War II, I know of a geologist, now long deceased, who was able to determine the location from which Japanese balloon bombs, were launched on the prevailing westerly winds toward the United States. He analyzed the sand in their ballast pouches, and determined where in Japan, that particular mix of sand particles and associated minerals could be found. The site was subsequently bombed, and the attacks ceased.

I was in Hawaii for 2.5 weeks in 1993. Honolulu is Miami Beach with a 10 hour longer flight from the East Coast. Oahu further away is far more interesting. On a gallery visit in Haleiwa[sp] I saw a painting I liked and asked about it the woman replied "That is from an artist from GreeenWitch Village, New York. I did NOT correct her pronunciation.

The other islands are far more interesting. Kauai is beautiful with rain forests, frontier architecture and the Napali coast.

Maui is a tourist trap but the drive up to the 10,000' elevation Haleakela crater is magnifico and looks like the moon.

The Big Island is my favorite with the black sand beaches. It was great to have lunch at Kiluea Culdera and watch lava flow out. The Island has 12 of the world's 13 climate zones including snow at Mouna Kea. Everywhere you drive the scenery and fauna change every 10 miles. Hilo is a charming frontier untouristed town. Kona is beautiful and looks Carribean. The north side of the island looks like rural Pennsylvania.

My advice is stay in Wakiki for one day and travel to the outer islands.

[ 10-13-2006: Message edited by: desirod7 ]