Following the collapse of parent company Genting Group, luxury cruise, expedition and river operator Crystal Cruises has announced it will temporarily cease sailing while the executive team is exploring options to continue operations, Cruise Critic reports.
The line will be the first cruise operator to face significant financial and operational difficulties in 2022, and the first since the collapse of several lines in the spring and summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts travel across the globe. world severely limited.
What happens if a cruise line goes bankrupt? It’s a scenario that Cruise Critic has researched extensively – and one that offers passengers who have booked with Crystal Cruises some hope of getting their money back.
Here’s what cruisers need to know about the current situation with Crystal Cruises:
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Is Crystal Cruises Bankrupt?
Technically, Crystal Cruises’ parent company, Malaysia-based Genting Group, has gone bankrupt. However, that has dramatic consequences for Crystal, as the line is a subsidiary of Genting and as such is also out of money.
Coupled with a global pandemic that continues to hamper the financial health of the travel and cruise industries, the economic situation at Genting Group quickly became untenable.
Is Crystal Cruises no longer sailing?
Crystal announced on Wednesday that the three ships currently in service – Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity and the line’s new expedition vessel, Crystal Endeavor – will cease operations. Passengers will disembark and be flown home from Miami, Aruba and Ushuaia, Argentina.
However, Crystal only temporarily interrupts his activities in the spring – at least for now. Ocean sailings are canceled through April 29, 2022.
All three cruise ships will be laid up at the end of their current cruises. Crystal says the line is still drawing up exact plans for its ships.
So while routes will remain available after April 29, 2022, the future of the company is not guaranteed at this point unless an investor were to save the line financially.
What about Crystal’s European river cruises?
Crystal’s European river cruise fleet is not active, as is standard at this time of year. (The 2022 European river cruise season typically starts in March.)
For now, Crystal has announced that it will pause its European river cruises until the end of May 2022. It’s possible that an investment company — or even another river or ocean cruise operator — will take over Crystal’s river assets and operate them as planned.
I have booked a future cruise with Crystal. What shall I do?
Crystal states that passengers on cruises booked who paid in cash (no future cruise credit) will be automatically refunded to the original payment method.
However, if that cruise was booked with a future cruise credit, that credit will be refunded to the guest’s Crystal Society account.
I have a future cruise credit with Crystal. What shall I do?
At this time, there is no clear way to convert an FCC from a Crystal Society account into a refund. Those with FCCs should call Crystal or work with your preferred travel agent to discuss options. Keep in mind that this news is likely to lead to customer service representatives handling a huge volume of calls, which will make the wait times long.
Cruise Critic is also investigating this scenario and will update this article once we have more information.
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Will another cruise company buy Crystal or its ships?
An increasingly plausible scenario is that another cruise line or investment company dives in and buys Crystal Cruises outright or invests the necessary capital to keep the line afloat.
In this scenario, two outcomes are possible: a company buys Crystal and chooses to keep its operations and assets intact, and business continues as usual.
Another, more disruptive result, involves a company buying and analyzing Crystal, selling assets it doesn’t consider critical to the business. The line’s river cruise ships would be up for sale in 2021; now a sale of the ocean-going vessels, river vessels or both is certainly possible in the short term.
What happens now?
In the short term, Crystal Cruises will cease operations and lay down its fleet of ocean-going vessels. Passengers who booked “cash” (including credit cards) are protected and will be refunded.
Passengers who have booked with an FCC or who have outstanding credit should contact their travel advisor or Crystal Cruises for next steps.
In the longer term, it is possible to restart Crystal, provided the management team can come off the line with solutions, from everything to the full acquisition.
Cruise Critic will follow this evolving story and update this article as needed.
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