MIAMI — The Bahamas is proving to be a safe haven for both of Crystal Cruises’ ocean-going ships in the wake of parent company Genting Hong Kong’s bankruptcy protection filings.
This past weekend Crystal Serenity was turned away by authorities in Aruba, forcing the ship to set course for Bimini in The Bahamas.
As reported last week, sister ship Crystal Symphony is already at Bimini, staying away from the U.S. over a dispute about unpaid fuel bills.
Crystal Serenity set sail on a world cruise on Jan. 17. Late in the day on Jan. 19, Crystal Cruises posted a notice on its site, announcing the suspension of operations for its ocean and expedition ships through April 29, 2022, and river cruises through the end of May 2022, in the wake of bankruptcy protection filings by parent company Genting Hong Kong, part of the Genting Group.
In that Jan. 19 update, Crystal said Crystal Serenity’s sailing would end Jan. 30. The ship had planned to dock in Aruba, however authorities in Aruba then refused to allow the ship to dock.
Multiple reports from cruise news sites say Crystal Cruises issued this notice to passengers onboard Crystal Serenity: “Since receiving this most unfortunate news, we have spent hours conferring with Aruba officials towards a positive resolution – with even our humanitarian pleas falling on deaf ears – but to no avail. Although Crystal Serenity was cleared to arrive in Aruba today with all services paid for in advance and even though there was no reasonable risks or claims made against the vessel, local authorities informed us on Friday at 4:30 p.m. that the ship will not be permitted to dock in Aruba as scheduled.”
Crystal Cruises is one of the best-known brands in luxury cruising, however industry reaction last week to the cruise line’s troubles noted rapid expansion over the past few years, including the new venture into river cruising against competitors with many more years of experience. Crystal also expanded into expedition cruising. Crystal Endeavor is scheduled to complete its current voyage on Feb. 4.
Crystal says it will provide a full refund of cruise fare paid, which will be processed automatically to the original form of payment so there is no further action on the guest’s part. If the cruise was paid via a Future Cruise Payment or Credit, the full value will be returned to their Crystal Society profile account.
Crystal has paused its call centre until further notice. The cruise line says agents and passengers can email for further information, at these email addresses:
- For travel agent bookings: Guestsupport@Crystalcruises.com
- For passengers who booked directly with Crystal: Gstsvc-inbound@Crystalcruises.com
- For inquiries on past cruises: Guestrelations2@Crystalcruises.com
