Crystal Cruises Temporarily Suspends Operations

Crystal Cruises has suspended operations for all of its cruise ships until the spring after its parent company has moved to restructure its debt.

The luxury cruise line will pause all ocean sailings through at least April 29 and pause all river sailings through at least the end of May, according to the company. All ships that are currently sailing — the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony in the Caribbean, and the Crystal Endeavor in Antarctica — will finish out their current voyages before the suspension.

The move comes after Crystal’s parent company, Genting Hong Kong, filed for bankruptcy, Cruise Critic reported.

“This was an extremely difficult decision but a prudent one given the current business environment and recent developments with our parent company, Genting Hong Kong,” Jack Anderson, Crystal’s president, said in a statement. “Crystal has been synonymous with luxury cruising for more than 30 years and we look forward to welcoming back our valued guests when we resume operations. We wish to thank our guests and travel advisors for their incredible support during these ongoing challenging times.”

According to Bloomberg, the company has asked the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appoint provisional liquidators to negotiate a debt restructuring.

Courtesy of Crystal Cruises

Cruisers who are scheduled to board a ship during the pause will automatically receive a full refund of the cruise fare, according to Crystal. Those who paid for their cruise with a future cruise credit will receive the full value of that returned to their Crystal Society profile account.

Crystal is the latest cruise line to cancel sailings in the last few weeks as the omicron variant has led to surges in coronavirus cases around the world. Earlier this week, Celebrity Cruises paused voyages and Royal Caribbean canceled more sailings. And earlier this month, Norwegian Cruise Line also canceled cruises on eight of its ships — including on a ship that was forced to return to port after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases on board.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has made its guidance optional for cruise lines, has warned people against boarding a cruise ship at the moment, regardless of their vaccination status.

The Yucatan Times
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