Genting Hong Kong’s luxury cruise line, Crystal Cruises, has suspended operations until at least 29 April 2022 as the group fights to stay afloat.
Crystal announced Thursday that it has immediately suspended operations for its Ocean and Expedition ships through 29 April 2022, while its butler-services Crystal River Cruises will remain suspended through the end of May.
The suspension will provide Crystal’s management team an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward, the company said.
Three cruise ships currently at sea – Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony sailing in the Caribbean and Crystal Endeavor in Antarctica – will complete their current voyages before going on hiatus.
The decision to stop sailing comes after Genting Hong Kong announced this week that it had filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Bermuda for the winding up of the company after failing to secure funding needed to meet its financial obligations. It also filed a summons to seek the appointment of joint provisional liquidators to develop a restructuring proposal in respect of the company’s debts, totalling around US$2.8 billion.
“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,” said Crystal Cruises President, Jack Anderson.
“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.”
The company said it will immediately refund all tickets purchased for previously planned cruises.
Genting Hong Kong had stated this week that it would continue operating cruises out of Asia via subsidiary Dream Cruises in order to protect core assets and maintain value but said it “anticipated that the majority of the Group’s existing operations will cease to operate.”
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