Genting Hong Kong’s luxury brand Crystal Cruises has been permanently shut down, according to information provided to crews on board its vessels that are under arrest in the Bahamas.
The company’s seafarers were informed that V.Ships is likely to take over the technical management of its three-ship fleet on behalf of “the banks” while buyers were sought.
Crystal shore staff in Miami received termination letters, with their last day of employment on Wednesday. A few will continue until Friday, their seagoing colleagues were informed.
“Unfortunately this is the end of Crystal Cruises, and we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” the master of the 68,900-gt Crystal Serenity (built 2003) said when addressing his crew in a public address system broadcast that was later posted on Twitter.
“I think the ships are for sale and until then V.Ships will be our managing company.”
The Crystal Serenity was arrested in Freeport on 5 February together with the 51,000-gt Crystal Symphony (built 1995).
Both had recently been diverted to the Bahamas, the Crystal Symphony to avoid arrest by a fuel supplier in Miami, and the Crystal Serenity to offload passengers after permission to do so in Aruba was denied when the ship’s world cruise was called off just days after it had begun.
Crew repatriation efforts have reportedly begun.
Crystal’s third vessel, the 20,500-gt expedition cruise ship Crystal Endeavor (built 2021), is heading for Montevideo in Uruguay.
Two of its four river cruise ships are in winter lay-up in the Netherlands. The other two are laid up in Germany and Austria.
The company’s demise began when parent Genting Hong Kong announced on 17 January that it had filed for liquidation in a Bermuda court as its credit lines were exhausted and it was running out of cash.
Crystal announced shortly thereafter that it would suspend its cruise operations until April.
Founded in 1988 by Japan’s NYK Line, Crystal soon established itself as one of the most respected players in the top tier of the US cruise market.
Genting Hong Kong acquired Crystal Cruises in 2015 and quickly set about transforming it.
Under the leadership of new chief executive and president Edie Rodriguez, Crystal announced numerous expansion plans that included everything from three 100,000-gt cruise ship newbuildings and the restoration of the long laid-up 38,200-gt transatlantic liner United States (built 1952) to a fleet of wide-body jets kitted out for luxury air cruises.
Rodriguez would depart in September 2017. The plans that she had unveiled amid great fanfare were later curtailed. The company received only the Crystal Endeavor, four river cruise ships and a single 88-passenger Boeing 777 jet that is currently managed by a US private aviation firm and is available for charter to haul passengers or freight.
Crystal also took over the 3,370-gt Crystal Esprit (ex-MegaStar Taurus, built 1991) from Genting-owned Star Cruises and refurbished it as a 62-passenger vessel billed as a “boutique yachting experience”.
The Crystal Esprit was sold to Lindblad Expeditions in September 2021, with Crystal claiming that the small yacht concept did not fit into future plans.
Genting did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
