A Florida-based cruise company has been forced to dock another vessel in the Bahamas following a US court’s request to seize a ship.
The cruise liner, Crystal Cruises, had been due to dock the 1,000 passenger Crystal Serenity ship last week before it was forced to divert for Bimini, in the Bahamas.
It follows a court ruling for the seizure of a vessel belonging to Crystal Cruises, who are accused by federal US prosecutors of failing to pay for $4.6m (£3.4m) for fuel.
“There are simply no words to express our deep regret and disappointment,” the company said in a statement on Monday after its ship was refused entry into Aruba, a territory of the Netherlands, on Friday.
Passengers were transferred on a fast ferry to Port Everglades on Monday, some 3.5 miles south of Miami and almost fourth months before they had been due to return home.
The world voyage was cut short on the third day of the Crystal Serenity’s 17 January departure from Florida amid financial trouble at the cruise liner, which is a subsidiary of the Genting Hong Kong group.
As TravelPulse reported, that was because of the US lawsuit and comes after another ship – the Crystal Symphony – was forced to divert to the Bahamas because of the US seizure order.
Passengers onboard that vessel were similarly transferred to southern Florida by fast ferry and reportedly offered reimbursement for any applicable airline change fees.
“I’m delighted to be off that ship,” said Barry Shulman, 75, of Las Vegas, after disembarking the Crystal serenity.
All other cruises by the company have been cancelled as of 17 January to “provide Crystal‘s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward”.
Crystal Cruises referred The Independent to an earlier statement about the Crystal Serenity and said it could not comment further while legal action was pending.
“Although Crystal Serenity was cleared to arrive in Aruba on Friday with all services paid for in advance and even though there are no reasonable risks or claims made against the vessel, local officials informed the company late Friday afternoon that the ship will be not permitted to dock in Aruba as scheduled,” said spokesperson Vance Gulliksen.
“After receiving this unfortunate news, Crystal’s management team spent hours conferring with Aruba officials toward a positive resolution to no avail. As a result, Crystal Serenity was forced to conclude its voyage in Bimini on Monday, January 31st where guests were transferred to Port Everglades via the Balearia fast ferry service.”
“Guests were transferred to an area hotel where overnight accommodations were provided by Crystal and the company will reimburse guests for any applicable airline change fees.”
