While cruises have made their return, it hasn’t been completely calm waters since they began sailing again. The virus continues to create challenges for cruise lines as cases rise on land and at sea.
Case in point: Genting Hong Kong said it expects to run out of cash by the end of the month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Genting is the parent of Crystal Cruises, which operates ocean and river-going ships. It also operates Dream Cruises and Star Cruises.
In light of the news, Crystal announced a suspension of its ocean voyages through April 29, 2022 and a suspension of river cruises through May 2022.
The cruise line said that the suspension “will provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward,” according to a post on its website.
“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 Jack Anderson, Crystal’s president. “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 the cruise line, current voyages will end as scheduled, including Crystal Symphony, which is slated to return to Miami on January 22. The last ship sailing, Crystal Endeavor, is set to arrive in port in Argentina on February 4.
Crystal Cruises says that canceled trips will be refunded automatically to the original form of payment.
While cruises have been one of the hardest-hit industries during to the pandemic, they have largely weathered the storm well. That has come thanks to corporate ownership with access to the U.S. debt and equity markets.
Through massive offerings of bonds and shares of stock, companies like Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have been able to raise billions of dollars worth of funds needed to keep the companies running during a time of limited revenue.
In comparison, Crystal Cruises’ parent company Genting Hong Kong had its stock suspended earlier this week according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said the company defaulted on $2.8 billion of debt through a subsidiary and hopes to restructure and/or sell off assets.
