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After trying over the past year to secure an investor or
strategic partner, sell assets or the company itself, Cruise West has run out of
options.
The family-run operation, whose roots go back nearly 64 years
to a pioneering Alaska tour company, announced it will cease operations today
and is canceling all cruises apart from the Sept. 22 Danube sailing.
‘I have never given up hope that we might be able to find a way to survive by
working with the various interested parties. I am absolutely heartbroken that
this family legacy has come to an end,’ said Dick West, chairman and md of
Cruise West.
‘We have done absolutely everything to maintain operations, but with limited
resources and the current tight financial market, we simply cannot continue.’
In late July West had secured a personal bridge loan of $1.5m to maintain
operations and the company said it was pursuing prospects—investors or partners,
while a sale/leaseback of 120-passenger flagship Spirit of Oceanus was another
possible option.
The ship was sold to Danish investors in a deal announced Tuesday. The line had
valued the 1991-built vessel at $15m to $20m.
The price was not disclosed, but sources told Seatrade Insider the ship went for
approximately $10m.
International Shipping Partners, which arranged the sale, took delivery of the
renamed Sea Spirit in the Bahamas and said it would put the vessel out to
charter.
Cruise West operated the 100-passenger Pacific Explorer, the 96-passenger Spirit
of ’98, the 102-passenger Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Endeavour, the
78-passenger Spirit of Alaska and Spirit of Columbia, the 84-passenger Spirit of
Discovery and the 138-passenger Spirit of Yorktown. The company also marketed
select sailings on Amadeus Diamond in Europe, Corinthian II in Antarctica,
Explorer II in the Galápagos and Via Australis in Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego.
In a statement, West cited ‘a passionate following of repeat guests’ and
expressed particular distress that ‘our most loyal guests who have booked with
us will now not be able to travel.’
He also thanked employees, many who had been with the company for decades.
Layoffs began a week ago, shortly after the Seattle-based company halted its
world cruise on Spirit of Oceanus and suspended all bookings. West said a
skeleton staff will stay on to help with the shutdown.
Cruise West advised booked customers with third-party travel insurance to file a
claim with the insurer, and those who paid by credit card to contact their card
issuer.
Customers who paid by cash or check who have no travel insurance for a cruise
departing from a US port are directed to file a claim with Cruise Claims c/o
Wells Fargo Disability Management, P.O. Box 1567, Abingdon, Va. 24212, phone
877-371-9700, ext. 6059, fax 276-676-0152. The email should specify the claim is
for cruise fare reimbursement.
Customers who paid by cash or check with no travel insurance on cruises
departing from a non-US port are advised to file a claim with USTOA (www.ustoa.com).
The company said its Galápagos partner, Canodros, the operator of Explorer II,
would work to accommodate Cruise West customers booked for 2011. Customers
should email lmontalvo@canodros.com This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Cruise West was founded by Dick West’s late father, Chuck, who was known as ‘Mr.
Alaska’ for his pioneering efforts to open the state to tourism. Chuck West
established his first Alaska tour operation in 1946 in Fairbanks. Eventually he
sold Westours to Holland America Line in 1973, then began offering cruises on
Alaska state ferries and other lines’ ships in the mid 1980s.
Check out Dick West's interview:
Dick West
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