A Second Cruise Ship Just Kicked Out Its Passengers & Booked It For The Bahamas
That makes two Crystal cruise ships on the run!
You hear about car chases but rarely do you hear about cruise-ship chases, let alone two in a month.
A large cruise ship just dumped its passengers in Florida and fled to the Bahamas, all because of a case involving millions of dollars in unpaid fuel bills.
About 200 passengers were expecting to spend several more weeks at sea on the Crystal Serenity, but the ship headed to the Bahamas and sent them all back to Florida via ferry on Monday night. The ship is now sitting in Bimini, out of reach of the U.S. authorities.
It's the second Crystal Cruises vessel to make a break for it in recent weeks, rather than docking in Florida as planned.
"There are simply no words to express our deep regret and disappointment," Crystal Cruises said in a statement. The company added that all passengers will get hotel rooms, and that they'll be reimbursed for any changes to their flight plans because of the move.
Crystal Cruises is accused of failing to pay a whopping $4.6-million fuel bill in the U.S., reported the Associated Press. A judge issued a warrant to seize another of its ships, the Crystal Symphony, last month.
The Crystal Symphony also dropped off its passengers in Florida and then headed to the Bahamas after the warrant was issued. No warrant has been issued for the Crystal Serenity at this point.
The Crystal Serenity was originally scheduled to take its voyagers on a two-and-a-half-month trip, but just days after departing, the cruise line announced that it would be suspending all operations through April.
The statement said that "suspending operations will provide Crystal's management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward."
Initially, passengers were told that they would end the trip in Aruba. However, local authorities denied the ship permission to dock on the island, so they had to turn to the Bahamas.
Once they arrived in the Bahamas, the cruise line ferried all the passengers to Fort Lauderdale, where they were provided with a hotel room.
From the sounds of it, some passengers were more than happy to get off early, according to 10 WBNS.
"I'm delighted to be off that ship," said 75-year-old passenger Barry Shulman.
Public tracking sites show the Crystal Symphony and the Crystal Serenity were both docked in the Bahamas as of Wednesday.
The only other Crystal Cruises ship in use, the Crystal Endeavour, is currently on an Antarctica tour with no scheduled stops in the U.S.