Haimark Line Cancels All Cruises

This was mentioned in a new article on Cruise Critic today. I'm not sure how it affects River cruises that included Haimark ships:

Haimark Line Cancels All Cruises

Haimark Line has canceled all upcoming cruises, according to a press release put out the Federal Maritime Commission. The Denver-based company filed for bankruptcy after its ship, Saint Laurent, suffered damages in a collision with the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway in June 2015. The line had also been approved for Cuba sailings from the United States, with the cruises slated to start February 2016; those have all been canceled. The release says that the company is liable to refund passenger fares and deposits; this does not include payments for flights, hotels or other expenses that "do not constitute water transportation."

No, river cruises by Haimark are a separate company.

The St. Laurent coastal ship went bankrupt. Not the river cruises.

steamboats

I don't know what's going on with this trip all I know is I had a $1000 fully refundable deposit on the Great Lakes cruise with 4 other people and I a cancelled it because when the trip was announced it would cost us about $15,000 for 2 people in the lowest accommodation without air fare....like I told Vantage...it's not that I can't...it's that I won't...I am glad we cancelled when we did. I don't know who owns the ship, but it is the St. Laurent and apparently it's not sailing any time soon. Unfortunate part is I researched other Great Lake cruises and found out there aren't any. Apparently everyone uses the St. L. But I'll keep looking....it it's a profitable cruise someone else will start doing it.

Trying to get the word out there to as many people as possible, as I have just found out through web research that Haimark Travel/River Cruises have closed doors - facebook page gone, web page gone and emails do not work.

We are booked on an Amazon Cruise through Haimark next month. I now find that Delfin (ship builders) are taking over bookings. Haimark have not passed our money or booking over to them. I now have to rebook and pay again. I did pay on my credit card, so trying to get a 'Charge Back' but in between, I am out of pocket.

Good luck to everybody...

was this with a travel agent in Australia or on line? wish you all the best I know their cruises are not cheap. wonder how many will be caught up in this?

will do some searching. good luck.

We book direct - pros and cons. Unfortunately I have seen too many travelers not told of up-to-date information by Travel Agents. I have just instigated a 'Charge Back' with my credit card. I always use my credit card for overseas transactions. So will get my money back that way.

I would say this is just the beginning for alot of people....

Here is the report from a travel industry e-magazine: http://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Shipbuilders-move-in-to-take-over-operations-from-Haimark

notamermaid

We are scheduled on a Vantage trip to the Mekong in November. Hopefully the transition and resulting hiccups will have been resolved by then.

QUOTE=Hydrokitty;50098875]Hi Rose and Pat: since you both expressed interest, like me, in the Haimark cruises through Vantage, I have an update. As of May 13, 2016: :". the Federal Maritime Commission announced that Haimark is bankrupt and all cruises cancelled"..the article went on to say that customers who had paid for cruises have filed claims of around $800,000 and it's not known if the escrow account has enough funds to refund everyone in full. In any event, airfare and hotel expenses will NOT be covered. Haimark is totally out of business and the ship, still officially the St. Laurent, is at a shipyard in Jacksonville, FL. Apparently plans for a private investment firm to purchase it have not materialized. I was supposed to go in July, 2017 on the Great Lakes cruise and when I could not get any firm info, I asked for and received a full refund of my deposit from Vantage. I think Vantage is probably holding deposits in its own escrow account, and that's a good thing for it's customers, but what a nightmare.

I am reposting my post from a different board from a couple of weeks ago because I wasn't aware of the number of people effected by this. Haimark has been officially declared a bankrupt and is now officially out of business. I don't know anything about ships other than the St. Laurent, which upon information and belief, sailed primarily in Cuba and the Great Lakes. All of the research I have done to date indicates that St. Laurent is still in a shipyard in Jacksonville, FL. Since Haimark filed in Colorado, anyone needing the address of the Bankruptcy Court can find it by googling US Bankruptcy Ct., Denver, CO.