Cruise lines in financial difficulty

[MIT72]

We booked a 2 week cruise of the Canary Islands and Madeira on Swan Hellenic that was to depart on January 30. I picked up our final cruise documents on January 3, only to find out on January 4 that the company had ceased operating. We are now in a nightmare trying to get our money back and figuring out how to best use expensive airline tickets in the next few months.

 

Swan Hellenic was part of the British Company, All Leisure Holidays (ATL). A sister company, Voyages of Discovery also went bankrupt stranding passengers.

 

Now I am terrified of spending good money after bad with regard to booking another cruise to use the airline tickets. Which other cruise companies are in financial difficulty? Apparently ATL was busy selling off pieces of the company and closed the two they didn't sell by year end. If I'd been checking the UK business news, I might have been alerted to their financial woes.

 

When we were on Hurtigruten last month, we heard rumors from another passenger that Hurtigruten was having financial problems. A British passenger said that Hurtigruten had recently been "bailed out" by London investors. I wonder if it is the same group that liquidated ATL?

 

With all the geopolitical problems in the worlds, I'm not surprised that cruise companies are suffering. It would be very useful to know which ones are in danger of leaving passengers like ourselves "high and dry" having paid all our money and not receiving a cruise. It is just my second day after the shock of the cancellation and I've spend numerous hours trying to get our money back and calling my credit card company and others.

Edited January 5, 2017 by MIT72
typos and clarity

[LHT28]

sorry to hear of your nightmare

Hope you can get refunded your cruise money but you are rtight it may be awhile or may not happen

Does your insurance cover any of this ?

 

Maybe you could find another cruise sailing from the embarkation port or just spend time as a land trip

 

Good luck

[LondonTowner]

The company was Atol/ABTA bonded, so you won't lose your money. If you look on their website you will probably find details of the procedure there.

[Hlitner]

Actually, cruise companies are not suffering...just European cruise companies are suffering. The two major US Based large cruise companies, Carnival Cruise Corp and RCI are reporting nice profits and their stocks have been doing quite well. And both of these large companies continue to spend lots of money on new builds. Even in Europe, MSC seem to be doing quite well. It is the small European budget companies that seem to be having problems.. which is interesting since these companies do not generally invest in expensive new ships.

 

The popular European cruise business model of buying older ships and trying to operate them at a profit is suspect! These days, so many folks want to be on the newer ships which have many more amenities. While Brits seem to have a long tradition of seeking out the bargain/budget low cost holiday, this is not really the case on this side of the pond. While we like to control our personal budgets, we seem to be in love with newer glitzy ships. That is why many of our major cruise companies sell off their older ships and keep building bigger and better vessels.

 

Hank

[LHT28]

found this on the UK forum

http://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-Failures/All-Leisure-Holidays-Ltd/

 

more info

http://abta.com/news-and-views/news/all-leisure-holidays-limited

[SPacificbound]

I am so sorry you this happened to your holiday.

 

See if you can book with any of the major cruise companies so you can use those plane tickets and have a nice time.

[chengkp75]

While true that the major cruise lines are showing profits, ship owning is a terrifically capital intensive business, regardless of what sector of the industry you are in, and the return on investment is generally lower than can be made in other industries.

 

Smaller cruise lines typically have different business models from the majors, and this includes a smaller profit margin, so one small setback can ruin a small cruise line, while a major catastrophe like the Costa Concordia has not really affected Carnival Corp's basic stability.

 

Choosing a major cruise line, or even one of their subsidiary brands should not give cause for worry that the company will go belly up.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that this happened to you.

Hopefully everything will straighten out for you.

[HardToPort]

Sorry that this happened to you.

Hopefully everything will straighten out for you.

 

In Ontario, Canada, if you book any travel with a TA, your money will be refunded in the event of a financial failure via TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario). No doubt other provinces have similar setups. TICO can also intervene when you have a poor service experience.

 

TICO is funded by the TA industry.

 

I always find my own cruise, do my own shopping as it were, but I do my final booking through a reputable TA. The only upcharge is their service fee which can vary by TA and the type of travel booked. I've always found the service fee reasonable and look at it like insurance. Occasionally the TA may have an OBC to offer to further reduce costs.

 

Once or twice I've had to call my TA due to cancelled flights or bad weather. It's always easier to have someone able to advocate on your behalf.

 

And no, I'm not a TA.

 

Happy cruising,

HTP

Edited January 6, 2017 by HardToPort
Typo

[LHT28]

I always find my own cruise, do my own shopping as it were, but I do my final booking through a reputable TA. The only upcharge is their service fee which can vary by TA and the type of travel booked.

Happy cruising,

HTP

 

There are still TA's that do not charge a service fee ;)

[LondonTowner]

Travel agents in the U.K. don't charge for, their services, they make their money from commission, profit and selling extras.

[sail7seas]

Sorry you are in this situation.

 

IF you paid by credit c ard, try collecitng back from them. Years ago,when Rennaisance went b asnkruupt, those who paid by credit card mostly got their money b ack from their credit card company.

 

 

Gofd luck and please let us know how it goes.

Edited January 6, 2017 by sail7seas

[LondonTowner]

sail7seas stated in my previous post, the company was protected by ABTA/Atol valid here in UK. They don't need to claim via CC as their money will be refunded in due course.

[HardToPort]

There are still TA's that do not charge a service fee ;)

 

Yeah, I know. That wasn't my main point.

 

My point was you have consumer protection built to TA bookings.

[DirtyDawg]

While true that the major cruise lines are showing profits, ship owning is a terrifically capital intensive business, regardless of what sector of the industry you are in, and the return on investment is generally lower than can be made in other industries.

 

Very true, the returns in the cruise line industry are below average.

I like cruising, but if I had a $billion or so laying around I would be investing in many other industries before I'd be building myself a cruise ship. ;)

[FlyerTalker]

Yeah, I know. That wasn't my main point.

 

My point was you have consumer protection built to TA bookings.

Not universally true. It completely depends on the location of both the buyer and the agent, along with a number of other factors.

 

To make that kind of sweeping generalization is a disservice to those who may have concerns, book with a TA and then assume that all is protected.

[Hlitner]

In the USA we are protected, if booked on a major credit card, by Federal law. One simply has to put the charge item(s) into "dispute." This is particularly easy with AMEX where it just takes a quick phone call (or it can be done online) and you will usually have the money credited back to your account the same day. We did this many years ago when Regency Cruise Lines went bankrupt with several thousand dollars of our money. When I heard on the news that they went bankrupt I called AMEX and had my money that same day. Eventually, AMEX sent me legal papers to sign over to AMEX my rights in bankruptcy which allowed AMEX to try and recover their money through the lengthy bankruptcy process.

 

Our recommendation to fellow Americans is to immediately contact your credit card company and ask them how to proceed with a dispute. Otherwise, you might find yourself waiting months (or years) to recover you money.

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

sail7seas stated in my previous post, the company was protected by ABTA/Atol valid here in UK. They don't need to claim via CC as their money will be refunded in due course.

 

pl ease unerstand your use of 'protected by ABTA/Atol' means nothing to me. I have no i idea what those protections in your country are. We are an international forum and not all have the same agen ies in all our different countries. :rolleyes: :cool: So many abreviations and some of us cannot learn and keep track of them all especially when they are ab reviations,we are not likiely we'd used again.

Edited January 6, 2017 by sail7seas

[LHT28]

Yeah, I know. That wasn't my main point.

 

My point was you have consumer protection built to TA bookings.

 

Only in certain Provinces & some States have a travel protection compensation fund

 

The UK also have this which is where the OP is from

As stated they will get their money back eventually

[mamasylvia]

> In the USA we are protected, if booked on a major credit card, by Federal law. One simply has to put the charge item(s) into "dispute."

 

Disputing a charge does NOT necessarily mean the charge will be reversed. I have not had to dispute many charges but I have never had the CC company find in my favor, or even contact me to ask if I had documentation regarding the disputed charge. Selecting the appropriate (quite general) reason from a pulldown list was the only chance I had to convey the problem. This held true for both Visa/MC and Discover.

[sail7seas]

sail7seas stated in my previous post, the company was protected by ABTA/Atol valid here in UK. They don't need to claim via CC as their money will be refunded in due course.

 

> In the USA we are protected, if booked on a major credit card, by Federal law. One simply has to put the charge item(s) into "dispute."

 

Disputing a charge does NOT necessarily mean the charge will be reversed. I have not had to dispute many charges but I have never had the CC company find in my favor, or even contact me to ask if I had documentation regarding the disputed charge. Selecting the appropriate (quite general) reason from a pulldown list was the only chance I had to convey the problem. This held true for both Visa/MC and Discover.

 

 

 

in certain circumsstances, American Espress placed some of my DH charges into dispute and in the end e reversed the c harges and he was found not responsible to pay that which he was disputing.,'