Cruise West Undergoing Restructuring

New Bookings Suspended

Spirit of Oceanus Cruise Terminated

Cruise West announced the continuation of restructuring of the company.  Passengers on the Spirit of Oceanus' Voyage of the Great Explorers terminated their world cruise in Newfoundland, Canada.

A recorded message indicates that the cruise line has not been sold and that the call center is temporarily closed as the company restructures.

According to the line's press release, "Additional assets may be sold and other steps are being pursued towards a restructure. As part of this process, Cruise West has suspended accepting any new bookings." 

The statement indicated that some cruises will continue:


"The Spirit of Endeavour will sail from Seattle on the British Columbia Cruise and the Spirit of '98 from Portland, or along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Cruise West will also complete cruises or land tours already underway in Alaska."

According to information on the Cruise West website, impacted guests who have not yet traveled on the Spirit of Oceanus world cruise should file a claim with their third-party insurance company, contact their credit card company, or if payment was made by check, contact info@cruisewest.com.

The statement indicated that executives would not take media calls at this time and will be releasing additional details in the future.   We will monitor this developing story and report any updates.

For more information, call the company's emergency number at 888-396-0280, email info@cruisewest.com or visit www.cruisewest.com.

Why 3rd-party Travel Insurance Important

This unfortunate situation, for passengers impacted by the terminated cruise, underscores the importance of purchasing third-party travel insurance at the time your cruise is booked.    Cruise line failures are rare, but when they occur, passengers can be stranded in remote parts of the world.  Fortunately, this cruise was terminated in one of the scheduled ports of call, perhaps minimizing the impact on the guests.  


About Cruise West

Cruise West offers small-ship experiences to guests.   We hope that they will be able to obtain the necessary funding to continue operations.  We wish them success in their restructuring efforts.    Stayed tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Extra-Tropical Storm Bill Leaves Atlantic Canada

BILL NO LONGER A HURRICANE

Early Monday morning, the NHC issued the last public bulletin on now Extra-Tropical Bill. We have been monitoring Bill closely for over a week as it made its way toward Bermuda and then on to the Atlantic Canada Maritimes. There are no cruise ships impacted by the storm at this time. (track your cruise ship)

Keeping an Eye on Hurricane Bill / Cruise Ship Impact

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

NASA's GOES Project created a movie of satellite date from August 21-23 showing the progression of Hurricane Bill. This photo (Credit: NASA/GOES Project, Dennis Chesters ) is a still taken from that movie. > View video

Novia Scotia and Newfoundland are the latest areas that can now sigh a breath of relief and cleanup after the tropical storm leaves for open waters of the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean. The winds were strong causing tree branches to knock out power to thousands of customers in the Canadian provinces, but most of the power has been restored today.

According to CBC News Canada, Ramona Jennex, the minister responsible for the Emergency Management Office, said "This was a huge storm and we were blessed that it missed us." Had the storm come closer to the coast, the story could be much different.

Here are some Hurricane Bill Photos from Canada.

The first Atlantic Tropical Storms have come late in the hurricane season this year, which often means they will be more powerful. Hurricane Bill was powerful indeed, but fortunately stayed offshore in Bermuda, the East Coast of the U.S., and the Atlantic Canadian Provinces.

There is another storm brewing in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Hilda. As you can see, I've added a RSS feed for that storm. Should that storm become a hurricane and threaten Hawaii, and ships in the area, we will monitor that storm just like we did for Bill.

Remember, cruise lines monitor the weather constantly and adjust their schedules to keep passengers and crew safe. There were only minor changes necessary during Hurricane Bill.

Cruising Canada / New England

Cruises to Canada and New England are seasonal and ranges from short 5 Night Summer getaways to longer 10 night Foliage Cruises in the Fall. These cruises typically depart from New York or Boston and include visits to most of these ports depending upon the ship and sailing date: Bar Harbor, Maine, New Brunswick, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Montreal, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

St. John's is the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland. It is the oldest city in North America. One of the tours possible in Newfoundland is "Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Bird Island Adventure". It is a six hour tour that includes a lobster lunch with all the trimmings.

Halifax is the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is the largest city in Canada's Atlantic provinces. It was founded in 1749 by Honorable Edward Cornwallis. The city retains many historic buildings such as the Naval Dockyard and St. Paul's Church. One possible tour in Nova Scotia is "Peggy's Cove & Lobster Boil". It is a 5 1/2 hour tour that includes a lobster lunch with all the trimmings. You can definitely get your fill of lobster in this part of Canada.

Summer or Fall, Canada and New England is a pleasant alternative to cruising in the Caribbean.