FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. >> Renaissance Cruises stopped operations yesterday and was putting passengers and crew ashore in mid-voyage, said a message left on its voice mail and Web site. Renaissance Cruises
halts operationsHawaiian Airlines has an
$85 million contract to run
charter flights to TahitiStar-Bulletin news services
When reached by phone earlier in the day, spokesman Bradley Ball would not comment and said a statement was forthcoming.
A recorded telephone message at the same number later in the day said: "As of September 25th Renaissance Cruises has ceased all cruise operations. Passengers and crew currently onboard our vessels are being disembarked and travel arrangements are being made to get them safely home."
The message also told customers who had upcoming trips to contact travel agents for a refund.
Information on the bankruptcy case would be available on the Renaissance Cruises Web site soon, the message said.
Hawaiian Airlines Inc. runs charter flights two to three times a week between Los Angeles and Tahiti under a contract with Renaissance Cruises. A Hawaiian spokesman said the company was looking into the impact of the bankruptcy.
Hawaiian had hired 130 people to serve the route after the company won the contract in 1998. The deal was recently extended to August 2004 and is worth $85 million, a substantial portion of Hawaiian's charter revenue.
Renaissance, based in Fort Lauderdale, offered 7-to-22 day cruises to destinations including the South Pacific, northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
Industry analysts said Renaissance's shutdown was a result of long-term financial problems, which were aggravated by a sharp decline in cruise bookings after the attacks.
According to Jason Ader, an analyst at Bear, Stearns, the attacks have had a "devastating impact on demand, with bookings dropping 5 percent to 50 percent depending on the cruise ship and its location."
James L. Winchester, an analyst with Lazard Freres, said, "Market sources had indicated that Renaissance may be planning to file Chapter 7, which if correct, would involve liquidating its assets."
Last month The Miami Herald reported that Renaissance, which was privately owned, was the fifth-largest cruise company in the world, in terms of number of berths. It operated 10 ships.
According to the July report by Robin Farley, cruise analyst for UBS Warburg, Renaissance's berths represented 3.9 percent of North American cruise capacity.8.5"
