Denied in Aruba, Crystal Serenity sets a course for Bahamas

The spirit of the Crystal. The passengers were to disembark from the ship on Monday.

The Crystal Serenity was denied docking in Aruba and is headed to the Bahamas.

The parent company of Crystal filed to wind up its operations earlier this month, leading to the suspension of operations for its ocean ship.

The line said in a statement Saturday that the ship will not dock in Aruba because local officials informed the company late Friday afternoon that there are no reasonable risks or claims made against the vessel. After receiving this unfortunate news, Crystal's management team spent hours talking with officials in Aruba to try and get a positive resolution.

Crystal said that guests will be transferred to Port Everglades via the Balearia fast-ferry service on Monday, January 31st. Guests will be transferred to an area hotel where Crystal will provide overnight accommodations, and the company will reimburse guests for any applicable airline change fees.

All of our attention is now on taking care of our guests and returning them home. There are no words to express our deep regret and disappointment.

Regent alters its offerings for Crystal passengers

Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which had planned to embark many Crystal Serenity passengers onto the Seven Seas Mariner in Aruba, said Saturday that it instead arranged for passengers to either fly from the Bahamas to Barbados to meet the Mariner, or to join cruises on the ship.

The Crystal Symphony ended its cruise in the Bahamas due to a warrant being issued by a federal court in Miami for the ship after a fuel provider sued Crystal for more than $2 million in unpaid fuel bills.

The passengers of the symphony were returned to Florida via ferry. The Bimini resort and marina is owned by the Malaysia-based Genting Group, which is an independent subsidiary.