Many Crystal Cruises' crew wait and hope for a return: Travel Weekly

Rick Spath is still employed by Crystal Cruises.

He said that not many of his fellow crew members are.

Several people who worked for the Crystal line say that they are still hopeful that a buyer will come forward to take over the line and restart operations after the parent company filed to wind up.

I have been contacted by a few different lines, but I am not doing anything until I know what is happening with Crystal. For a couple more weeks. Spath has been a cruise director since 1984 and has worked at Crystal for 17 years.

The unraveling of Crystal Cruises has been slow over the last two months. Messages for comment have not been returned, but it is believed that the Heritage Group is interested in acquiring the brand.

The management of the ships is being done by V.Ships and River Advice Group, neither of which would confirm if or when auctions for the ships would be held. Travel advisors, customers and vendors are waiting to find out if they will be paid by the cruise line.

Leypold said he has given job recommendations to some staff who have applied for positions with other cruise lines. A majority of the crew members he talks to are hardcore Crystal and are holding out.

He said that many crew members have been with Crystal for 30 years. They don't want to go somewhere else. We are hoping for a buyer and restart.

The majority of the officers are still waiting and hoping that they will be paid. A crew member from the Philippines who needs to support his family at home is not as desperate as they are.

The Crystal Cruises Crew Facebook page is filled with posts about the ships and how crew members can make sure they are paid their wages. Job postings for openings on cruise lines have been shared by members.

Lauren Heavener is an administrator on the Facebook group. She got a job on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship and is trying to help her fellow crew members figure out how to move forward, which she said is particularly painful because of the Pandemic.

She said that you wait all that time to go back to the job you worked so hard to get, you think you are past Covid and then the bankruptcy happened.