The desire to buy at least a slice of Crystal Cruises has not been weakened by time.
The chairman of Heritage Group and executive who built Silversea Cruises said via email that he was still interested in Crystal, and that a possible acquisition was being managed by the vice chairwoman of Kent. A&K was acquired by Heritage Group in 2019.
D'Ovidio is by Manfredi Lefebvre.
Levis wouldn't say if Lefebvre wants to buy the entire cruise line or just the ships.
Levis said in an email that it was not yet known if A&K would be the ultimate buyer. She said that the stakeholders have not finalized their due diligence on the ships and the brand, so they have not taken a final decision.
Crystal's future has been uncertain since the January collapse of its parent company, Genting Hong Kong, and the line, once highly beloved by passengers and the trade, ended its operations earlier this year. The company's assets have been sold.
More than 30,000 claims have been filed against the line since then, including customers who want their money back for canceled cruises, agents who want owed commission, and fuel suppliers who haven't been paid.
Anthony Kaufman, a cruise line consultant who has worked for Carnival Corp. brands, said that the priority for the liquidators was to squeeze the most value out of Crystal's assets. He said that the trademark, passenger list and ships are the most valuable assets.
The people who worked for the brand, including the crew, brought value to the reputation of Crystal, said Kaufman.
He said that the Crystal ships are not real and that the heart and soul of the brand is provided by the crew members. If the crew members have dispersed all over the world and aren't going to be coming back to their ships, the product will change.
Many crew members are waiting to hear if the brand will be sold and if they can return to their jobs. Sally Spaulding, a spokeswoman for Windstar, said that the company has hired at least 15 former Crystal crew members.
She said that they continue to recruit from their pool.
Seabourn wouldn't say how many applications were being processed.
Several crew members are holding out hope that Crystal will come back.
"We are all hoping for a buyer and a restart," said Leypold, Crystal's former senior vice president of hotel operations.
Levis said they aim to keep the crew and office staff if a sale goes through.
She said that they will try to retain as many of the crew and employees as possible, including former president Jack Anderson.
The Crystal Symphony is in the Bahamas, and the Crystal Serenity is in Gibraltar.
The vessels most likely will go to auction, said Tim Davey, founder and managing director of Global Marine Travel, a Fort Lauderdale-based Power List agency that coordinates pay and travel for crew.
The ships have been visited by bank representatives. The vessels are staffed with about 100 people. If a potential buyer stops by for a visit, staff varnish the railings to make them glisten, he said.
There is a person going in and cleaning the toilets on the vessel to make sure the water is still flowing.
The dates for the auction have not been published. The timing is up to the admiralty courts.
He said that most people want to think they can get a deal at an auction, so they are likely to wait and see what interested parties are going to crop up.
The casino equipment is going to be auctioned in May. More than 70 chairs, more than two dozen tables of various sizes, computer monitors and accessories, promotional gift items and more will also go to auction.
The items will be available for bid on Proxibid.com. On May 23, the items will be available for appointment only. The sales will close on May 24.
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