Renaissance Goes Bankrupt
Renaissance Cruises declared bankruptcy on September 25th and immediately ceased operations.
Details are still unclear, but some passengers are apparently being forced to disembark at unexpected ports.
Renaissance Cruises has taken down most information on their website, but they generally have several ships operating in Greek waters.
Renaissance says that it is assuring that all passengers make it "safely home".
A message on their website states:
"Thank you for contacting Renaissance Cruises. As of today, Renaissance Cruises has ceased all
cruise operations. Passengers currently onboard our vessels are being disembarked and travel
arrangements are being made to get them safely home.
To inquire about your upcoming cruise booking and refund arrangements, please contact your travel agent or call (800) 525-5350. This site will have info as it becomes available."
Renaissance pioneered direct sales to customers over the internet, and for some time cut out travel agents entirely from their marketing strategy before attempting to rebuild their relationship with traditional travel bookers earlier this year. They had also been criticized for a heavy advance payment schedule which had caused some travel insurers to cease covering their cruises. But the beauty and quality of their recently-launched line of "R"-class ships was almost legendary, even among travel professionals.
