Seven hundred passengers had an unexpected end to their 14-day Caribbean voyage over the weekend, when their cruise ship refused to return to the US following a court order in the wake of its parent company going into liquidation.
The Crystal Symphony cruise liner veered off course on Saturday, heading for the Bahamian island of Bimini instead of returning to Miami, after a US judge ordered its seizure due to $4.6 million in unpaid fuel bills.
The judge’s ruling came after a lawsuit was filed in a Miami court by Peninsula Petroleum Far East seeking action against the vessel as compensation for unpaid debts. Crystal Symphony’s parent company, Crystal Cruises, announced earlier last week that it had suspended operations and was entering liquidation.