Their Great Lakes cruises included Chicago to New York with stops in places like Wyandotte and Cleveland. The fleet’s three river-cruise sized ships offered few balcony cabins and a BYO bar program, even though the fares were as steep as much newer and more upscale ships that offered more exotic itineraries.
Many regular cruisers hearing that Blount Small Ship Adventures is ceasing operations may not shed tears. But the fact that the line is calling it quits due to the ongoing pandemic is a caution flag for the major cruise lines which are continuing to bleed money and regularly postponing the dates that they plan to get back to cruising.
A couple of niche cruise operators in Europe have also thrown in the towel and Hong Kong-based Genting Cruises, which owns Crystal Cruises, has fallen behind on its payments in the bookings drought and is planning a restructuring.
Aside from a few ships testing the waters in Europe, industry giants Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Holdings are out of service until at least November and even then, many of their ships will still be at anchor. They’ve been refinancing and selling off ships to continue to reassure investors that they have enough cash to survive even if the shutdowns continue well into 2021.
But the delays keep coming. Princess Cruises and Cunard Line—both part of Carnival Corp.—have now cancelled their 2021 world cruises, with Cunard now not due to resume sailing until the end of March. Viking and Windstar have joined Crystal and Cunard in scrubbing their entire 2020 seasons.
If all goes well, and the lines and passengers adhere to safety guidelines, cruising is destined to revive again in 2021. But a much-vaunted surge of interest in Great Lakes cruising appears to be ebbing.
Family-owned and U.S -flag operator Blount Small Ship Adventures put its three vessels–Grande Caribe, Grande Mariner and Niagara Prince–up for sale. According to news reports, the Warren, Rhode Island-based company is going to focus on its shipbuilding business.
‘Yes, this is confirmation that Blount Small Ship Cruise Lines has ceased operations,” Julie Blount, EVP of Blount Boats Inc., told the trade site TravelPulse. “The Blount family is selling its three overnight cruise ships and putting all its emphasis on the family shipbuilding business. The reason was due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Last week the industry site WorkBoat reported the 23-year-old, 98-passenger Grande Mariner is listed at $6-million, the 22-year-old 100-passenger Grande Caribe at $5.6-million and the 76-passenger Niagara Prince at $2-million.
Unfortunately, many larger ocean ships of the same age are heading to scrap yards. It may be the end of one era, but it’s hopefully the start of a new one.
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