Former Silversea boss declares interest in Crystal Cruises

Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, the former owner of Silversea Cruises, has confirmed his interest in acquiring Crystal Cruises, and is behind two previous bids for the troubled company.

The bids were made by Heritage Group, which is managed by Lefebvre.

One was made in the first quarter of 2021 with the second made after Crystal went into liquidation, according to Seatrade.

“We are a very credible buyer with roots in the cruise industry that stretch back in the late ’80s. We are firmly convinced that with our knowledge and know-how of the ultra-luxury segment we could transform Crystal into a success story. The combination with Abercrombie & Kent could generate synergies that would facilitate the recovery and partially compensate for the deterioration of the brand exacerbated in the last few weeks,” Lefebvre said.

Crystal Cruises has announced that all 238 staff at its Miami headquarters have now been laid off.

Jack Anderson, Interim president and CEO, said: “This was an extremely difficult decision but a prudent one given the current business environment and recent developments with our parent company, Genting Hong Kong.”

Two Crystal ships were seized in the Bahamas over $4.6 million in unpaid fuel bills.