UK Edition
All Leisure Group – the travel company that owns cruise lines Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery – has announced that it has ceased trading, after selling off many of its brands.
The two cruise companies had 13,000 passengers booked on future departures and 400 passengers currently overseas, according to Abta – the association of travel agents and tour operators. All future bookings have now been cancelled.
All passengers who are currently overseas will be repatriated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) free of charge.
Abta has offered advice to those who are booked to travel. “Approximately a third of the future bookings are UK departing cruises that are financially protected by Abta,” said the association. “Customers who booked a flight and cruise package will be protected under the CAA Atol scheme. “If customers have booked through a travel agent, they should contact the agent in the first instance for assistance with their claim and help in possible rebooking.
“All customers should check on the ABTA.com/allleisure or Atol websites to obtain the relevant claim form and advice on how to obtain a refund of the money they have paid for their cruise.”
Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel's consumer editor, is confident that few – if any – passengers will be left out of pocket. “Financial bonding regulations mean that almost everyone who has booked a cruise should be protected. Under the EU regulations, passengers who are currently abroad on a cruise will be able to fly home on their original flight, or be returned to a UK port.
“If you have paid for a future booking it will have been cancelled, and you may be refunded under one of two schemes, or through your credit card issuer. If your cruise was scheduled to depart from a UK port, you should claim through the link on the Abta website. If you have booked a flight and a cruise together you will normally be protected under the government’s Atol scheme. A detailed guide to how the claims system will operate has been published on the Atol website.
“There is a slight question mark over the protection arrangements for anyone who may have booked their cruise and flights through separate companies – ie not as an inclusive package – and haven’t used a credit card to make their booking. But it is not yet clear whether this applies to any passengers with forward bookings on either cruise line.”
Earlier this week, it emerged that All Leisure Group sold off Hebridean Island Cruises – another of its popular cruise brands – in December, to a group of investors led by All Leisure Group chairman Roger Allard. Hebridean, which in the past has been chartered for holidays by Queen Elizabeth II, was sold for an undisclosed sum.
Meanwhile the group's tour operator brands Just You and Travelsphere were sold to travel company G Adventures earlier this week. This morning, the websites of both companies confirmed that holidays booked through them “will be operated by G Adventures (UK) Limited”.
Over the Christmas period, both Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic cancelled cruises that were due to depart this week. All Leisure Group contacted affected customers citing “operational reasons” for pulling the two trips. The company did not respond to Telegraph Travel’s request for comment.
Voyages of Discovery’s 540-passenger vessel Voyager was due to sail from Port Kelang in Malaysia today, on a sold-out 15-day trip to Singapore. Minerva, the 350-passenger ship operated by Swan Hellenic, should have departed from Marseille yesterday on a 15-day trip to Tenerife.
“Many of our readers will lament the demise of All Leisure Group,” said Telegraph Travel cruise editor Teresa Machan. “Cruises operated by its brands Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery were particularly popular with Telegraph readers – many of whom regard themselves as loyal 'Swanners.'”
Andy Cohen, head of Atol at the CAA, told Travel Weekly: “We understand [the closure of Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery] will be concerning news for anyone who had booked to travel with either of these two cruise operators. However, the Atol scheme exists for exactly this kind of situation and we are making immediate arrangements so that all Atol-protected customers can claim full refunds as soon as possible.
“We are also arranging for a small number of people currently overseas to return home at no extra cost, meaning that no-one will be left stranded abroad. So, while this situation is very disappointing for the customers affected, it serves as a timely reminder of the importance of looking for Atol protection while booking holidays. Making sure customers receive an Atol certificate will give them peace of mind.”