Some 13,000 customers had been booked on future Swan
Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery departures when the cruise lines ceased operations on
Wednesday with the collapse of parent company All Leisure Holidays, according
to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
All Leisure Holidays had been a member of ABTA.
Approximately one-third of future bookings were for cruises
departing from the U.K. and are thus financially protected by ABTA.
Additionally, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has
stepped in to help thousands of travelers who booked cruises in combination
with flights through All Leisure Holidays. The CAA said that it is making
arrangements to provide full refunds for some 7,000 impacted customers.
According to the CAA, approximately 400 customers were
overseas when All Leisure Holidays announced its cessation on Wednesday, "but
the vast majority of these will be able to use the scheduled airline tickets
included as part of their booking to return to the U.K. shortly," the
agency stated. The CAA has made arrangements to bring the small number of
remaining passengers back to the U.K. at no extra cost.
All Leisure's tour operations, Travelsphere and Just You,
were acquired by Canadian tour operator G Adventures on Dec. 30.