At least two companies have expressed interest in the assets of Vantage Travel, the Boston-based river and ocean cruise company that declared bankruptcy last week.
Vantage Travel Services said last week that United Travel Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions, had agreed to acquire its assets.
This week, Australian operator Aurora Expeditions told a judge during a hearing in Boston that "it could wire money for a new deal tomorrow" if the United one "falls apart," according to WCVB Boston, which reported that Vantage has a database of more than 3.6 million customers.
Vantage filed for Chapter 11 on June 29 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking "customary relief from the court to preserve the status quo pending completion of the sale."
Vantage said it sought approval to complete the sale promptly "subject to any higher and better offers that may be submitted through the court supervised sale process."
Aurora Expeditions CEO Michael Heath confirmed in a statement to Cruise Industry News that "should the opportunity arise and the terms reasonable, we are interested in submitting an offer."
Both Aurora and Vantage operate sister cruise vessels on charter from SunStone. Vantage operated the Ocean Explorer and Ocean Odyssey, sister ships to Aurora's Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle.