HONOLULU -- Windjammer Cruises said it suspended operations due to
revenue losses and plans to sell its vessel, the 1,000-passenger
Kulamanu.
"The losses incurred were due to Hawaii's economic downturn in
tourism in general and to a reduction in the dinner cruise business
in particular,'' said Koen Witteveen, executive vice president and
general manager.
"We intend to lease or purchase a new vessel, which will provide
a better financial return on investment,'' he said in a letter to
providers.
He said the uncertainty of pending shipboard gaming legislation
was a factor in the decision.
Windjammer, which operated daily cruises off Waikiki from
Honolulu Harbor, cut back to four cruises a week early this
year.
It was acquired in June 1996 by ACES Dinner Cruises, a
subsidiary of Millamax, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm.
Kulamanu, a remodeled four-masted former Hudson River boat, had
been used for Waikiki dinner cruises since 1980.
The loss of the Kulamanu leaves Honolulu's dinner cruise market
with five major vessels: Paradise Cruises has the 1,500-passenger
Star of Honolulu, the 330-passenger Starlet and the 220-passenger
Starlet II; Royal Hawaiian Cruises has the 380-passenger Navatek 1,
and Dream Cruises operates the 225-passenger American Dream.