Thousands May Lose Money Paid for Canceled Cruises

An assistant Texas attorney general said Tuesday he fears that thousands of people, including 400 to 500 Californians, who paid a San Antonio cruise line for canceled Central American and Mediterranean voyages on its ship, the Galaxy, will lose all the money they paid.

“I suspect it’s all gone,” said Raul Noriega, who is in charge of the investigation into the Galaxy and its operators, Golden Cruise Tours.

“Our last hope is to be able to place a lien on the ship,” Noriega declared. “But we don’t know for sure where it is.”

The operators of the cruise company vanished without declaring bankruptcy two weeks ago after the sudden termination of a Galaxy cruise in Panama, well short of its Cancun, Mexico, destination. Passengers told of a crew mutiny, knife fights between the crew and captain, spoiled food and toilets that did not work.

Noriega said that his office’s best estimate is that 3,000 to 4,000 people have made payments, often of about $1,600 each, for cruises that have already been canceled or now, clearly, will not take place.

The assistant attorney general said he expects a new court order this week allowing authorities to confiscate records the firm left behind in its offices and that he has had discussions with local and federal law enforcement officials in San Antonio on possibly instituting criminal charges for theft against Golden Cruise Tours.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know,” Noriega said. “But it appears to have been a combination of greed and lying and bad business judgment on the part of the operators” that led to the demise of the cruises.

“To the extent we can determine from the records who has suffered losses, we will try to apportion out any funds we may recover in the future,” he said. “A number of people who have been damaged have filed complaints. But whether people have complained or not, if there is anything to distribute, we will try to see some goes to everyone.”

Those wishing to file a complaint can send it to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, 200 Main Plaza, Suite 400, San Antonio, Tex. 78205, Noriega said.

One Californian who has complained is Jack Whalen of Camarillo, who said he and his wife are out $2,858 for a cruise that was canceled in January.

Whalen said he was disturbed by Noriega’s advice, proffered in a recent letter, that those who lost money might retain their own attorney to help recover it. “Why would I want to spend my good dollars if this seems to be a losing cause?” he asked.

Noriega said he has given such advice because “office policy requires us to advise people to hire an attorney at the point we realize things are not too good.”