Talk about a three-hour tour gone bad.
Last week, Viejas Enterprises, Florida-based Commodore Holdings Ltd. and a Mexican hospitality firm agreed to discontinue the gaming cruises they had founded two months ago.
In a first-of-its-kind venture, Commodore had operated the ship, Viejas ran the casino on board and Promociones Turistcas de Rosarito owned the Rosarito Beach Hotel, at which passengers were allowed to disembark.
Viejas will remove its gaming and related equipment from the ship later this summer, according to a representative.
Among the reasons for the cruise operation’s halt were the lack of profitability and disembarkment logistics for the 3 & #733;-hour cruises to the Rosarito hotel, the partners said.
On June 2, the ship had abruptly stopped opreations. Viejas had not been informed of the plans, said Viejas CEO Lou Phillips.
The 850-passenger Enchanted Sun sailed the next morning for Vancouver, sources said.
The ship is could be headed to Singapore, Phillips said. A Commodore attorney had told him a Scandinavian bank holds a $14.3 million lien on the Sun, Phillips said.
In a previous statement, Commodore chairman Jeffrey T. Binder blamed logistical problems with a new pier built in Rosarito. Passengers were not able to disembark regularly, Binder said.
“We thought it best to suspend operations until we are able to resolve these problems,” he had said at the time.
