Cruise West former chairman to launch new company

Dick West the former chairman of Cruise West which saw its demise after financial struggles may well have new ideas on the horizonDick West, the former chairman of Cruise West, surfaced last week for the first time since the demise last September of his family cruise company, and told industry publication Travel Weekly that he was promoting a new cruise concept.

West said the company, called Explorer Cruises, would not own any ships, but would host cruises on chartered vessels and tailor them to the adventure travel market, and give them Cruise West's "up close and personal" style. He mentioned the cruises would operate in a similar way which Cruise West offered sailings in the Galapagos and Danube River

Cruise West was founded by Dick West's late father Chuck West who pioneered Alaska tourism in the 1940s. The company operated six small cruise ships that sailed mostly in Alaska and on the Columbia River in Washington State

The Cruise West line left many of its passengers in limbo when it abruptly cancelled its 335-day world cruise in the middle of the trip last September, this was in order to sell the vessel, Spirit of Oceanus.

West said that he would market the new cruise concept, which is still very much just an idea, to Cruise West's past passengers. He also said he would target areas where there are ships ready to accommodate such an operation. Interestingly though he is not looking at Alaska just yet as currently there are no ships available there for what he has plans to do