PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Victory Casino Cruises has furloughed all of its employees as its casino ship, Victory I, remains out of service in an extended dry dock with no date set for a return to sailing.
The furloughs were disclosed by Pete Lynch, a 15-year Victory employee who oversaw events, booked entertainment, and handled marketing and social media for the company. Lynch, known to many regular passengers as “Promo Pete,” announced the news in a public Facebook post.
“Last week, due to the extension of the ship’s dry dock, Victory was forced to furlough all of its employees, myself included,” Lynch wrote.
Lynch said there is still hope that Victory may return, “possibly even with a new ship,” but that the timing and the company’s future are currently unknown.
He addressed his coworkers directly in the post, writing that to “all of my fellow Victory family members who are in the same boat right now,” he was wishing them “nothing but the very best.”
“They say when one door closes, another one opens. Right now, I’m looking for that open door,” Lynch wrote.
Company: “Additional necessary work” extended time out of service
Victory Casino Cruises posted an update to customers on its Facebook page three days ago, signed by Captain Tim. The company said Victory I is undergoing an extended dry dock for maintenance and is temporarily not operating.
“While we had hoped to resume sailing sooner, additional necessary work has extended our time out of service,” the company wrote.
The company said its casino hosts and reservations desk will be unavailable until operations resume, and that it is not currently accepting online or phone reservations. According to the post, any paid reservations or deposits will be refunded.
The company said it will announce a confirmed return-to-sailing date on its website and Facebook page.
The company’s post did not mention the furloughs, how many employees are affected, or whether workers will be brought back when the ship returns.
About Victory Casino Cruises
Victory Casino Cruises operates out of Terminal B-2 at 180 Christopher Columbus Drive in Port Canaveral. Before the dry dock, the ship sailed twice daily, Tuesday through Sunday, on five-hour gaming cruises into international waters, with more than 600 slot machines and table games on board.
Employer profiles on job listing sites list the company’s workforce at between 201 and 500 employees. The company’s job listings have included positions ranging from slot attendants, cage cashiers, cooks and servers to ticketing agents, parking attendants and licensed marine crew.
This is not the first time Victory employees have been affected by a ship being taken out of service. In 2017, the company moved its Jacksonville-based ship, Victory 2, to Port Canaveral. At the time, the company said its 80 to 100 Jacksonville employees were offered jobs in Port Canaveral, and those who declined were laid off with the promise of getting their jobs back when the ship returned.
The Space Coast Rocket has reached out to Victory Casino Cruises for comment on the number of employees furloughed and whether they will be recalled when the ship resumes sailing.
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