Bill
I was the Casino Manager for Manhattan Cruises at that time. We only had a three month charter (for 6/28-9/98) with an option for one additional month. At that time, the ship was not coast guard certified for the North Atlantic, thus had to sail south by 11/1/98. We also leased the dock at Sheepshead Bay from Bay Cruises. Our biggest problem was the dock itself, it has a passenger maximum of 200, regardless of the size of the hip docked there.
As for business, it was very good during the summer months, after 9/1 biz dropped 30% so we opted not to exersize our option to keep the ship for an additional month.
After the Max left they went to dry dock and are now certified to sail in the NYC area year round. Max has teamed up with Bay Cruises, Bay owns the dock, Max owns the ship, PERFECT!