Princess Cruises will keep all its sailings suspended in the United States until at least Dec. 16, the company announced this week as the coronavirus pandemic surges again around the world.
The company’s new timeline for return stretches more than two months beyond the CDC’s “no-sail order” which is set to expire Sept. 30, according to reports.
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The extended cancellations were prompted after health authorities and airlines issued new travel restrictions, the company said in a release.
“All cruises in and out of Australia will be paused until Oct. 31, and then all other sailings across all other countries are paused through Dec. 15,” said Princess Cruises spokesperson Negin Kamali, who spoke with USA Today.
The industry has been financially devastated by the shutdown of global operations since mid-March and has faced an uncertain timeline for return since.
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That’s when all three major cruise lines ― Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian ― voluntarily agreed to suspend services for 30 days.
Since then, each has continued to extend suspensions month to month while the CDC keeps the no-sail orders in place within U.S. territorial waters.
Beyond that, each is locked out from the $2 trillion economic stimulus because they are incorporated outside America, in countries with more lenient tax, labor and safety laws.
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Carnival’s website proclaims: “We will resume cruising when society is ready and we will do so with enhanced health measures developed in conjunction with government health authorities, public health experts, local ports and the Cruise Lines International Association.”
For now, ships with more than 250 passengers have been banned from sailing from the United States.
That capacity is considerably lower than a typical ocean cruise, which sets sail with about 3,000 passengers.
Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines, operates three of the vessels that were stricken in the early days of the outbreak.
The Diamond Princess was quarantined Feb. 4 with 3,700 passengers off the coast of Japan with more than 700 infected. The Grand Princess was quarantined off the coast of San Francisco with 3,500 aboard and 21 confirmed with the virus.
A third Princess Cruises ship, The Caribbean Princess, was also isolated for a time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while crew members were tested for the virus.
Among the cancellations announced this week:
- All sailings to and from Australia on Regal Princess, Majestic Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sun Princess and Sea Princess through Oct. 31.
- All sailings in the Caribbean, California Coast, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Mexico, Asia, South America, Antarctica, Japan and Tahiti and the South Pacific through Dec. 15.
The company plans to compensate passengers with refundable cruise credits.
“We share in our guests’ disappointment in cancelling these cruises,” Jan Swartz, president of the cruise line, said in a news release, according to USA Today. “We look forward to the days when we can return to travel and the happiness it brings to all who cruise.”
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