Royal Caribbean cancels more sailings into late spring, summer with some exceptions
Royal Caribbean Group announced additional cruise cancellations on all of its cruise lines heading into spring on Tuesday.
“As we work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and government authorities around the world toward this shared goal, we are extending the suspension of certain sailings for our cruise lines,” the cruise company said in its announcement.
For Royal Caribbean International, sailings on most ships are canceled through May 31. There are, however, some exclusions. The Quantum of the Seas, for example, which has been sailing in Singapore, is exempt as is the line’s newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas, set to make its debut in Israel as the first “fully-vaccinated” cruise, is also exempt.
The Royal Caribbean International cancellations also do not pertain to China sailings on Spectrum of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas from April 30 on.
Royal Caribbean Group is in the process of selling, has canceled voyages through June 30.
Virgin Voyages also announced new cruise cancellations last week.
“We remain excited about our future and know that cruise travel will return soon. As we await further engagement from the CDC on the industry restart, we have extended our pause in operations through June 30,” Michelle Estevam, spokesperson for Virgin, said in a statement Tuesday.
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Last week, Carnival Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line announced Wednesday that they have canceled all sailings through May. Disney also canceled some cruises scheduled for August and could cancel others.
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And because of Canada’s decision to ban cruises until February 2022, the cruise line is evaluating options for its itineraries in Alaska on the Disney Wonder.
The Canadian ban also prompted a flurry of cancellation announcements by several of Carnival’s sister lines, including Holland America, Princess and Seabourn.
Princess said in a statement that it is canceling its seven-day voyages of the Glaciers itineraries between Vancouver, British Columbia and Anchorage (Whittier, Alaska), as well as all Pacific Coastal itineraries that begin or end in Vancouver and Canadian Adventure round-trip sailings from Southampton, England.
Meanwhile, Holland America said it is canceling all cruises that begin or end at a Canadian port. The move affects the following itineraries:
- Alaska: Multiple cruises from all departure points through September aboard Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam and Zuiderdam. (That also includes any Land+Sea Journeys connected with canceled Alaska sailings.)
- Pacific Coastal: Two early October cruises aboard Koningsdam and Oosterdam.
- Canada/New England: Three Zaandam cruises departing in September.
The Holland America statement added that “at this time, Alaska cruises departing from mid-May and sailing roundtrip from Seattle, Washington, are not being canceled,” and it noted that cruisers who book to sail out of Vancouver will not be permitted to switch to Seattle instead.
Holland America and Princess noted that they were working with the United States and Canadian governments in hopes of salvaging some part of the 2021 cruise season for Alaska and Canada.
Seabourn announced in a statement that it is canceling all 2021 itineraries for Alaska and British Columbia. The moves affects 19 summer cruises on the Seabourn Odyssey.
Norwegian, Regent Seven Seas, Oceania cancel until June
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., parent to Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, has canceled sailings until June.
“We have extended our voluntary suspension of global cruise voyages across our three brands as we continue to work through our return to service plan to meet the requirements of the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Andrea DeMarco, senior vice president of investor relations for Norwegian, said in a statement shared with USA TODAY in February.
Sailings meant to embark on Norwegian, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas are canceled through May 31.
Guests who are booked on canceled voyages on the three lines are asked to contact their travel adviser or the cruise line for more information.
The schedule changes for each Royal Caribbean Group cruise line are:
Royal Caribbean International
- All sailings canceled through April 30, including Spectrum of the Seas from Feb. 16-28
- Quantum of the Seas, which sails shorter itineraries in Singapore, is excluded from the cancellations
Celebrity Cruises
- All sailings canceled through April 30
- Celebrity Apex’s transatlantic cruise, scheduled to depart on May 1, is also canceled.
- All European and transatlantic cruises on Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Constellation scheduled to sail from May through October are also canceled.
Silversea Cruises
- All sailings canceled through April 1
Azamara
- All sailings canceled through April 30
Royal Caribbean Group added that it continues to work with its Healthy Sail Panel as they plan to welcome passengers back on board.
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Other Carnival Corp. lines cancel more cruises
Carnival Cruise Line isn’t the only Carnival Corp. Line to have canceled more cruises.
Princess Cruises has announced it will cancel all cruises from U.S. ports through May 14 in January– more than a year after the industry came to a standstill in the middle of March last year.
Princess itself was impacted by the pandemic early on: two of its ships, the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess, were among the first vessels to quarantine passengers because of coronavirus infections.
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The further suspension also applies to European cruises scheduled before May 15, Negin Kamali, spokesperson for Princess Cruises, told USA TODAY.
Princess also canceled roundtrip sailings from Southhampton into the fall.
“As Princess Cruises continues to review and assess its operations following the recent U.K. Government announcement on the roadmap to ease lockdown and related international travel restrictions, the company is extending the pause of its U.K.-based cruise vacations, sailing roundtrip from Southampton, through Sept. 25 on Sky Princess, Regal Princess and Island Princess,” the company said in a statement.
Instead, Princess will offer a series of short sailings for U.K. residents in late summer on Sky Princess and Regal Princess. Details have yet to be released.
Holland America Line also has canceled all of its departures through April 30 as it prepares to meet the CDC’s guidelines, according to a statement from Carnival spokesman Roger Frizzell.
“The line also will cancel all Alaska cruises through mid-May, Alaska departures on three ships through early June, any Land+Sea Journeys connected with canceled Alaska sailings, Mediterranean cruises through early June and Zaandam’s Canada/New England itineraries through August,” Holland America said in the statement.
Another Carnival subsidiary, PO Cruises Australia, also announced in January cancellations of its New Zealand cruises into April.
“PO Cruises Australia is extending its rolling pause in operations in New Zealand to departures on and before 25 April, 2021, as the cruise line and the wider industry continue to work with government and public health authorities on the appropriate time to restart sailing,” the company said in a statement provided by spokesperson Lindy Lamme.
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Contributing: Jayme Deerwester
