Princess Cruises cancels early 2021 voyages on two ships over COVID-19 restrictions

Aug 25 (Reuters) – Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Monday it would cancel early 2021 cruises on two ships, citing travel, border and port restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cruise lines, hammered by a crisis that has seen some ships turn into infection hotspots, had earlier said they were expecting solid 2021 bookings, mainly as repeat cruisers were eager to book their trips.

The two ships, Island Princess and Pacific Princess, were set to sail from North America and Australia, respectively.

Guests that had booked trips on these ships would receive a refundable credit for future trips for the fare they paid, and an additional non-refundable future cruise credit equal to 25% of the fare paid, the company said.

Earlier in the day, Carnival’s Cunard also paused operations from November to up to May 16, 2021. Guests whose trips have been canceled would receive enhanced future credits.

At least three Princess Cruises ships turned into hotbeds for coronavirus infections. One of them, the Ruby Princess, became part of a homicide investigation in Australia, being the source of the country’s deadliest virus infection.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)