Princess Cruise Lines has announced it’s continuing a pause on all guest cruise vacations through at least May 14, 2021. This includes all voyages in the Caribbean, the California coast, and all Alaskan and European cruises. The cruise line had initially paused global cruises and canceled all departures on March 31, 2020.
The cruise line’s new move comes as it works to adhere to the “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on October 31, 2020.
“We appreciate the patience from our loyal guests and travel advisors as we work to meet the health and safety requirements for our return to service,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. “We continue to prepare our ships for our return to service and we are eager to see our guests back on board to create summertime memories.”
If you had booked travel on any affected Princess cruises, you will have the option of receiving a refundable Future Cruise Credit (FCC) equivalent to 100 percent of the cruise fare paid plus an additional non-refundable bonus FCC equal to 25 percent of the cruise fare paid. These can be used on any cruise booked by May 1, 2022, sailing through December 31, 2022. You can make your request online.
In addition to Princess’ announcement, USA Today reports that Carnival Cruise Line is extending its suspension of cruises in U.S. waters through March 31, 2021. Carnival has also canceled all domestic itineraries through the fall and at least one international cruise through June.
The company says the extension is partially due to the CDC’s “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” but also because of dry-dock work that has been rescheduled.
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