COVID-19 Sparks Cruise Industry Turmoil: Multiple Cruise Line Suspensions

It's beginning to look like a very bad trend for a battered cruise industry.

At the end of a day when a series of cruise cancellations had already been announced, Disney said it will ground its four-ship cruise fleet on Saturday and keep the ships out of operation until the end of the month.

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Citing its responsibility to guests, crew and the company’s valued travel partners, AmaWaterways issued a statement announcing the delay of its European sailing season.

“The health, safety and well-being of our guests and crew are of the utmost importance to everyone on the AmaWaterways team," said AmaWaterways President and Co-founder Rudi Schreiner. "As a result, we are voluntarily suspending the operations of our European river cruise fleet and delaying the start of our 2020 European sailing season until April 26, 2020. We will also suspend our Mekong River cruises starting March 23. This is not an easy decision, as we know how much our guests were looking forward to their vacations but we must follow all precautionary measures put in place by governing authorities.”

AmaWaterways has updated its cancellation policy applicable to these canceled sailings, adding new details to protect guests’ long-awaited and well-deserved vacations. Guests who were booked on a cruise that is being canceled have the option of receiving a Future Cruise Credit equal to 115% of the value of all services purchased through AmaWaterways or receiving a full monetary refund. The Future Cruise Credit is applicable on all Europe or Mekong River cruise sailings any time before December 31, 2022.

Additionally, the company will fully protect the commission of travel advisors whose clients opt for a Future Cruise Credit, as well as pay an additional 10% commission on the value of the future booking. Plus, the company will pay full commission on the fare difference, if applicable.

The Globus family of brands – comprising Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways – announced Thursday night that it is voluntarily suspending travel to all destinations departing until April 30, 2020. For travellers affected by the suspension, the company has also unveiled a new Peace of Mind plan.

This Peace of Mind plan provides Avalon Waterways and other Globus family of brands’ travellers booked to depart from now through April 30, 2020 the freedom to reschedule their vacation in 2020, 2021 or 2022 to any destination, with any of the Globus family of brands, without incurring cancellation fees. The plan also offers travellers an additional credit of Cdn $50 to $200 per person (depending on which brand they originally booked with) when they reschedule their plans.

“We recognize that travellers are faced with a great deal of uncertainty right now, and we are committed to helping them through this situation with the right options, adequate time and high levels of attention and consideration,” said Scott Nisbet, president and CEO of the Globus family of brands. “We are doing our best to cater to each and every traveller and help them feel confident in their decision to explore the world with us.”

For details, please go to Avalon Waterways – https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/avalon-assurance/

Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises, the operator of two coronavirus-stricken ships, said on Thursday it would suspend global operations of its 18 cruise ships for two months due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

USA Today said all affected Princess guests will have the option to transfer 100% of the money paid to a future cruise of their choosing. To encourage this, Princess will provide additional "generous future cruise credit" to be used for cruise fare or onboard expenses.'

Princess generally carries around 50,000 passengers a day.

Viking Cruises announced earlier that it is temporarily suspending cruise operations until May, in response to the coronavirus situation, CNN reports.

"We have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations of our river and ocean vessels embarking from March 12 to April 30, 2020 – at which time we believe Viking will be in a better place to provide the experiences our guests expect and deserve," said the statement.
"This is a decision we made with a heavy heart, but with present circumstances what they are, we are unable to deliver the high-quality Viking experience for which we are known."

The statement also said guests who already booked cruises during that period would be offered a voucher for a future cruise worth 125% the original cruise price, or a total refund for the amount paid.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday night slapped restrictions on U.S. entry for travellers from 26 European countries.