Norwegian Cruise Line ships won't sail again until at least July
Editor's Note
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Norwegian Cruise Line on Friday canceled six more weeks worth of sailings, as did its two sister brands, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Citing the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the three lines said their vessels wouldn't sail again until July 1. Until today, the lines only had canceled sailings through mid-May.
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Norwegian is the last major cruise line to cancel all sailings in May and joins a growing number of cruise operators that have canceled all June sailings, too.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises last week extended their cruise cancellations through June 11, and Carnival Cruise Line extended its cancellations through June 26. Princess Cruises and Holland America have canceled sailings through June 30.
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The newly announced cancellations will affect hundreds of thousands of vacationers with bookings. Together, Norwegian, Oceania and Regent operate 28 ships with nearly 60,000 berths.
Norwegian, Oceania and Regent all are part of publicly traded Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, one of the world's biggest cruise companies.
The three lines are offering passengers on the affected sailings a choice of a full refund or a future cruise credit for 125% of the amount they paid. Refund requests for the newly canceled sailings must be submitted during a narrow window from May 7 to 13, otherwise customers automatically will get credits.
Related: Why you shouldn't take a voucher if your cruise is canceled
While the three lines now say their ships will return to service on July 1, it's still unclear whether that will really happen. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a "no-sail" order for cruise ships operating in U.S. waters through July 24, and it's still unknown whether key cruise ports around the world will reopen to cruise ships in July.
Citing the possible continuation of cross-border travel restrictions and port closures in some regions of the world for many months due to coronavirus concerns, among other factors, some longtime industry watchers have said a significant number of cruise ships may not resume sailing for the rest of the year.
Related: When will cruising resume? Here's our best guess
Some lines already have canceled sailings on some ships far beyond July.
Even before today's announcement, Norwegian had canceled sailings on one of its 17 ships, Norwegian Sun, through Oct. 18. The ship had been scheduled to spend the summer in Alaska.
Carnival also has canceled sailings on some of its 27 ships into the fall. Last week, the line canceled all sailings on its 2,984-passenger Carnival Sunrise through Oct. 19. The ship had been scheduled to sail out of New York over the summer.
Carnival also has canceled sailings on its 2,680-passenger Carnival Legend and 3,873-passenger Carnival Radiance through Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, respectively. The ships had been scheduled to be in Europe this year.
In addition, Princess Cruises and Holland America last week canceled the majority of their cruises in Alaska for all of 2020. The lines also said none of their lodges in Alaska would open this year, nor would they operate any of their Alaska sightseeing trains or buses.
Princess and Holland America together had planned to send 15 ships to Alaska this year.
Princess also delayed the debut of its newest ship, Enchanted Princess, until Aug. 1, and canceled sailings of two more ships -- Diamond Princess and Sun Princess -- through Aug. 4 and Sept. 4, respectively.
Meanwhile, just this week, three of the last vessels still at sea with passengers finally docked. A single German ship, Artania, remains in transit with passengers, after experiencing a multiweek odyssey that may not end for another five weeks.
Related: The bizarre story of the last eight cruise ship passengers still at sea
Nearly all cruise lines around the world suspended operations the week of March 9 as coronavirus cases surged around the globe. Initially, most lines said they planned to resume sailing after 30 days. But lines have been extending their shutdowns further and further into the year.
Here's a look at the current status of operations at more than three dozen river, ocean and expedition cruise brands that market to North Americans:
Adventure Canada has canceled all 2020 departures.
AmaWaterways has canceled all sailings through June 30.
American Cruise Lines has canceled all sailings through May 31.
American Queen Steamboat Company has canceled all sailings through May 16.
Avalon Waterways has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Azamara has canceled all sailings through June 11.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has canceled sailings on Grand Celebration through June 13. Sailings on Grand Classica are canceled through July 10.
Carnival Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through June 26. Sailings on some ships have been canceled into the fall.
Celebrity Cruises has canceled all sailings through June 11. Sailings in Alaska have been canceled through the end of June.
Celestyal Cruises has canceled all sailings through June 28.
Costa Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 30.
Cunard Line has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Crystal Cruises has canceled all river and yacht sailings through the end of June. Sailings on Crystal's two larger ocean ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, are canceled through the end of May. The line also has delayed its debut of its new expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, until Nov. 14.
Disney Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through May 17. The line also has canceled all Disney Magic sailings through June 7 and all Alaska sailings through the end of June.
Emerald Waterways has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has suspended all sailings and says on its website that it expects that to be case "until mid-June."
Holland America has canceled all sailings worldwide through June 30. The line also has canceled all Alaska sailings for 2020 on Maasdam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Volendam and Westerdam.
Hurtigruten has canceled its international expedition sailings through May 12. The line has canceled its coastal sailings in Norway through May 20. In addition, cruises in Alaska have been canceled through July 1.
MSC Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 29.
Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through June 30. Voyages on Norwegian Sun have been canceled through Oct. 18.
Oceania Cruises has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Paul Gauguin Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 7.
Ponant has suspended operations through May 15.
Princess Cruises has canceled all sailings worldwide through June 30. The line also has canceled all Alaska sailings for 2020 on Coral Princess, Grand Princess, Pacific Princess, Royal Princess, Star Princess and Golden Princess. Sailings on Enchanted Princess have been canceled through July 31. Sailings on Diamond Princess and Sun Princess have been canceled through Aug. 4 and Sept. 4, respectively.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Royal Caribbean has canceled all sailings through June 11.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has canceled all sailings through June 30.
Seabourn has canceled all sailings through June 30.
SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled all sailings through May 7.
Silversea has canceled all sailings through mid-May. The line's ships now are scheduled to resume service on various dates between May 13 and July 2.
Tauck has canceled all sailings through June 30.
UnCruise Adventures has canceled departures into the third week of May.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has canceled sailings through June 30.
Victory Cruise Lines has canceled all sailings on Victory I through the end of June (sailings will resume July 5). All sailings on Victory II have been canceled for the rest of the year.
Viking has canceled all sailings through the end of June.
Virgin Voyages has postponed its inaugural voyage until Aug. 7.
Windstar Cruises has canceled all sailings through the end of June.
Additional resources for cruisers during the coronavirus outbreak:
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- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.