Nearly a dozen more cruise lines including Carnival, Norwegian extend coronavirus shutdowns into May
Quick summary
Add Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America, Seabourn and Cunard Line to the list of cruise brands suspending operations well into May due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Each of the four Carnival Corporation-owned cruise lines on Monday said it had canceled at least another month's worth of sailings, as did Norwegian Cruise Line and its sister brands, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Disney, MSC Cruises and Viking also canceled more sailings.
At Carnival, the new cancellations include every departure through May 11. Until today, the line only had canceled departures through April 9. The cancellations at Holland America and Seabourn include departures through May 14. Cunard canceled departures through May 15.
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Norwegian and its sister brands canceled departures through May 10. Disney, MSC Cruises and Viking canceled voyages through April 28, May 29 and June 30, respectively.
The cancellations come nearly a week after cruise giant Royal Caribbean and its three U.S.-based sister brands -- Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea -- pushed back the dates they expected to return to service into May, too.
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Several small lines such as Crystal Cruises and river cruise specialist AmaWaterways had also already pushed back their returns to the middle or end of May. River line Avalon Waterways had extended its shutdown through the end of June.
Nearly all cruise lines around the world suspended operations the week of March 9 as coronavirus cases surged around the globe. But, initially, most lines said they planned to resume sailing after 30 days. Many had hoped to return to service by April 10 or 11.
Today's announcements will affect hundreds of thousands of travelers with bookings in April, May and June. Carnival alone accounts for nearly one of every five cruises taken worldwide.
Related: Cruises in many regions unlike to resume for months
Carnival said passengers on affected sailings could choose between a full refund or a credit for a future cruise in the amount of 100% of what they paid for the canceled sailing. As an incentive to take the credit, those who choose it will get an additional $300 to $600 per cabin in onboard credit, depending on the length of the trip. To get the additional credit, cruisers must rebook by Dec. 31.
All the other lines also offered incentives for passengers to take a future cruise credit instead of a cash refund. Holland America, for instance, offered passengers a future cruise credit in the amount of 125% of what they paid plus a $250 onboard credit.
Giving out future cruise credits instead of cash refunds allows cruise lines to preserve cash.
With today's announcements, it's increasingly clear that cruising worldwide is unlikely to resume until at least mid-May and maybe much later than that -- at least in some areas.
In its announcement last week, Royal Caribbean suggested that sailings that include calls in Canada, such as Alaska cruises, could be shut down until July. It noted Canadian ports have been ordered to turn away cruise ships through July 1.
Royal Caribbean also noted that Singapore will remain closed to cruise ships through May, which could have an impact on the resumption of sailings in that region.
With travel restrictions around the globe expected to remain in place for many weeks, it's likely that more cruise lines will extend their shutdowns in the coming days.
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 May 31.
American Cruise Lines has canceled all sailings through April 30.
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 May 11.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through April 8.
Carnival Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through May 11.
Celebrity Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 11.
Celestyal Cruises has canceled all sailings through the end of April.
Costa Cruises has canceled all sailings through the end of April.
Cunard Line has canceled all sailings through May 15.
Crystal Cruises has canceled all river cruise departures through April 25 as well as Crystal Esprit's April 10 and April 26 sailings. Sailings on Crystal's two larger ocean ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, are canceled through May 3 and May 18, respectively.
Disney Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through April 28.
Emerald Waterways has canceled all sailings through April 30.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has canceled sailings into May with ships scheduled to resume service at varying dates. The current plan is for Europa and Europa 2 to resume sailing on May 9 and May 13, respectively. Hanseatic Inspiration, Bremen and Hanseatic Nature are scheduled to return to service of May 18, May 23 and May 30, respectively.
Holland America has canceled all sailings through May 14.
Hurtigruten has canceled its international expedition sailings through April 28. The line has canceled its coastal sailings in Norway through April 19.
MSC Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 29.
Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through May 10.
Oceania Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 10.
Paul Gauguin Cruises has canceled all sailings through the end of April.
Ponant has suspended operations until further notice.
Princess Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 11.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has canceled all sailings through May 10.
Royal Caribbean has canceled all sailings through May 11.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has canceled all sailings through April 30.
Seabourn has canceled all sailings through May 14.
SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled all sailings through May 7.
Silversea has canceled all sailings through late mid-May. The line's ships now are scheduled to resume service on various dates between May 13 and June 7.
Tauck has canceled all sailings through May 15.
UnCruise Adventures has canceled departures in April and a handful of early May sailings.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has canceled all Europe sailings through April 23. The river cruise specialist has canceled Egypt sailings through May 1.
Victory Cruise Lines has canceled all sailings through May 16.
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 April 30.
Additional resources for traveling during the coronavirus outbreak:
- Can I cancel or postpone my cruise due to coronavirus?
- How coronavirus is impacting airline award availability
- How coronavirus has left the travel industry reeling
- Airlines scale back inflight offerings due to coronavirus
- How to ward off coronavirus in your hotel room
- Guide to traveling during the coronavirus outbreak