Latest Updates: ALL Cruise Cancellations Due to the Coronavirus

As of March 13th, cruising came to a halt when all major cruise lines announced that they would be temporarily suspending cruising due to the global concern for COVID-19. Since then, the cruise lines have been continually pushing back their return to service dates. Presently, the CDC has extended its No Sail Order for all cruise ships in U.S jurisdiction through September 30, 2020. Although, the cancellation dates, refund policies, and other changes do vary by cruise line. To help cruisers stay informed, we have just revised this post with the latest updates for ALL the cruise line cancellations due to the coronavirus.

UPDATED 8/5/20: As of today, all CLIA cruise lines have agreed to voluntarily further suspend U.S. cruise operations until at least October 31, 2020.

Cruise Line Cancellations Due to the Coronavirus

Norwegian Cruise Line

Initially announcing a suspension of cruising for 30 days on March 13th, Norwegian Cruise Line has been providing regular updates on the status of future cruises. On July 29th, NCL further delayed its anticipated return to service date from September 30th to October 31st. Norwegian Cruise Line was the first of the three major brands to delay beyond the current expiration date of the CDC’s No Sail Order.

Guests who had a reservation on a suspended cruise in October will automatically receive a refund of their cruise fare in the form of a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the amount paid. The FCC must be used one year from issued date for any Norwegian Cruise Line voyage embarking through 2022.

Guests who prefer to not take advantage of a future cruise credit can elect to receive a lesser refund equal to the amount paid to date to the original form of payment 60 days after submitting the Refund Request Form which will go live on August 3 at 9:00 am EST and must be submitted by no later than 5:00 pm EST on August 14, 2020.

Norwegian Cruise Line also recently updated its Peace of Mind policy. For all cruises through December 31st, guests can cancel up to 48 hours prior to their cruise and receive a Future Cruise Credit or a full refund when they cancel up to 60 days before the trip. For all 2021 cruises through October 31st, guests can cancel up to 15 days prior and receive a Future Cruise Credit or a full refund when they cancel up to 120 days prior to their sail date.

For the latest list of NCL cancellations, visit their website.

Royal Caribbean International

Even though Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings recently announced the joint formation of the Healthy Sail Panel, Royal Caribbean had yet to make any further announcements to its list of cruise cancellations until today.

Like many of the major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean waited until March 13th to formally make an announcement about suspending cruising. Since then, the cruise line has been slowly adding further cancellations to the list. Today, in response to the further CLIA voluntary suspension, the cruise line has extended the suspension of sailings for their global fleet through October 31st.

Further cancellations include:

• European & Transatlantic sailings through the end of November
• Odyssey of the Seas sailings from November 5th, 2020 through April 17th, 2021 will be cancelled due to construction delays.
• Liberty of the Seas’ amplification has been postponed to a later date, and the ship will now sail to Galveston earlier than planned. Regrettably, only one ship can dock at the Galveston pier at a time, so we have to cancel our February 14, 2021 Jewel of the Seas cruise.
• After consulting with our partners at Cruise Lines International Association, and in conjunction with the CDC, we’ve decided to cancel some additional sailings departing from China. The following Spectrum of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, and Voyager of the Seas sailings have now been cancelled:
• Spectrum of the Seas sailings through September 13th, 2020
• Quantum of the Seas sailings through sailings through September 13th, 2020 and October 7th, 2020 – October 28th, 2020 sailings
• Voyager of the Seas sailings through September 30th, 2020

Passengers impacted by cruise cancellations will automatically receive 125% future cruise credit that can be applied to a cruise sailing before April 30, 2022 to be re-booked by December 31st, 2021.

Impacted guests could also choose to Lift and Shift their reservation to a 2021 date protecting the original price and/or promotion. The new cruise must be the same itinerary, length, product, and stateroom category as your original sailing within 4 weeks (before or after) of the original sail date.

Or, guests can complete the online refund request form and receive 100% refund to original form of payment within 45 days of request.

Royal Caribbean’s Cruise with Confidence Policy has been extended and enhanced as of May 6th. Now, you can cancel a cruise up to 48 hours before the sail date and receive 100% FCC on all sailings up until April 2022. Whether it’s a booking you already have or one you make right now through September 30th, 2020, you’re covered. As long as you cancel at least 48 hours before your sail date, you’ll receive a Future Cruise Credit. For full details, see this recent post.

For the latest Royal Caribbean updates, head over to the line’s website.

Carnival Cruise Line

Following the initial 30 day suspension back in March, Carnival Cruise Line has been incrementally further delaying sailings. The cruise line’s last official statement was today, which reflects the extension of its pause in operations for most ships through October 31st, 2020 to comply with the CLIA voluntary suspension.

The update also included changes to deployment schedules resulting from the announcement that Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration were being sold and scrapped, as well as Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination moving to a long term lay-up status.

The current list of cancellations now includes:

• San Francisco sailings through 2020
• Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor sailings through and including October 29, 2020
• Carnival Legend sailings through and including October 30, 2020
• Mardi Gras sailings November 14, 2020 through and including January 30, 2021
• Carnival Breeze from Ft. Lauderdale sailings November 7, 2020 through and including March 7, 2021
• Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration sailings through and including April 19, 2021
• Carnival Magic: 
• Ft. Lauderdale and Miami sailings through and including October 31, 2020
• Transatlantic & Barcelona sailings April 10, 2021 through and including May 3, 2021
• Carnival Fascination sailings through and including January 9, 2022
• Carnival Sensation sailings March 3, 2022 and March 7, 2022
• Carnival Sunrise: 
• Sailings through and including October 19, 2020
• Miami 7 and 8 day sailings from October 9, 2021 through and including April 30, 2022, excluding the March 5, 2022 sailing
• Miami 5 day sailing January 3, 2022
• Carnival Radiance: 
• Sailings through and including November 1, 2020
• 9, 12 and 14 day sailings from May 2, 2021 through and including April 29, 2022
• 5 day sailings December 23, 2021 and December 28, 2021
• All Other Ships sailings through and including October 31, 2020

Compensation for impacted Carnival cruises does vary based on the duration of the cruise. For cruises of 5 days or less, cruisers will receive 100% future cruise credit for the total amount paid for the cruise, plus $300 onboard credit applied to the sailing once it is booked. For cruises 6 days or more in length, cruisers will receive the 100% future cruise credit, plus $600 onboard credit. This OBC offer is applicable to the next cruise if booked by 5/31/21 with a sail date before 4/30/23.

Stay up to date on all the latest Carnival cancellations and refund policies by visiting the website.

Related Post: What You Need to Know About Cruising After the Pandemic

Celebrity Cruises

As the sister brand of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises has implemented the same cruise cancellation policy due to the coronavirus. Likewise, Celebrity Cruises has extended the suspension of sailings to include those departing on or before October 31, 2020, excluding sailings from China and Australia.

As a result of the Canadian Government’s restriction on cruise ships, Celebrity’s 2020 sailings to Canada and Alaska and as well as notable fall itineraries such as Canada/New England, Hawaii, and a few repositioning cruises have been canceled.

For a full list of impacted cruises, visit Celebrity Cruises’ website.

Cruisers with voyages impacted will automatically receive a 125% future cruise credit. Or, they can request a 100% refund to their original form of payment. Further, if cruisers purchased any cruise planner items, they now have the option of receiving either a 125% onboard credit or a 100% refund for these items.

Cruisers can apply this FCC to cruises departing by May 4, 2022 and have until the end of 2021 to determine whether they want to receive a refund or utilize the future cruise credit.

Celebrity Cruises’ Cruise with Confidence policy is the same as Royal Caribbean’s policy and has been extended and enhanced.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises was the first cruise line to be impacted by the coronavirus. So, it wasn’t a surprise that it was one one of the first lines to announce cruise cancellations. The cruise line originally announced that it was ceasing service on its cruise ships for 60 days. Likewise, Princess Cruises has also been providing updates to its cancellations with the latest statement occurring on July 22nd.

This announcement came as a surprise to many as Princess Cruises was the first cruise line to extend its pause in operations on remaining vessels beyond this fall. Princess revealed that it was canceling all cruises through December 15, 2020 sailing in Asia, the Caribbean, California Coast, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama Canal, South America & Antarctica, Japan, and Tahiti/South Pacific.

Additionally, the cruise line announced that all cruises sailing in and out of Australia on Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sea Princess, and Sun Princess were cancelled through October 31, 2020.

Cruisers impacted by these cancellations can receive a full refund by submitting a refund request by August 31st of this year. Or, the cruise line is offering 125% future cruise credit. For travelers with just a deposit on a cancelled trip, Princess Cruises will “Double the Deposit”. This option provides travelers with a refundable credit for the money currently on deposit plus a matching non-refundable bonus credit of the same amount. These credits can be applied to a future voyage sailing through May 1, 2022.

For the latest information, visit Princess Cruises’ website.

Holland America Line

In compliance with the CDC’s No Sail Order, Holland America Line has extended its cruise suspension through the end of September. Further, Holland America Line revealed that it would be selling four of its ships in an announcement made on July 15th. Of course, this led to further cancellations by the brand.

Then, the cruise line announced that its third Pinnacle-class ship, which has been re-named from Ryndam to Rotterdam will be delayed. The ship will now be delivered July 30, 2021 instead of its original delivery of May 2021.

Today, HAL released the statement, “Holland America is aware of the Cruise Lines International Association and other cruise lines’ announcements to extend the COVID-19 cruise pause through Oct. 31, 2020. We are currently reviewing impacted itineraries and expect to share those updates sometime next week.”

Guests impacted by these cancellations have the option to receive a 125% future credit or a full refund to the original form of payment. While the FCC is valid until December 31, 2022, it must be booked within 12 months of the issue date.

For the most up to date list, Holland America’s website has a complete list of all impacted cruises.

Related Post: Should You Take the FCC or the Refund?

MSC Cruises

With only a few vessels in their fleet cruising in the USA, MSC Cruises released its latest ship specific updates on July 22nd. MSC Seaside will re-position from Miami, FL to Port Canaveral offering 3, 4 & 7-night cruises as of November 1st. All MSC Meraviglia New York cruises for 2020 and 2021 have been cancelled, and its Winter 2020/2021 sailings to the Caribbean from Miami have been altered, now leaving on Saturdays instead of Sundays.

MSC Armonia will now offer 3, 4 & 7-night cruises from Miami on Mondays and Fridays. The November 1st repositioning cruise has been cancelled in addition to November 11, 2020 – April 27, 2021 cruises from Tampa. Further, MSC Divina’s repositioning cruise to Miami in January 2021 has been cancelled, and the ship will begin sailing from Port Canaveral on March 28, 2021 instead of from Miami.

MSC Cruises is providing impacted guests with a 125% future cruise credit automatically, or they can request 100% full refund to the original form of payment by filling out the form on the cruise line’s website.

The cruise line’s flexible cancellation policy is currently in effect for cruises through October 31st. With this Cruise Assurance program, cruisers can cancel sailings up to 48 hours in advance and receive a future cruise credit that can be applied to sailings before the end of 2021.

Stay up to date on all MSC Cruises’ cancellations and refund policies.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line also continues to extend its cruise cancellations. Disney Cruise Line has suspended all new departures of the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wonder through September 30th. As previously announced, Disney Cruise Line had already suspended Disney Magic sailings through October 2, 2020.

As of this writing, Disney Cruise Line has not released an official update on its website. However, per the CLIA voluntary suspension, all Disney cruises will need to be cancelled through October 31st as well.

Guests booked on affected sailings who have paid their reservation in full will be offered the choice of a cruise credit to be used for a future sailing or a full refund. Guests who have not paid their reservations in full will automatically receive a refund of what they have paid so far.

Guests also have the flexibility to change their sail date up to 15 days prior to departure for any cruises booked by August 31, 2020 for sailings through March 2021.

For a full list of impacted sailings, visit Disney Cruise Line’s website.

Virgin Voyages Cancels Inaugural Cruises

Virgin Voyages first cancelled all media sailings due to the coronavirus. Then, a few days later, the new cruise line made the decision to postpone its inaugural season. Slated for its inaugural cruise on April 1st, Virgin Voyages pushed back all sailings on Scarlet Lady until this fall.

The cruise line’s initial plan was to begin cruising in July, with August 7th listed as the new date for the maiden voyage. Then, on May 21st, Virgin Voyages made the decision to postpone sailings through October 15, 2020. Currently, the first cruise on Scarlet Lady is scheduled for Friday, October 16th. Richard’s Birthday Bash sailing has also been rescheduled for July 14th, 2021.

As of this post, Virgin Voyages has yet to release any updates or further cancellations in response to today’s announcement.

First time cancelled Sailors will automatically receive 200% future cruise credit for the amount paid towards their voyage. As a further incentive to re-book now, sailors can receive up to $500 of onboard credit based on stateroom category if they re-book by June 30th. Of course, if guests prefer a refund, they can contact the cruise line to request it prior to December 31, 2020.

For Sailors who have already received a 200% future voyage credit due to a previously cancelled cruise, they have the option to keep it for a future booking or request a refund. In addition to the refund for the full paid amount, sailors will still receive a 25% future voyage credit.

Similar to other cruise lines’ Cruise with Confidence policies, Virgin Voyages has announced its Smooth Sailing Program. This program will give sailors greater flexibility and assurance when booking a cruise. Now, final payment will be due just 60 days prior to the voyage. Additionally, sailors will have the ability to cancel up to 48 hours prior to the cruise for a 100% future voyage credit. This policy is currently in effect for cruises through December 16, 2020.

Related Post: Top Cruise Ships to Sail on in 2020

Viking Ocean and River Cruises

Viking Cruises was the first major cruise line to announce changes to its itineraries. Chairman Torstein Hagen made the initial announcement via a “video letter” about cruise cancellations due to the coronavirus. The cancellations impacted both the company’s river cruise ships as well as its ocean cruise liners.

This cruise suspension was last updated on July 8th, now extending this temporary pause of operations through September 30, 2020 across all sailings. Viking has also not released any further updates or cancellations since this morning’s CLIA announcement.

Viking is offering a future cruise credit of 125% of the original fare that is valid for 24 months. The Future Cruise Voucher is fully transferable, allowing you to gift it to someone with whom you would like to share the joys of travel. It can be applied within the next 24 months to any river, ocean, or expedition cruise. If you are unable to use your voucher by the expiration date, simply return your expired voucher to Viking and a refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking will be issued.

Viking also has a Risk-Free Guarantee in place allowing guests to change their reservation up to 24 hours prior to their sail date to receive 100% FCC. This offer covers all Viking reservations that are made by July 31, 2020.

For the latest list of Viking’s cancellations, visit the website.

Further Impacts

These are the current cruise cancellations and changes due to the coronavirus announced so far. Most likely, more itineraries will be altered or cancelled beyond these dates as the cruise lines prepare for their phased return to service. Of course, we will continue to update this post as more changes occur. Until then, we hope everyone stays safe and healthy during this time.

Comments

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