Princess Cruises pauses select voyages until November 2021
Princess Cruises shared in a press release Friday that it would extend its "global pause on operations" into next year.
Specifically, it is pausing all cruising through March 31, 2021, and all cruises longer than seven days that sail in and out of U.S. ports through Nov. 1, 2021.
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The cruise line explained that the decision was made in order to comply with the CDC's recently issued "Framework for Conditional Sailing Order" which bars cruise lines from offering any itinerary longer than seven days for any cruise that calls at a U.S. port.
In addition, the line said it would be extending the pause on cruises sailing to and from Japan through June 25, 2021, due to "uncertainty" over international travel restrictions.
Any cruisers affected by this latest round of cancellations will be entitled to a refundable future cruise credit equal to 100% of the fare paid, plus an additional non-refundable future cruise credit totaling 25% of the fare paid.
If you're booked on a Princess cruise that falls into the above category, you won't need to do anything further if you're satisfied with taking a future cruise credit. If you'd like a refund, however, you will have to fill out this form by Dec. 31, 2020. If you don't take any action at all by Dec. 31, you'll be issued a future cruise credit automatically.
This extension of Princess's pause in cruising isn't necessarily a surprise. Currently, the U.S. is experiencing the worst surge in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with the United States recording a seven-day average of over 170,000 new confirmed cases per day.
Just last week, one small cruise line, SeaDream Yacht Club, ventured back into Caribbean cruising, marking the first sailing of its kind in the region since the pandemic began. Unfortunately, the ship had an outbreak of COVID-19, and led TPG's resident cruise expert and senior reporter Gene Sloan to conclude that Americans just aren't yet ready for a return to cruising.