Princess Cruises Cancels All Cruises for 60 Days Out of Caution for Coronavirus

Out of caution and concern for their passengers, Princess Cruises issued a statement that cancels all cruises around the world for the next 60 days as coronavirus continues to spread. 

Princess Cruises has had two cruise ships, Diamond Princess and Golden Princess, become a breeding ground for the coronavirus – COVID-19 . Two other ships, Caribbean Princess and Royal Princess had scares, but no confirmed outbreaks of coronavirus were reported. 

Princess Cruises cancels cruises out of precaution for coronavirus spread

As a cruise industry leader, Princess Cruises is taking the most extensive proactive response yet as it voluntarily cancels the worldwide operation of their 18 cruise ships for two months.

Voyages beginning March 12 to May 10 are cancelled.

“Princess Cruises is a global vacation company that serves more than 50,000 guests daily from 70 countries as part of our diverse business, and it is widely known that we have been managing the implications of COVID-19 on two continents,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. “By taking this bold action of voluntarily pausing the operations of our ships, it is our intention to reassure our loyal guests, team members and global stakeholders of our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of all who sail with us, as well as those who do business with us, and the countries and communities we visit around the world,” added Swartz.

What you can expect if you are currently on a cruise

If your cruises ends in the next five days from today, March 12, your ship will continue on its voyage through the end of the cruise to not disturb homeward travel arrangements. 

Cruises that continue beyond March 17 will terminate at whatever location is most convenient for passengers to return home. Princess will provide assistance in returning flights as well as continue medical care for both passengers and crew if needed.

What to do if your cruise was canceled

If your upcoming cruise is affected by Princess canceling your cruise, the cruise line will transfer 100% of the money paid for your canceled cruise to apply to a future cruise of your choice. 

As incentive to get you to not entirely cancel, Princess will add an additional future cruise credit to apply to the cruise fare. This offer applies to guests who had made final payment and cancelled their booking on or after February 4, 2020. The future cruise credit can be used on any voyage departing through May 1, 2022.

Should you want to cancel altogether, there is an electronic form on Princess.com where you can request a cash refund. 

If the future cruise credit option does not work for some guests, they will be able to complete an electronic form at Princess.com to request a cash refund. 

Here’s Princess Cruises President, Jan Swartz explaining the situation in a short video:

As Jan Swartz explains in the video, “while this is a difficult business decision, we firmly believe it is the right one and is in alignment with our company’s core values. Rest assured the long-serving and dedicated professionals at our company will make best use of this time to prepare Princess Cruises’ fleet of cruise ships for a successful return to operation to serve our guests by delivering an exceptional vacation experience.”

Princess Cruises’ online missive includes a suggestion for what cruise line guests, employees, travel advisor partners and business partners can do support Princess Cruises and its 35,000+ employees. The cruise line goes on to answer: book a cruise with Princess.

You can download the Princess .pdf here that includes all the cancellation details plus the fine print that you need to know. 

Princess Cruises anticipates being operational with cruises departing May 11, 2020.