Carnival-owned Cunard suspends all cruises until March next year
Carnival-owned cruise operator Cunard has cancelled all of its sailings until March 2021 at the earliest due to continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, the luxury cruise ship line said that it was extending its suspension of all sailings from November this year until the spring, a year after first suspending its voyages.
As the pandemic spread rapidly in March, Cunard took the decision to cancel all sailing until July at first, which it later extended to November.
The firm said that the decision reflected Foreign Office travel guidance, as well as the “complexity” of operating global sailings.
Queen Elizabeth will not not return to service until March 25, 2021 with revised operations from the UK, while flagship Queen Mary 2 will not return until April 18 and Queen Victoria until May 26.
Cunard president Simon Palethorpe apologised to passengers over the news, but said it simply would not be “sensible” to start sailing again on its current schedules.
“We are so sorry to all those guests who were due to sail on any of the cancelled voyages and for the disappointment this news will cause”, he said.
“After very careful consideration and reviewing the latest guidance, we simply do not feel it would be sensible to start sailing again with our current schedule so we have reviewed future itineraries.”
He added that the Queen Elizabeth, which had been due to sail on a round the world voyage taking in Australia, Alaska and Japan, would instead operate a new schedule.
This will involve a series of seven to 14-day sailing around Europe, Palethorpe said. The new itineraries will be available to book from September 29.
As a result of the pandemic, in May Carnival announced plans to cut 450 jobs across Cunard and P&O Cruises, to “ensure the future sustainability” of the business.