Princess owner Carnival suspends cruises for two months due to coronavirus
Princess Cruises owner Carnival saw its shares plummet 22 per cent today after it suspended the global operations of its fleet of 18 ships for two months.
Two of Princesses’ ships have been stricken by the coronavirus outbreak and have been stuck in quarantine to tackle the outbreak.
The Diamond Princess was moored off the coast of Japan for two weeks in February after 700 cases of the virus were confirmed, with six deaths.
Another vessel, the Grand Princess, was prevented from mooring in San Francisco last week after the authorities learned that some of its passengers had developed symptoms of the disease.
The cruise line said that it was acting out of an “abundance of caution”:
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“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,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises.
“We firmly believe it is the right one and is in alignment with our company’s core values,” she added.
The firm added that it would “do everything possible to return each guest home with the greatest amount of care possible”.
Carnival plans to restart Princess cruise operations on 11 May, with the firm offering affected passengers the chance to transfer 100 per cent of their sailings to a future cruise of their choice.
The deal also applies to passengers who had made payments and cancelled their booking on or after 4 February.
Sir Richard Branson-backed cruise operator Virgin Voyages also postponed the maiden voyage of its sailing season until 15 July.