Carnival Suspending All Princess Cruises for 60 Days

[mom2brooke76]

Wonder who will be next?

 

[MarkLT1]

Wonder who will be next?

I think I saw the answer in my Dream last night.

 

[xlxo]

For those that sail on that other family cruise line....

In proactive response to the unpredictable circumstances evolving from the global spread of COVID-19 and in an abundance of caution, Princess Cruises announced that it will voluntarily pause global operations of its 18 cruise ships for two months (60 days), impacting voyages departing March 12 to May 10.

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/global-ship-operations-pause.html

 

[Firstof3]

Well that makes two lines, saw Viking cruises had done something similar.

 

[BlueRibbon]

Interesting why a company would choose to suspend operations on one brand(Princess) and not the others(Carnival, Holland America, etc...) unless the Princess brand has been so heavily damaged over the past few weeks.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Interesting why a company would choose to suspend operations on one brand(Princess) and not the others(Carnival, Holland America, etc...) unless the Princess brand has been so heavily damaged over the past few weeks.

Its probably because of this fact alone. They keep having issues with the Princess brand. The others haven't had any major issues yet. A lot of people do not know they are all under the same company.

 

[StarSeven7]

I wonder if other cruise lines will follow suit.

 

[holden]

I wonder if other cruise lines will follow suit.

I think they will.

 

[plethera1]

It seems like the cruise lines are just holding off as long as they can but I agree a cancellation seems likely. They hoping that things start turning for the better and they can hold off long enough or not have to cancel for as long.

 

[Numtini]

My guess is Princess is very heavy in Alaska and they're probably anticipating Vancouver closing.

 

[StarSeven7]

I think they will.

I’m thinking so too. We don’t have anything booked but I’m watching carefully for my parents - they’re going on an Alaska cruise with Holland America that just barely falls within this 60 days. My dad says he’s going no matter what unless they cancel but I’d probably feel better if they cancel since he’s 68 and is diabetic.

 

[xlxo]

It seems like the cruise lines are just holding off as long as they can but I agree a cancellation seems likely. They hoping that things start turning for the better and they can hold off long enough or not have to cancel for as long.

I think Princess is very challenged... with travel to Europe restricted 30 days and more regions potentially to come. It's easier for Princess to "reset" and look at a 60 day shutdown for clients and staff. With past issues on the Diamond and Grand, the Princess brand is hurt and needs rebuilding.

 

[Trera]

You would think DCL and some of the other cruise lines would want to suspend operations before they have a ship or two that are in the same boat as princess. Being able to say that you didnt have any coronavirus outbreaks on your ships should be a big selling point when cruises start back up again.

 

[JM_97]

Is it likely that the Magic doesn't go to Europe this year? I don't know the DM schedule, but the last 24 hours have really escalated.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Is it likely that the Magic doesn't go to Europe this year? I don't know the DM schedule, but the last 24 hours have really escalated.

The Eastbound Transatlantic is on May 11, as of this this time there has been no changes to the Magics European summer schedule. I am keeping a close watch as I have a European cruise booked in September

 

[tidefan]

Princess is owned by Carnival but is a somewhat independently managed company. One reason I think Princess has more exposure because their itineraries are much more worldwide than some of the others that are mostly Caribbean in the winter...

We have always loved our Princess cruises...

 

[SDJEL]

Viking cancelled all cruises through May 1.

 

[DnA2010]

I would assume their numbers were now crazy low due to changes/cancellations etc

 

[_auroraborealis_]

With Seattle and Vancouver closing port to cruise lines, expect more.

 

[MarkLT1]

It seems like the cruise lines are just holding off as long as they can but I agree a cancellation seems likely. They hoping that things start turning for the better and they can hold off long enough or not have to cancel for as long.

A shut-down like that would also trigger any disaster/pandemic business interruption insurance/re-insurance the company has. There are probably limitations on how long/how much lost revenue said (re)insurance will cover. The longer the company can put off triggering it, the better, from a risk mitigation point of view. Not only that- but the cruise line would GREATLY prefer you taking a credit/postponing, versus having the money refunded. Thus, they will offer a voluntary cancellation (with receiving a credit) for as long as they can before cancelling, where the option of getting a refund becomes possible.

That said, if Princess/Viking are the first two dominoes, and we start seeing other cruise lines hopping on board the cancellation train, I predict it will quickly go from 2 cruise lines, to all of the cruise lines. From a PR perspective, you don't want to be the last cruise line holding the bag, when everyone else has jumped overboard, when it comes to public health (regardless if the cancellations were actually the right thing to do).