Princess Cruises has today suspended its ocean voyages for two months while Viking Cruises has also halted trips until May because of the coronavirus outbreak.
US-based firm Princess said its 18 cruise ships would stay in port until May 11 after two of its ships suffered virus outbreaks, including the Diamond Princess in Japan.
Ships which are currently at sea will sail to their final destination if they are due to finish before March 17, or dock elsewhere if the cruise was due to last longer.
Meanwhile, Viking Cruises has suspended all its ocean and river trips until May after three Britons tested positive on one of its vessels in Cambodia this week.
The company said there were ‘significant risks’ of quarantines or medical detentions, after a spate of virus scares at sea in recent weeks.
Princess Cruises said its 18 cruise ships would stay in port until May 11 after two of its ships suffered virus outbreaks, including the Diamond Princess in Japan (pictured)
Princess has been hit by two of the worst outbreaks at sea, most notably on board the Diamond Princess where 705 people were infected.
Japanese authorities quarantined the ship in Yokohama in a bid to contain the virus but their attempted lockdown was widely declared a failure.
Four Britons were among the Diamond Princess virus patients. One of them later died, while two others are still in hospital in Japan.
At one stage, the Diamond Princess had the highest number of virus cases anywhere in the world outside China.
Subsequently, another 3,500 Princess customers were quarantined off the US coast after a former passenger on the Grand Princess died from coronavirus.
At least 21 people aboard had tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
‘It is widely known that we have been managing the implications of COVID-19 on two continents,’ said Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz.
‘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.’
Tourists currently at sea will continue to their planned destination if the cruise is due to finish in the next five days, until March 17.
If the cruise is due to continue longer than that, passengers will be taken to ‘the most convenient location for guests, factoring in operational requirements’.
‘Princess will do everything possible to return each guest home with the greatest amount of care possible,’ a statement said.
‘For those who affected by this business decision, Princess is offering guests the opportunity to transfer 100 per cent of the money paid for their cancelled cruise to a future cruise of their choice.
‘To add a bonus incentive for guests to accept this offer, the company will add an additional generous future cruise credit benefit which can be applied to the cruise fare or onboard expenses.’
Viking Cruises has suspended all ocean and river voyages until May due to ‘significant risks’ caused by the outbreak of coronavirus (Pictured: A docked Viking Cruises vessel in Kampong Cham, southeastern Cambodia)
All 70 of the firm’s river and ocean ships will be suspended from operation from today until April 30 amid a rapid global spread of the virus
Meanwhile, Viking has acted after three British tourists were confirmed as virus patients after travelling on a Viking River Cruises vessel to Kampong Cham.
The Cambodian Health Ministry said a 73-year-old man and his 69-year-old wife who are both from the UK had been infected, two days after another British passenger tested positive.
Officials described the first patient as a 65-year-old woman who is thought to have contracted the virus from a Vietnamese national who sat beside her on Vietnam Airlines flight VN54 from London to Hanoi on March 2.
The cruise, which lasts eight days, began in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and travelled to Cambodian capital Phnom Penh before arriving in Kampong Cham.
All 70 of Viking’s river and ocean ships will now be suspended from operations from today until April 30.
‘I am writing today because the situation has now become such that operating as a travel company involves significant risks of quarantines or medical detentions, which could diminish the travel experiences for which our guests have been planning,’ Viking Cruises founder Torstein Hagen said in a letter posted online.
‘In recent days we have had an experience where a river cruise guest in Southeast Asia was exposed to COVID-19 while in transit on an international airline.
Tourists watch on as the vessel was placed under police guard after it was moored on the Mekong River near Kampong Cham, southeastern Cambodia, on Tuesday
‘While this guest is not exhibiting symptoms, she has been placed in quarantine. Separately, the remaining 28 guests will also be quarantined.’
Hagen added that a number of ports, including Venice, Monte Carlo and Bergen, have temporarily closed to cruise ships with other major attractions across the globe shut.
‘We have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations of our river and ocean vessels embarking from March 12 to April 30 – at which time we believe Viking will be in a better place to provide the experiences our guests expect and deserve,’ he said.
‘This is a decision we made with a heavy heart, but with present circumstances what they are, we are unable to deliver the high-quality Viking experience for which we are known.’
The firm added it will issue the choice of a voucher for a future cruise or a full refund for any trips which fall within this suspension period.
The three infections take the total number of Covid-19 cases in Cambodia to five, after a Cambodian and a Chinese man also tested positive for the infection.