The Voice of the Cruise Industry
Latest News

Coronavirus: Royal Caribbean adopts new cancellation policy

Royal Caribbean, cruise, travel, latest news
photo_camera Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean group has adopted a new ‘Cruise with Confidence’ policy, allowing guests to cancel sailings up to 48 hours before departure in light of the coronavirus.

For bookings, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea guests can cancel and receive full cruise credit for their fare, usable on any future sailing in 202o or 2021.

The policy applies to both new and existing cruise bookings.

The company’s chairman and CEO Richard Fain said: “Our previous policy set earlier deadlines for guests to cancel their cruises and that added unnecessary stress.

“Trying to guess a month or more in advance where areas of concern about coronavirus might be is challenging for medial experts, much less a family preparing for a vacation.

“When circumstances are as fast-changing as they have been recently, it’s good to know you have the option to take a rain check.

We think putting more control in our guest’s hands helps them make informed decisions about whether to keep their existing vacation plans or trade out more a more convenient time or itinerary.”

The policy applies to all cruises with a sailing date on or before 31 July 2020.

Earlier in the month, Fain urged travel agents not to panic about the coronavirus in a video.

In his message he stressed that his group’s brands and agents “will get through this difficult time together”.

He said: “This is a tough time – a really tough time – and all of us know it because all of us are going through it together.

“And after enough challenging days for your business, after reading enough of the endless media reports about coronavirus, it’s really easy to think that the world is coming to an end. Well I have a spoiler alert – it’s not.

“We’re all spending time worrying, and that’s natural because we’re in a storm and when you’re in the middle of a storm, it certainly feels like it’ll never end.

“But, as with most storms, it gets worse before it gets better, but it’s hard to remember that this too shall pass. And while the virus is something to be taken seriously, it’s not a cause for panic – not in a personal sense and not in a business sense either.”

Earlier in the year, Royal Caribbean line warned of the impact the coronavirus will have on its yearly profit as bookings slowed down.

It revealed that the measures will have an estimated impact on the financial performance for 2020 of approximately $0.65 per share, and if it cancels all of its remaining sailings in Asia through the end of April, it would impact 2020 financial performance by an additional $0.55 per share.

For the latest travel advice, visit gov.uk/coronavirus.

Sign In

Lost your password?