Princess Cruises has promised it will be back after suspending its sailings on all ships, with an uplifting message lighting up one of its ships.

Sky Princess, one of the 18 ships in the line’s fleet, showed a #WeWillBeBack message via its balcony cabins.

Last week, Princess Cruises announced it was voluntarily pausing its global operations for 60 days in response to the circumstances evolving from the global spread of coronavirus, thereby following in the footsteps of many cruise lines that have also suspended sailings.

Sky Princess will return to sail a season across Scandinavia and Russia after the suspension has been lifted.

Princess Cruises has had two of its ships in quarantine due to the virus.

Diamond Princess was held off the coast of Japan in January after over 700 passengers were infected, and Grand Princess was held off the coast of California.

Carnival Corporation, which owns Princess Cruises, has announced that it will borrow $3 billion under a credit agreement for six months as the coronavirus crisis has resulted in cruise lines suspending their operations globally.

This loan will enable Carnival Corporation to “increase its cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainty in the global markets resulting from the covid-19 outbreak,” with the proceeds being used  “for working capital, general corporate or other purposes”, it said.

While the corporation says that it is unable to provide an earnings forecast, it does predict results of operations for the fiscal year ending 30 November to result in a net loss.

Carnival Corporation said: “Significant events affecting travel, including Covid-19, typically have an impact on booking patterns, with the full extent of the impact generally determined by the length of time the event influences travel decisions.

“The Corporation believes the ongoing effects of covid-19 on its operations and global bookings will have a material negative impact on its financial results and liquidity.

“The Corporation is taking additional actions to improve its liquidity, including capital expenditure and expense reductions, and pursuing additional financing.

“Given the uncertainly of the situation, the Corporation is currently unable to provide an earnings forecast, however, we expect results of operations for the fiscal year ending 30 November 2020 to result in a net loss.”

Our view

The cruise industry is facing an unprecedented and ever-changing situation, and we are committed to keeping you informed with the most up-to-date news. However, we firmly believe that the cruise industry will bounce back. When it does, we’ll be on hand to help you get back to selling the cruises that people love.