Princess Cruises has announced that it is temporarily pausing all ship operations for 60 days, due to coronavirus.

The company has paused global operations of its 18  ships for voyages departing from 12 March to 10 May.

In a video, Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said: “Princess Cruises is a global vacation company that serves more than 50,000 guests daily from 70 countries as part of our diverse business, and it is widely known that we have been managing the implications of COVID-19 on two continents.

“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 wellbeing 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.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC1jVkY9hqE

Those currently on board a cruise that will end in the next five days will continue to sail as expected through to the end of the itinerary, meaning that onward travel arrangements are not disrupted.

Current sailings that are underway and extend beyond 17 March will finish at the most convenient location for guests, factoring in operational requirements.

For those who are impacted, the line 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.

The company is also adding an additional future cruise credit benefit that can be applied to the cruise fare or on-board expenses.

In addition, Princess Cruises will honour this offer for those guests who had made final payment and cancelled the booking on or after 4 February 2020. The future cruise credit can be used on any voyage departing through 1 May 2022.

Princess will also protect travel agent commissions on bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full and for the total amount of the future cruise credits.

Princess has had two ships under quarantine due to the coronavirus, Grand Princess and Diamond Princess. All passengers have now disembarked both ships.

In other news a Florida couple on Grand Princess cruise ship has filed a lawsuit against Princess Cruises. They are seeking more than $1 million in damages.

For the latest advice on coronavirus, visit gov.uk.