Thousands of cruisers have had their dreams dashed with the news that Cunard and Princess Cruises are the latest to join the ranks of lines abandoning their 2021 grand voyages.
They reached their decisions in light of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office guidance relating to the COVID pandemic and the complexity of operating world voyages.
Cunard is extending its pause in operations from November 2020 until March 25, 2021, for Queen Elizabeth; until April 18 for Queen Mary 2 and May 16, 2021 for Queen Victoria.
And Princess Cruises has cancelled its early 2021 World Cruises and Circle South America cruises on Island Princess and Pacific Princess.
Cunard president Simon Palethorpe said: “We are so sorry to all those guests who were due to sail on any of the cancelled voyages and for the disappointment this news will cause. After very careful consideration and reviewing the latest guidance, we simply do not feel it would be sensible to start sailing again with our current schedule so we have reviewed future itineraries.
“Queen Elizabeth has returned to the UK and with ongoing uncertainty over the re-opening of many ports and countries, it is sadly not practical to continue her planned itineraries for 2021.
“Therefore, in addition to the pause in operations, all of Queen Elizabeth’s sailings due to depart between March 26, 2021 and December 13, 2021, in and around Australia, Japan and Alaska, will be cancelled.”
Island Princess, above, and Queen Elizabeth, top of page, will not be setting sail on world voyages as planned
The voyages are to be replaced with a programme of shorter duration European holidays ranging from three to 14 nights, departing from Southampton, starting at the end of March with a series of scenic voyages around the coast of Cornwall, the west coast of Ireland and the Scottish Isles.
There will also be short breaks to Amsterdam as well as voyages to northern and southern European destinations including Norway and the Iberian coast.
Palethorpe added: “Given the current uncertainty, the complexity of our scheduled World Voyage with our international mix of guests visiting many countries and continents, each with its own evolving travel regulations was a very real factor in our decision making.”
Full details of the changes to operations and options available to guests due to travel on cancelled voyages, as well as the latest updates, can be found at www.cunard.com
For Princess, restrictions and limitations with border and port access and the continued uncertainty of airline travel led to the cancellation of Island Princess’s 2021 World Cruise sailing from North America and Pacific Princess’s Circle South America sailing from Australia.
“We share in the disappointment of this cancellation for guests of our world cruises because it’s a pinnacle cruise vacation experience, booked by some of our most loyal guests,” said Princess president Jan Swartz.
The most current information and instructions for booked guests affected by these cancellations, and more information on FCCs and refunds, can be found online at Information on Impacted & Cancelled Cruises.