Princess Cruises suspending world operations for 2 months

The Associated Press

5 years ago

This photo taken from pool video provided by KGO-TV, shows the Grand Princess cruise ship docke ... — This photo taken from pool video provided by KGO-TV, shows the Grand Princess cruise ship docked at the Port of Oakland, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. Thousands of increasingly bored and restless passengers aboard a cruise ship struck by the coronavirus waited for their turn Tuesday to get off the vessel and go into two weeks of quarantine at military bases around the U.S. (KGO-TV via AP, Pool)

MIAMI — Princess Cruises, which had one of its ships quarantined off the coast of Japan last month, is suspending global operations through early May because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cruise line, which is part of Carnival Corp., said Thursday that 18 cruise ships will cease voyages that were scheduled to depart between March 12 and May 10.

Japanese authorities quarantined the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the port of Yokohama for a two weeks after 10 passengers were initially diagnosed with the COVID-19.

The Miami cruise operator said those currently on cruises that will end in the next five days will continue to sail as expected so that travel arrangements aren’t disrupted. Sailings underway that extend past March 17 will end at the most convenient location for guests, factoring in operational requirements.