Carnival PLC (LON:CCL) has cancelled cruises for the whole summer for some brands and for the rest of the year for others, following criticism of its plans to return in late summer.
The Anglo-US group said it had cancelled all Europe, Canadian and Alaskan cruises for its Holland America line for 2020.
Princess Cruises will not run throughout the summer, with some that had been planned for autumn around Japan, Australia, Hawaii and French Polynesia cancelled too.
The ‘ultra luxury’ Seabourn brand is planned to resume in October and November.
READ: Carnival on back foot over plans to resume cruises in August
Earlier in the week, the group responded to criticism over its plans to restart cruises, with the restricted confines of these holidays having been cited a major cause of the spread of coronavirus by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which extended its no-sail order until 24 July.
Carnival’s cruise ships saw more than 1,500 coronavirus infections and numerous deaths from the virus, with the Diamond Princess quarantined for 27 days in Tokyo Bay with 3,700 passengers trapped aboard.
Carnival is being investigated by the CDC over how quickly it reacted once the scale of the coronavirus outbreak became clear.
Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said in Thursday’s statement: “As the world is still preparing to resume travel, it is with much disappointment that we announce an extension of our pause of global ship operations and the cancellation of cruise vacations for our loyal guests.”
He pointed to limited flight connections and closures of many cruise ports.
Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, did not lay it on quite so thick, saying: “As we continue to navigate through these unprecedented and challenging times, the best decision right now is to extend our pause in cruise operations into the fall.”