Carnival Corp unit princess Cruises has decided, due to continued uncertainty regarding the timing for the resumption of cruise holidays in the region, that it will cancel cruises in and out of Australia through to December 19th 2021.
For guests booked on a cancelled cruise, Princess will move guests to an equivalent cruise in 2022.
Alternatively, guests can choose a future cruise credit (FCC) equivalent to 100% of the cruise fare paid plus an additional non-refundable bonus FCC equal to 10% of the cruise fare paid, or a full refund to the original form of payment.
Princess Cruises operates a fleet of 14 modern cruise ships,
Meanwhile, another Carnival Corp unit, P&O Cruises Australia, has extended its pause in cruise operations by a further three months until December 17th 2021, “because of ongoing uncertainty around a pathway to resume Australia-only cruising”.
The extension applies to cruises scheduled to depart from September 17th to the new date of December 17th 2021.
P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell said that “these discussions have been underway for some time and we look forward to the opportunity to agree a pathway for starting cruises that carry Australian residents on Australian itineraries”.
Finally, this week Carnival Corp said that it would sell shares worth $500m, using the money raised to purchase ordinary shares of Carnival Plc, trading in the United Kingdom, and for general corporate purposes.
The cruise operator has raised more than $2.5bn in share sales over the past year in order to protect its liquidity.