Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Costa Cruises suspend operations due to coronavirus

Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines are both suspending all cruises for the next 30 days. The decision comes as officials recommend people forgo taking cruises during the coronavirus outbreak.

Royal Caribbean says the suspension will start at midnight between Friday night and Saturday morning.

It says international cruises will continue to operate and ships already at sea will finish their itineraries.

The suspension is also effective immediately for Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines for voyages with embarkation dates from March 13 through April 11, 2020.

A statement from NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer reads in part, “As I have said many times before, the health, safety and well-being of our guests and crew is our highest priority. While we have not had any confirmed cases across our 17-ship fleet and are taking this measure in an abundance of caution, we felt it necessary to do our part.”

NCL also owns Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises and ships in those fleets are also affected.

Costa Cruises also announced on Friday that it will voluntary put on hold the global operations of ships, impacting voyages through April 3.

Cruises currently underway will end their current cruise only to allow guests to disembark and return to their homes.

Affected customers will receive a voucher for a future cruise credit.

Thursday, Princess Cruises, which is part of Miami-based Carnival Corp., voluntarily paused operations of its 18 cruise ships for 60 days from March 12 to May 10.

The measure comes in the wake of the government cruise warning and the infection and quarantine of passengers from two Princess ships.