Celestyal Cruises has announced further suspension of all its sailings until the next season, which commences on March 6, 2021.
Up until April, Celestyal Cruises had suspended sailings until the end of June, following on from a decision to temporarily suspend cruise operations in mid-March, due to COVID-19.
For pre-booked cruises which have already been postponed, a future cruise credit (FCC), valued at 120% of the original booking value, will be provided to passengers who have already paid. Guests will be able to redeem their future cruise credit until the end of December 2021, against any of the Celestyal Cruises? itineraries, valid till the end of December 2022. If they are not able to redeem their credit by the end of December 2021, they will receive a full refund of the original amount they paid, once the voucher expires. For new bookings made until August 31 this year, provided the booking is changed 30 days before the sailing date, a future cruise credit of 100% of the value received by Celestyal, will be issued back to the guest. The credit can be used for any cruise that sets sail till December 31, 2022.
Leslie Peden, chief commercial officer for Celestyal Cruises, said: ?As the core of our season runs from spring through to the autumn, we were optimistic that we would be able to resume our cruise operations later this summer. However, given the prevailing uncertainty regarding travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing discussions at the European Union regarding enhanced health protocols that will apply to EU cruise operations, we made the difficult but prudent decision to postpone resuming cruise operations until the scheduled start of our normal spring season next year.?
"We felt that as a company, we have already put our travel partners and guests through enough date changes. By voluntarily pausing operations until next year, Celestyal will be better positioned to offer more clarity and certainty to our valued partners and guests. We will now shift our full attention to developing both 2021 and 2022 businesses, where we are seeing encouraging signs of pent-up demand, so that we are well prepared to implement enhanced health protocols, established by the EU and the countries where we operate. While we appreciate and share the disappointment of our guests, the wellbeing of everybody involved in the business, takes precedence over everything else,? Mr Peden added.
