P&O Cruises and luxury cruise line Cunard are extending its pause in operations up to and including July 31 2020 as a result of the continued impact of COVID-19.
All P&O Cruises? guests with a holiday booked up to and including July 31 this year will automatically receive a 125% future cruise credit (FCC). FCCs may be used for any sailing up to the end of March 2022 for any sailing (subject to availability) with bookings to be made before the end of December 2021.
Paul Ludlow, president of P&O Cruises, said: ?With the current lockdown in place and Government guidelines around the world advising against travel it is necessary to extend the pause in our operations for all sailings up to and including July 31 2020.?
?In the meantime, pending more clarity on the longer-term impact of COVID-19 and timing on the world?s return to normality, we are considering the evolving advice as well as potential restrictions in ports of call as we look at how and when we phase our ships back into service.?
P&O Cruises adheres to relevant measures and guidelines to protect everyone on board. ?These new stringent measures will be in place as soon as we reintroduce our ships and we will all get used to them in the same way as we got used to airline hand luggage restrictions. They will become the new normal and they will give our guests and crew reassurance and peace of mind.?
Ludlow continued: ?To give our guests maximum flexibility, FCCs can now be used against a second cabin so guests may bring friends or family or else they can upgrade an existing booking. In addition and following feedback, guests can also now gift or transfer the FCC by simply contacting either their travel agent or us, if they booked direct.
For further details on FCCs, visit www.pocruises.com
For the ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, Cunard is cancelling all sailings that were due to depart up to and including July 31 2020.
Simon Palethorpe, president, Cunard, commented: ?These are extraordinary times and this global outbreak continues to challenge Cunard and the travel industry as a whole.?
Cunard will be communicating with all guests and their travel advisors, who are booked on affected voyages.
Cunard guests who are booked on cancelled voyages will automatically be given a 125% future cruise credit. This may be used on any sailing before the end of March 2022. This covers all the departures currently on sale. Guests may now also use their Future Cruise Credit for a second cabin to bring friends or family or to upgrade an existing booking.
For more details, go to www.cunard.com
Cunard will continue to monitor government guidelines and travel restrictions around the world, and may decide on further changes to the timing of when each of the ships returns to service.
Image credit: natlas/Flickr
