Norwegian, Regent, Oceania cruise lines extend suspensions, won’t sail until Nov. 1
Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises have extended their global sailing suspensions through Oct. 31, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the parent company of the three lines, announced in a release Wednesday.
Like Carnival Corp.’s Princess Cruises, the three lines have extended their suspensions past the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s “no-sail” order, which is set to expire on Sept. 30.
In June, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. extended its suspension through the end of September before the CDC issued an extended order in July.
The cruise company also announced it plans to provide an update at the end of each month regarding cruise cancellations and potential sailing suspension extensions “in an effort to provide additional transparency,” it said in the release.
Any guests who are booked on affected sailings are encouraged to reach out to the cruise line on which they were booked or to their travel agents. Refund details were not provided.
In an effort to deal with the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings launched the “Healthy Sail Panel” with Royal Caribbean Group, with the goal of looking at every facet of safety, from whether ultraviolet lights can effectively kill the virus to how to improve meal service.
There’s “not one silver bullet” when it comes to making a ship safer, said Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “This is layers on top of layers on top of layers.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Norwegian for comment on the suspension extension.
Contributing: Chris Woodyard
Leave a Reply