Coronavirus-hit Princess Cruises to suspend operations after Diamond Princess and Grand Princess were quarantined
- Operator’s ships were quarantined after becoming infection hotbeds
- Finland’s Viking Line also pauses operations as cruise industry struggles amid outbreak
Princess Cruises, the operator of two ocean liners that were quarantined after they became hotbeds for coronavirus infections, said on Thursday it would suspend voyages of all its 18 ships for two months.
The suspension upends an industry already struggling with cancellations following the outbreak, and comes after Finland’s Viking Line temporarily paused operations of its river ships and ocean liners around the world.
“Never … in the 20 years I have served in this company, have we been tested in ways we have been tested over the past 40 days,” Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said on the operator’s official YouTube channel, addressing the decision to suspend operations.
“This is perhaps the most difficult decision in our history.”
Shares of parent Carnival Corp, which have already lost over half their value since the start of the year, tumbled a further 18 per cent. Rivals Royal Caribbean Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings were also down.
The crisis at Princess Cruises deepened last week after one of its ships, The Grand Princess, was denied entry to San Francisco Bay en route back from Hawaii as authorities learned some passengers and crew had developed flu-like symptoms.