Major cruise lines have issued a number of itinerary changes and policy updates due to the coronavirus outbreak over the past week.
On Saturday Seabourn reported that it has replaced a number of Asia port calls on the World Cruise 2020 onboard Seabourn Sojourn with calls in Australia and New Zealand. The changes are as follows:
| Date: | Original Port: | Updated Port: |
| March 22, 2020 | Singapore | Freemantle (Perth), Australia |
| April 3, 2020 | Hong Kong | Melbourne, Australia |
| April 6, 2020 | Manila, Philippines | Hobart (Tasmania), Australia |
| April 13, 2020 | Benoa (Denpasar), Indonesia | Sydney, Australia |
| April 29, 2020 | Sydney, Australia | Auckland, New Zealand |
Earlier in the week, Holland America Line cancelled the remaining cruises of Westerdam’s season in Asia.
The move affects the following four sailings:
- March 14–28, 14-day South Korea and Japan, sailing roundtrip out of Yokohama, Japan.
- March 28–April 11, 14-day Japan Explorer, sailing roundtrip out of Yokohama.
- April 11–25, 14-day Japan and Russia, sailing roundtrip out of Yokohama.
- April 25–May 10, 16-day North Pacific Crossing, sailing Yokohama to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Holland America said it will offer all guests affected by the cancellations a full refund, a 50 percent future cruise credit and reimbursement of cancellation fees. The cruise line also said it will share further itineraries on the ship when they are finalized.
Finally, Norwegian Cruise Line lifted its coronavirus restriction prohibiting guests holding passports from China, Macau or Hong Kong from boarding its ships, effective February 20. Singapore and the Philippines, however, are not currently allowing Chinese nationals to disembark at their ports; as a result, Chinese guests will not be allowed onboard Norwegian ships sailing voyages that disembark in either of those destinations. Those guests will be issued refunds, the cruise line said. Additionally, the cruise line has made a number of itinerary changes and none of the line’s vessels are currently calling to ports in mainland China. All itineraries that call in mainland China for the next six months are currently under review.
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