Citing staffing issues, Princess Cruises announced the cancellation of 11 cruises scheduled for the Diamond Princess.
Originally set to resume on September 1, the vessel was set to offer a program of San Diego-based cruises to Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the West Coast.
“Over the past year we have operated hundreds of cruises thanks to the tens of thousands of our Princess team members that have rejoined our fleet to deliver exceptional Princess vacations. However, like others in the global travel industry we have experienced some labor challenges,” the company said in a prepared statement.
“With rising occupancy levels on the ships that have already returned to service and our commitment to guarantee the Princess experience is exceptional, Princess has made the difficult decision to cancel a limited number of voyages on the Diamond Princess beginning September 1, 2022 through November 13, 2022,” it continued.
As a result, the vessel is now scheduled to resume service on November 20 with a seven-night cruise to Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez departing from San Diego.
“This will provide us with the additional time needed to overcome our labor challenges,” Princess added.
Affected guests are being offered three different options.
In addition to a full refund to their original method of payment, passengers can opt to transfer their booking to a selected replacement cruise and receive $100 onboard spending money per person or receive a refundable Future Cruise Credit (FCC).
The FCC will be valued at 100% of the amount of the original cruise fare and can be used on any voyage booked by and sailed by December 31, 2023. Guests opting for this alternative will also receive a $100 non-refundable onboard spending money to be used on their future sailing.
With most of its fleet now sailing again, Princess still has two ships out of service. In addition to the Diamond Princess, the Sapphire Princess is currently laid-up.
The vessel is scheduled to welcome guests back on September 24, offering a series of cruises on the West Coast.
