As heroes of ‘safe and well’ and in light of the continued impact of COVID-19, we have reviewed our ship operations and following industry recommendations are bringing our ships back to their home port of Southampton (with the exception of Queen Elizabeth where we are reviewing options) and suspending any new cruises until April 11, 2020.
Supporting our colleagues on board and our Guests at this time is our absolute priority and we’ve been in touch with updates on what’s happening and what this means for them.
For our Guests who are currently on board with us, our priority is to get them home, making arrangements for their onward journeys as necessary and of course covering any reasonable out of pocket expenses.
We’re also in the process of reaching out to our partners across all areas of the business, our travel agents, suppliers and port agents, to let them know.
As you can image, our Contact Centre colleagues are inundated with Guest phone and email queries. As requested at your earlier briefing, please contact Resource Planning with your availability and if you have access to POLAR and the team will get back to you.
Following on from your team briefings, here’s what Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises President, and Simon Palethorpe, Cunard President had to say on the announcement:
As you may know, to support the Corporation through this situation, Josh, Carnival UK’s President, has been asked to lead a corporate-wide effort to help the company weather the Covid-19 crisis. While you may not see him as often in Carnival House, he’s in daily contact with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), and while he’s in Miami, Carnival UK is well positioned with the ELT and Senior Leaders at the helm.
“I want to take this opportunity to restate a point I’ve made previously. Despite the challenges we’ve faced, this is a robust business and we’ll come through it all the stronger for it. Our team both ship and shore have performed heroically during this crisis, not only safeguarding our Guests and colleagues, but all the while trying to uphold our purpose and doing so in complete alignment to our core values. It is humbling to see such dedication and pride by everyone involved.”
Josh Weinstein – President, Carnival UK
We know you have questions and we don’t have all the answers yet. We know this is frustrating, but we have shared what we can, alongside other coronavirus information, on The Insider COVID-19 pages.
We’ll keep these pages updated so please check back regularly. We’ll also be starting regular ELT floorwalks over the coming days and weeks to help answer any immediate questions or concerns you may have.
Personal Precautions
You’ve been amazing at supporting each another and continuing to be Guest obsessed during a very difficult time – please continue to be guardians of one another and remain focused on stopping the spread of germs. It’s really important that we continue to practice ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’, and wash our hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.
In these unprecedented times, we’re now focused on protecting the bright future of our brands, weathering this storm and coming out the other side. To do this, we have had to be determined and courageous in making decisions which a few months ago would have seemed impossible.
Now that we have taken this decision, we can begin to prepare for what we do best, which is to provide truly unforgettable holidays. We are now looking at options for our ships after this pause and developing itineraries to continue to deliver wonderful experiences.
Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding and continued support as we seek to do the right thing for our people and Guests and to limit the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Remember, we’ll continue to update our FAQs and other information on our COVID-19 pages on The Insider so please make sure you check back regularly.