SEA SICK

Princess Cruises Finally Decides It’s Time to Halt Voyages

One of its ships was home to the first major COVID-19 outbreak outside of China.

Bad news for anyone who still thinks it’s a good idea to go on a cruise smack bang in the middle of a global pandemic. Princess Cruises—the operator that has had two of its boats and thousands of passengers quarantined for novel coronavirus outbreaks—has finally decided to stop ferrying people around the world in tightly packed accommodations. The company announced Thursday it will suspend all operations for two months, according to CNBC; that will affect all voyages on the company’s fleet of 18 ships that were scheduled between March 12 to May 10. One of its ships, the Diamond Princess, became a global news story when it became home to the first major COVID-19 outbreak outside of China. More than 700 of its passengers and crew became infected and several people aboard the ship died. Then, last week, U.S. officials announced 21 cases aboard the Grand Princess, which was moored off the coast of California.