Cruise Line Pulls Out Of Asia Amid Growing COVID Concerns

Celebrity Cruises is one of the first cruise lines to cancel all of its 2022 sailings in Asia, as well as those in the first half of 2023, as COVID concerns in the region continue to grow.

The Miami-based cruise line, which is the largest in the world, attributed the cancelations to “ongoing uncertainty” in the region amid rising cases of the virus, Travel Weekly reported.

In a notice sent to travel agents late Monday, Celebrity Cruises said that all Celebrity Solstice cruises to Asia, starting in September, were canceled.

The cruise ship was slated to carry 2,850 passengers for each sailing for the coming year and would now be cruising to the Mexican Riviera, according to the notice.

The Celebrity Solstice cruise ship had been slated to sail to Asia from Vancouver, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong from September 2022 to April 2023.

Passengers affected by the Asia cruise cancelations with Celebrity Cruises have a month to rebook another Asia sailing in 2023 to 2024, or they can receive a full refund if they do not rebook by May 12, Travel Weekly said.

“We thank our guests for their patience and understanding as the world continues to reopen and we continue to work through unique circumstances,” a Celebrity Cruises spokesperson told the news outlet.

The news of the cruise cancelations comes as many ports in Asia remain closed to ships due to COVID risks despite North America and Europe rolling back cruise travel restrictions.

At the end of March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped cruise ship travel from its COVID travel warnings for Americans.

Celebrity Cruises is not the only cruise line that has cut sailing in Asia, as Royal Caribbean has also canceled some cruises to the region.

Royal Caribbean announced earlier in 2022 that its Voyager of the Seas ship would return to North America and not sail to Asia and Australia due to the COVID pandemic situation in the regions. The ship carries 4,269 passengers.