KEY POINTS

  • The Baltic season for Princess Cruises' Regal Princess cruise got canceled due to the war in Ukraine
  • The company is offering two compensation options and a special 10% discount for future voyages to affected guests
  • The Regal Princess' sister ship, the Royal Princess, also canceled some of its sailings due to deployment changes

The war in Ukraine has forced Princess Cruises to cancel one of its Royal-class ships' voyages next year.

A total of 18 itineraries are affected by the cancellation of Regal Princess' Baltic season from April 9, 2023, to Sept. 3, 2023, Cruise Hive reported.

"In light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Regal Princess’ 2023 Baltic Program out of Copenhagen," Princess Cruises said in a statement.

The company also canceled six sailings for the Regal Princess' sister ship, Royal Princess, from Sept. 5, 2023, to Oct. 10, 2023. The Asian cruises that got canceled due to recent deployment changes included departures out of Hong Kong, Brisbane and Sydney.

Princess Cruises is offering two compensation options for affected Regal Princess guests.

The first option is a 100% Future Cruise Credit (FCC), which can be used on a future cruise departing by Dec. 31, 2024.

The second option is a full refund of the cruise fare paid, but this must be requested using an online form by July 15, or guests will automatically get the FCC option.

Princess Cruises is also extending a special 10% discount off any cruise up to 15 days long sailing through Dec. 31, 2023 to affected guests regardless of which option they choose.

Guests impacted by the Royal Princess cancellations are offered the same two compensation options and a 10% voyage discount.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has affected other cruise companies aside from Princess Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Carnival Corporation have all canceled planned itineraries scheduled to visit Russian ports of call following the outbreak of the war.

Cruise companies such as MSC, Atlas Ocean Voyages and Windstar Cruises have also chosen not to have their ships visit the Russian port city of St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, other companies like Costa Cruises and Holland America Line have offered some of their ships to help refugees seeking shelter from Russia's invasion.

Ukraine has pleaded with Western governments to send more heavy weapons to shore up its faltering defences
Ukraine has pleaded with Western governments to send more heavy weapons to shore up its faltering defences AFP / ARIS MESSINIS
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