The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which hit the headlines last year following a mass Covid-19 outbreak off Japan, has seen its return to service delayed until the spring of 2022.
Carnival Corp said it had cancelled the ship’s autumn cruises in South America, which would have marked its return to service, as well as an Antarctica sailing in early 2022.
The 115,900-gt Diamond Princess (built 2004) will now return to service in spring 2022 with a season of Japan sailings. Details of the full sailing programme are to be announced shortly.
Carnival did not respond to a request for comment on the reason for the delay in the resumption of cruises by the Diamond Princess, reported Reuters.
The ship spent weeks quarantined off Japan in 2020 after the ship suffered more than 700 cases of the respiratory illness. Seven people died during the outbreak.
At the time, the ship had the biggest concentration of cases outside of China.
Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the time that the degree of transmissibility on the ship was essentially akin to being in a hot spot.
Princess Cruises, the Carnival subsidiary that operates the Diamond Princess, has also delayed the return to service for its 92,820-gt cruiseship Island Princess (built 2003).
The Island Princess will now return to service with a series of cruises to the Caribbean in the spring of 2022, prior to its 14-day Panama Canal voyage on 27 April.
