P&O Cruises Australia Extending its Pause in Operations to December

MIAMI, Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- P&O Cruises Australia is extending its rolling pause in operations from Australia to 2 December this year as the cruise line continues to take guidance from authorities, public health experts and society on restarting sailing.

And to support guests' peace-of-mind during these times, P&O has extended its flexible payment and cancellation policy - called 'P&O Assurance' – even further to the end of next year's summer holidays.   Guests can now cancel their booking for any reason up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled date of departure for sailings to 31 January, 2021 and receive a future cruise credit to the value of the fare paid.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said extending the rolling pause until 2 December (inclusive) – and the start of summer - was aimed at providing our guests with an opportunity to plan ahead.

"It is clear that society is not yet ready to return to sailing and we will continue to liaise with governments and public health experts as all align on how people should gather and holiday," Mr Myrmell said.

"Like our loyal guests, we remain hopeful that the start of summer will bring new opportunities for the entire travel and tourism industry, which contributes so much to many regional economies around Australia.

"We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of our guests who are looking forward to being back onboard as much as we are.  In the meantime, we are trying to provide guests with as much certainty as possible and flexibility around their bookings while we all wait for the day when cruising resumes."

The latest changes in operations are:

The extended pause in operations will affect the following cruises:

Pacific Adventure: V061, V062 and V063
Pacific Explorer: X047, X048, X049, X050 and X051
Pacific Dawn: W054, W055N, W056N, W058 and W059
Pacific Aria: A052, A053, A054, A055, A056, A057 and A058

Booking and refund options for cancelled cruises from 27 August, 2020

P&O will make contact with guests whose cruises have been affected, either directly or via their appointed travel agent, to let them know of this development and the options available to them.

Guests who have not yet received an offer in response to a cruise that was cancelled during P&O's pause in operations are entitled to a full refund or bonus onboard credit if they choose a future cruise credit. All guests on select cruises including the popular Melbourne Cup itinerary, can opt to move their booking to the same time next year and receive bonus onboard credit.

P&O will pay refunds back to travel agents for guests who booked through that channel. The cruise line will also protect travel agent commissions on all bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full as at 26 August, 2020 and for the total amount of the future cruise credits.

Guests with bookings affected by the pause in operations, can track the progress of their future cruise credit or refund request via a new tracking tool found on P&O's website.

SOURCE P&O Cruises