Princess Cruises announced return-to-cruise dates for two more ships, Island Princess and Diamond Princess. Both ships will welcome back passengers in spring 2022, but as a result, Princess must cancel those ships’ previously announced 2021-2022 fall and winter itineraries.
“Following our successful restart in Alaska and the UK, we look forward to welcoming our guests back on board as we continue our return to cruise operations, keeping the health and safety of our guests and teammates our top priority,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president, in a press release.
New spring 2022 Princess cruise itineraries
Island Princess will make its post-pandemic debut with Caribbean cruises next spring, followed by a 14-night Panama Canal cruise on April 27, 2022.
Diamond Princess will also restart in spring 2022, but will homeport on the other side of the world for Japan-focused itineraries.
Princess Cruises says that more details will come out shortly about the two ships’ spring cruising seasons.
Diamond Princess and Island Princess will be the line’s ninth and 10th ships to return to cruising. Eight of their fleetmates are already scheduled to restart this summer and fall.
Majestic Princess is currently sailing to Alaska from Seattle, and Regal Princess is sailing short cruises out of Southampton for U.K. residents only. The next Princess ship to debut in the U.S. is Grand Princess, which will sail out of Los Angeles beginning in late September.
Princess’ 2021 sailings will visit Alaska, the Caribbean, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Mexico, and the Panama Canal. For more information on ship launches, check out Cruise.blog’s master list of debut sailings.
Additional Princess cruise cancellations
With the finalized return-to-cruise plan for Island Princess and Diamond Princess, the cruise line must cancel some previously announced itineraries. Canceled sailings include Diamond Princess’ South America and Antarctica cruises in 2021 and 2022, as well as Island Princess’ planned 2022 world cruise. Princess also has canceled two additional Island Princess sailings in December 2021 to the Panama Canal and Caribbean.
Booked passengers on these canceled cruises can choose to move to an equivalent sailing for the same price, receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the fare they paid (valid through December 2022), or request a full refund.
Cruisers must indicate their choice via an online form by September 30, 2021. Guests who do not express their preference will automatically be switched to an alternative itinerary.
Erica Silverstein
Erica Silverstein is a cruise and family travel expert, who has been covering the industry for more than 15 years. Her articles have appeared on Cruise Critic, Porthole, TravelAge West, and USA Today. A staunch advocate of cruising as an ideal family vacation, she has, on occasion, banned her own children from cruising with her.
