Cruise line Fred. Olsen has revealed it is pushing back the maiden voyage of new cruise ship Borealis in 2021, due to ongoing travel restrictions during the pandemic and a third national lockdown in England.
Borealis, one of the highly-anticipated new cruise ships set to launch in 2021, was originally set to sail from April 23 on a six-night itinerary to the Scottish Lochs.
Now, she will instead sail from Liverpool on May 22 for a seven-night 'Sailing Around Iconic Ireland' cruise. The company said it would contact affected passengers and offer a number of options including a full 'no quibble' refund.
Borealis will still be the first Fred Olsen ship to resume sailings, with other new ship Bolette set to sail a week later. It means that while Fred Olsen had originally planned to restart cruises in April, this will now be May.
Fred. Olsen isn't the only cruise line to have pushed back the resuming of cruises. In fact, most cruise lines around the world have been forced to cancel cruises or suspend operations due to ongoing restrictions - we've got a guide to when cruise lines plan to restart.
Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: "When we announced our new ‘back in service’ plans in December, we had every confidence in these new dates based on the information available to us at the time.
"“Since then, we have seen a third national lockdown imposed, and this must be taken into consideration for our plans in returning to service.
"Deferring Borealis ’ return allows us a little more time to consider and understand the developments around Covid-19, including the roll-out of the vaccine, and how this will reflect how we operate.
"We were also conscious that guests on sailings in April and early May would be due to pay their final balances soon, which is why we have taken this decision now.
"We are really looking forward to welcoming our guests back on board with us in 2021, and I would like to stress that we will not do so until we are confident that the time is right."
At the time of writing, the Foreign Office continues to advise Brits against cruise ship travel during the pandemic.
