Carnival Corporation’s German brand AIDA Cruises has been forced to abandon plans to resume sailing from this week.
The delay in the resumption came as a Covid-19 outbreak was confirmed on a Hurtigurten vessel in Norway and an incident on the Paul Gauguin ship in the Pacific.
Two AIDA ships were due to return to service with short cruises on August 5 and 12.
But the company said “Contrary to our expectations, the final formal approval for the start of the short trips from August 5, 2020 by our flag state Italy is still pending.
“Unfortunately, we therefore have to cancel the planned short trips with AIDAperla and AIDAmar with departure dates between August 5 and 12, 2020.”
The line insisted: “The concepts and certifications for the restart of our cruise operation have been successfully developed and confirmed with the responsible authorities.
“After intensive preparations with the support of many national and international authorities and health experts, we have developed comprehensive concepts for the restart and implemented all increased hygiene standards and measures to protect against Covid-19 on board our ships.
“We very much regret this delay. We would have loved to welcome our guests back on board from August 5, 2020.
“We assume that we will receive the last formal approval by the flag state Italy in a timely manner.”
AIDA added: “All guests whose trip cannot take place as originally scheduled will be informed immediately.
“AIDA very much wants guests to enjoy their AIDA holidays at a later date. To this end, we offer our guests the opportunity to rebook to a different cruise from our wide range of travel offers. AIDA appreciates guests for their confidence by offering them an on-board credit of 50% of the actual travel price.
“We will automatically reimburse the travel price already paid and all services already booked.”