Princess Cruises has cancelled ports of call in Ukraine and West Africa amid political unrest and the continuing risk of Ebola.
The cruise liner has cut two ports of call in Ukraine; scheduled calls to both Yalta and Odessa have been replaced with visits to Khios, Greece and Romania.
In a statement to Julie Benson, vice president of public relations at Princess Cruises, said: “In light of the ongoing political unrest, we made the early decision to cancel these calls and modify the itinerary.” In total, 12 sailings have been changed.”
Princess is not the first line to call of scheduled visits to the country with Azamara Club Cruises, Oceania and Windstar Cruises also cancelling their stops in the nation.
As Ukraine’s political unrest continues, it is unknown when liners will start to feel more comfortable about visiting the area but it is not the only issue they have to deal with at the moment.
Ebola has continued to make the news for a number of weeks now, with cases of the suspected virus emerging in many different areas of the globe.
This has put the travel industry on red alert, causing them to step up their preventative measures and stay away from areas known to have cases of the disease.
Princess Cruises is the latest liner to change its journeys as a result of the disease, with the company cancelling calls in Cotonou, Benin; Lome, Togo; Tema, Ghana; and Dakar, Senegal.
In a statement to passengers, Princess Cruises said: “As you may know, there has been an epidemic of Ebola virus disease in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.”
The liner said the safety and well-being of travelers is the “top priority”, adding that it is working closely with the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
What do you think of these cancellations? Have you ever suffered from one yourself? Let us know below!
