Marella Cancels All Asia Cruises

TUI has announced that it has cancelled all Marella Cruises in Asia until further notice

TUI has cancelled all Marella Cruises in Asia and cut short its latest sailing on the Discovery due to the restrictions being placed on cruise ships in the region because of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
In an announcement on social media, the operator said it was trying to arrange to fly Marella passengers home.

It is understood the operator is attempting to find flights back to the UK from Singapore or Laem Chabang in Thailand.

All further cruises on Discovery will be cancelled until April 9, when the ship is due to sail from Dubai.

TUI said ports in Asia are closing as countries divert medical resources to hospitals and clinics.

Countries that are currently not accepting cruise ships include India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, while Vietnam has tightened its entry requirements, which is making it difficult for cruise ships to operate.

In a tweet, TUI said: “Due to the restrictive measures now in place for cruise ships across Asia we have taken the difficult decision to cancel all Marella Cruises due to sail to the region.

“With Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India no longer accepting cruise ships and other countries making entry requirements that would severely impact our customer’s [sic] holidays, we can no longer offer the itineraries people have booked, or offer comparable alternatives.

“We have also decided to curtail the current sailing of Marella Discovery and are working hard to get passengers flights back to the UK.

“We are in contact with all customers affected. All other Marella Cruises continue to operate as usual.”

Customers should refer to the specially created webpage for more information.

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