Princess Cruises Cancels Entire Sapphire Princess Summer Season from Los Angeles

(5:05 p.m. EDT) -- Princess Cruises cancelled the entire summer season of Sapphire Princess, delaying the ship's return to service.

Impacted are 11 sailings from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera, California Coast and Hawaii, which had been scheduled to embark between June 25 and September 17, 2022.

"While we continue to work diligently in preparing the ship to set sail, there have been some delays that are affecting her timeframe for resuming guest operations," Princess cruises said in a statement.

Sapphire Princess has not returned to service since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down cruising around the world in March 2020. The 2,670-passenger ship is now scheduled to return to service on a 10-day Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez sailing, embarking on Los Angeles, on September 24, 2022.

Passengers on the cancelled seven- to 16-night sailings from Los Angeles are being offered incentives to rebook by May 31, 2022, on sailings embarking by the end of the year.

The incentives are in the form of an onboard credit (for the first and second guests in a cabin). They are: $100 per person for inside or oceanview staterooms; $200 per person for balcony staterooms; and $300 per person for mini-suite or suites. There is also the option of full refunds.

On its website, Princess Cruises said guests may be able to recoup their other travel expenses, advising: "Most airlines and other travel-related services such as hotels, transportation, and tours are allowing refunds or waiving change fees due to COVID-19; guests should work directly with those operators regarding their charges."

The cruise line did not offer a further explanation for the Sapphire Princess delay.

"We take great pride in providing exceptional vacations for our guests and know this is disappointing news" Princess Cruises aid in its posted notice. "We look forward to welcoming our guests on board Sapphire Princess when she resumes service in September and sincerely apologize to those guests impacted by these changes."

According to cruisemapper.com, the Sapphire Princess is currently anchored off the coast of Cyprus.