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Princess Cruises has announced that due to the new coronavirus it will pause global operations of its 18 cruise ships for 60 days, affecting trips departing March 12 to May 10.

Viking Cruises made a similar announcement Thursday, stating it “will temporarily suspend river and ocean cruise operations until May 1.” Viking said travelers who had bookings March 12 to April 30 could opt for refunds or vouchers for a future cruise.

Cruise ships have been particularly hard hit amid the new pandemic and have been turned away by dozens of ports and countries.

Japanese authorities quarantined the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the port of Yokohama for a two weeks after 10 passengers were initially diagnosed with the COVID-19.

Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said in a statement that “by taking this bold action of voluntarily pausing the operations of our ships, it is our intention to reassure our loyal guests, team members and global stakeholders of our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of all who sail with us.”

Passengers now on a Princess cruise that will end in the next five days will continue to sail as expected through the end of the itinerary. Current voyages that extend beyond March 17 will be ended at the most convenient location for guests, the company said.

Under normal operations, the cruise line, which is part of Carnival Corp., serves more than 50,000 passengers a day.

baiduhai staff contributed.