P&O Cruises and Cunard Line are extending their pause in operations for all sailings up to and including May 15, 2020 as a result of the continued impact of COVID-19.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said:  “It is clear that our original date of April 11 to resume sailings, which would have been a 30 day pause in operations, is just not feasible in light of the government announcements last week.

“Regrettably, therefore, we are now extending this pause until May 15. Given the current guidelines it is prudent and practical to extend the pause until normal operations can be resumed.

“As we work through the evolving restriction on ports around the world future itineraries may be subject to change and so we are looking at how we phase our ships back into service.”

In addition, the restrictions have forced the temporary slow down of work by Meyer Werft in Germany, where the final outfitting on new ship Iona is being completed, according to a statement.

Ludlow continued: “We are working with the team at the shipyard to see exactly how this will impact upon Iona’s delivery.

All guests with a holiday booked up to and including May 15 this year will automatically receive a future cruise credit of 125%.