Princess Cruises has confirmed it is extending its pause of cruise holidays in Australia and New Zealand through to 17 January 2022 due to “uncertainty around the return of cruising in the region”.

Voyages on Coral Princess up to 27 January 2022 have been cancelled, while seasons for Royal Princess and Sapphire Princess have been postponed through to March 2022.

The update comes after the line revised restart dates for Island Princess and Diamond Princess.

Princess Cruises chief commercial officer Deanna Austin said: “It became apparent we would not be able to deliver planned deployment of Royal Princess and Sapphire Princess in Australia before they were due to start their published northern hemisphere voyages.

“We recognise that guests planning cruises over the popular summer and new year holiday period will be particularly disappointed with the changes, however, we wanted to give guests as much notice as possible so they could plan their holidays with certainty.”

Guests booked on a cancelled cruise have the option to move to an equivalent cruise, choose a future cruise credit equivalent to 100 per cent of the cruise fare paid, or request a full refund to the original form of payment.

Requests for a refund must be received by 31 October 2021 or guests will automatically receive a future cruise credit.

The future cruise credit can be used on any cruise booked by 31 December 2022 and sailing by 30 April 2023.

If the amount of credit is more than the cruise fare of a new booking, guests can use their remaining credit on another cruise of their choice up to the expiration date.

In addition, if the future cruise credit expires, it will be reissued with a new expiration date.

Princess Cruises said it will protect travel agent commission on bookings that were paid in full in recognition of the critical role agents “play in the cruise line’s business and success”.