Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 will no longer call at Hong Kong on 18 and 19 February, and there may be further itinerary amendments as Cunard assesses the situation. 

It has also banned anyone who has visited mainland China within the past two weeks from boarding its ships, and has starting illness screening of all its passengers.  

A statement released by the cruise line said: “We are very closely monitoring and assessing the impact of the latest developments and health advisories, as well as various travel and entry restrictions which are increasingly impacting ship itineraries and connecting travel.

“We are actively seeking to mitigate these risks to our guests and crew, and are making appropriate adjustments to our operations to protect all onboard our ships.”

Celebrity Cruises also cancelled Celebrity Millennium’s 15 February sailing from Hong Kong and modified the itinerary for Celebrity Constellation’s 1 and 16 February departure from Singapore to Dubai. 

It has also implemented similar precautions to Cunard, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Celebrity said: “We have rigorous medical protocols in place to help passengers and crew members who feel unwell while sailing.

“Our protocols include professional medical treatment; quarantine of unwell individuals from the general ship population; and intensified ship cleaning, air filtration, and sanitisation procedures.

“We are assessing developments constantly and will update these measures, as needed. Guests with questions may contact the customer care department of our individual cruise lines.”

A spokesperson from Celebrity apologised for the disruption to passengers.

This comes after Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess has been quarantined off the coast of Japan with 174 cases of coronavirus onboard.