President and chief executive Roberto Martinoli said Silversea hoped to operate Silver Moon, which had been due to launch in August, by October, with the ship’s sailings until 2 October cancelled.

Meanwhile Silver Origin, slated to launch in July, will now sail later this year – with itineraries cancelled through to 22 August.

Martinoli said Silversea’s three vessels on order - Silver Dawn [launching in 2021] and two Evolution-class ships, the first of which is set to launch in 2022 – were unaffected.

“I would expect we will have a clearer picture by the end of the summer, when we are back to a normal operation and able to work on our expansion plans - which will be quite interesting and aggressive,” he said. “Business is very difficult in the short term but medium to long term it is high.”

Discussing how the coronavirus crisis could impact its future pricing, chief marketing officer Barbara Muckermann insisted Silversea would not be offering “massive discounts” to lure customers.

“We feel that this would be a mistake. Our product is the best out there in the market and it needs to be priced right… yes, younger cruisers might be enticed by lower prices but that is not going to be at the centre of our future strategy.”

Muckermann revealed older Silversea guests were more likely to opt for its future cruise credit, with younger customers choosing refunds.

She said bookings for 2021 were doing well “under the circumstances” with the older generation “booking with a higher frequency than younger customers”.

Compared with 2019, the line is now seeing a “much higher” number of customers aged 61-80 booking for 2021. “It’s not a question of age but of traveller experience,” Muckermann added.