All Azamara sailings departing on or before 30 June 2021 have been cancelled, the line confirmed on Wednesday (24 February).

The line said it would continue to work with the industry-wide Healthy Sail Panel to plot a course out of the Covid crisis that has beset the cruise sector for the best part of a year.

“Our team is working diligently with Royal Caribbean Group’s Healthy Sail Panel to create a small-ship cruising experience that will protect the wellbeing of our guests and crew yet stay true to the Azamara spirit of connecting people to cultures,” said Azamara.

Guests will have several compensation options; these include accepting 125% future cruise credit they can use to book a new cruise, moving their booking back to 2022, or requesting a full refund.

Royal Caribbean Group agreed a $201 million deal last month to sell Azamara to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which is expected to be closed in the first quarter of the year.

It has since acquired a fourth ship, Carnival Corporation’s Renaissance-class Pacific Princess, which had been operated by Princess Cruises.