The line said it had made the decision “in light of the recent announcement from the UK government”, which advised over-70s with underlying health issues not to take cruise holidays.
“Along with many other cruise and travel companies, we are facing challenging and unprecedented times in our industry as a result of the ongoing global Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak,” Fred Olsen said in a statement.
“As more ports across the world close to cruise ships, it is becoming more challenging for us to offer our guests the holiday experience that we promised them.”
A full refund or a future cruise voucher costing up to 125% of the original fare is being offered.
Fred’s river ship Brabant is not affected by the pause in operations and its season will commence as planned on 6 April.
