Marriott, the world’s largest hotel company, has issued a statement addressing the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson told travelers that “we know travel may not be your first thought, but I want you to know the safety of our guests and associates is our top priority.”

The company said travelers should “have confidence when you book a stay at any of our hotels across the globe that we are doing everything we can to have accommodations ready for you.”

It was a no doubt uncomfortable but important note for Sorenson, as travel demand has unsurprisingly shrunk as the world looks to “flatten the curve” of the global pandemic. 

Sorenson said the company was closely monitoring the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the latest developments on the novel coronavirus. 

“We are reinforcing these agencies’ recommendations on the appropriate health and safety measures with our own hotel management teams and the hotel operators in our portfolio,” he said. 

Crucially, for guests with existing reservations, the CEO said changes could be made without a charge up to 24 hours before arrival, he said, so long as the change was made by April 30. 

For new reservations through the end of next month, the company said it would be allowing those reservations to be changed or canceled without charge up to one day before arrival. 

Marriott said it was working to “ensure” it was meeting the latest guidance from the CDC on cleaning and hygiene.

“Whenever you travel, we are waiting with open doors and open hearts to serve you,” Sorenson said. 

— CJ

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Cruise giant Royal Caribbean has announced the suspension of its cruises in the United States for 30 days, as the major cruise lines have shut down their regional operations in the midst of the growing coronavirus pandemic.

The move effectively shuts down cruises to the Caribbean region for at least the next month.

“We understand the gravity of the public health crisis confronting the country,” the company said in a statement, referring to the Coronavirus pandemic. And this is our part to play,” the company said. 

Royal Caribbean cruises officially paused at midnight on Friday. 

Cruises that had departed before that time continued their scheduled itineraries, however, with US-based ships already at sea concluding their itineraries as planned. 

“We are reaching out to our guests to help them work through this disruption to their vacations, and we are truly sorry for their inconvenience,” Royal Caribbean said. “We are also communicating with our crew to work out the issues this decision presents for them. We know this adds great stress to our guests, employees and crew, and we are working to minimize the disruption.”

Royal Caribbean (along with its umbrella of brands) s the latest major cruise operator to suspend operations amid the Coronavirus outbreak; another major carrier, MSC Cruises announced it would be suspending all Miami-Caribbean cruises from March 14-May 1, according to a statement from Port St Maarten.

Other cruise giants to suspend operations include Norwegian Cruise Line, which announced the move in a letter on Friday night, along with Costa Cruises, among others. Disney, too, has shut down its cruises.

Norwegian Cruise Line said it was planning to resume cruises beginning April 12. 

“The health, safety and well-being of our guests and crew is our highest priority. While we have not had any confirmed cases across our 17-ship fleet and are taking this measure in an abundance of caution, we felt it necessary to do our part,” NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer said. “Working closely and in partnership with local, state, federal and global agencies, we are committed to taking all appropriate steps and actions to combat the spread of COVID-19.”

Carnival was the latest line to announce a suspension, with plans to relaunch April 10.

The Carnival shutdown includes Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Cunard Line, among others.

A top boutique cruise operator, Windstar, announced it, too, would be pausing operations, with plans to resume May 1.

“Our business is providing great vacations and creating great memories. We look forward to getting back to work as soon as we can,” the company said. 

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Canadian travel giant Sunwing says it has revised its summer flight schedule to operate without the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane. 

The new schedule, which runs through the end of October, has been “reconfigured ahead of time to accommodate the non-availability of this aircraft type.”

It comes in the midst of a continued worldwide grounding of the 737 Max 8. 

“Proactively revising our summer schedule will ensure that we can offer our customers the same exceptional value and award-winning inflight experience they have been accustomed to. Until the end of October, all Sunwing Airlines flights will be operated on our Boeing 737-800 airplanes with their distinctive orange tails,” said Andrew Dawson,  Sunwing’s president of tour operations. 

“With these changes, our customers should feel more confident about booking their vacations or destination weddings early and taking advantage of the great deals,” Dawson said. 

The company said that, should the Max 8 become available, it would “evaluate opportunities to add capacity or reintegrate the aircraft into the fleet at that time.”

Sunwing operates a massive flight network from Canada to the Caribbean and Mexico.

The company has also announced that it has launched a flexible reservation policy in light of the novel coronavirus. 

— CJ

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Belize has many eco-resorts in its unspoiled rainforests — Chaa Creek and the Ka’Ana Resort, to name a couple of outstanding examples — but this Central American nation also has hundreds of miles of Caribbean coastline on its eastern border, as well as hotspots like Ambegris Caye and Caye Culker in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. And where there’s beach in Belize you’ll find beach resorts, from Belize City and San Pedro in the north to Hopkins and Placencia in the south.

Cayo Espanto By Belizean resort standards, Cayo Espanto has been around forever — the opening of this private island resort off the coast of San Pedro 22 years ago helped put luxury travel to Belize’s islands on the map. This tiny island has just seven villas (including one overwater villa) and — with a two-to-one staff to guest ratio — surrounds guests with service, from butler-delivered meals and spa treatments to outdoor activities that include wading into the shallow waters off the island for guided fly fishing, and snorkeling, scuba diving and boating on and around the nearby Mesoamerican Reef and the famous Blue Hole.

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