Boris Johnson’s decision to delay the end of all coronavirus restrictions for up to four more weeks means passenger restrictions remain for operators.
Hundreds of holidaymakers have had domestic cruises cancelled because some ships are overbooked.
A delay in lifting capacity constraints means operators such as P&O Cruises, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean International are among the firms that accepted bookings in excess of the current 1,000-person limit.
They hoped the rule would be relaxed from Monday, but Boris Johnson’s decision to delay the end of all coronavirus restrictions for up to four more weeks means the constraint remains.
Ships operating domestic cruises are only allowed to carry up to 1,000 passengers, or 50% of their capacity if that is lower.
P&O Cruises is operating sailings on Britannia, which can normally carry up to 3,647 guests.
An affected passenger, who did not want to be named, accused the company of being “misleading” by not disclosing how many bookings it was accepting.
The woman, who described herself as “a loyal P&O customer” for more than 12 years, said the firm should have either capped numbers at existing limits, or told guests their bookings were “at risk” of being cancelled.
