Costa Cruises plans to steer clear of South America for the first time in seven decades due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Carnival Corp's Italian brand has cancelled itineraries for the 3,780-berth Costa Fascinosa (built 2012), 2,826-berth Costa Luminosa and 3,780-berth Costa Pacifica (both built 2009) to the continent from November to April.

"We are planning a staggered approach across our fleet with our return to cruising to various markets by our brands, so this is part of the process as Costa looks at its broader cruise plans in the short term and going forward," spokesman Roger Frizzell told TradeWinds.