Cruise ships cancelling sailings due to massive shortage of crew members

Several cruise lines are experiencing problems hiring crew members, resulting in fewer onboard meal options or trip cancellations for some cruise passengers.

During the Great Resignation, "on-land hospitality companies have not been immune to workforce shortages." The lack of available cruise staff is increasingly influencing cruise schedules and onboard facilities.

Holland America has decided to "pace its resumption over the year" due to staffing concerns, according to a spokeswoman. Despite comparable employment challenges, a Royal Caribbean representative said the cruise line has no plans to cancel future itineraries.

Itineraries will not be changed for Carnival attendees. However, this does not guarantee that the cruise line will have a good sailing experience. Carnival will temporarily close two eateries across all of its ships, according to Bloomberg's Fran Golden.

"Due to our rapid restart, we have had to bring back thousands of crew members in a short period of time," a Carnival spokesperson told the media.

"This has resulted in increased government resources being required to process a large number of visa applications and has made it more difficult for us to fully staff some of our departments, such as our culinary team."

According to Claudette Covey of Travel Pulse, Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America, which regularly has over 900 crew members, has fewer than 550 staff. As a result, the cruise line's capacity on the ship in Hawaii has decreased.

Furthermore, a Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman stated that certain passengers on overbooked ships might have to be rebooked on alternate itineraries.

Norwegian has reduced the number of passengers on its Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria ships and cancelled sailings, blaming its hiring issues on the "broader impact of COVID-19."

Although there may not be immediate relief, a Cunard spokeswoman told Insider that the "necessary" cancellations and capacity concerns will be "short term."