Several cruise lines are having difficulty hiring crew members, leaving some cruise-goers with fewer onboard dining choices or cancelled trips.
On-land hospitality companies have not been immune to worker shortages” amid the Great Resignation. And now, a shortage of available cruise workers is affecting cruise itineraries and onboard amenities.
As a result of staffing issues, Holland America has decided to “pace its restart over the year,” a spokesperson told Insider. Although Royal Caribbean’s spokesperson acknowledged similar difficulties in hiring up, the cruise line does not plan to cancel future itineraries.
Carnival guests will also be spared itinerary changes. However, this does not guarantee smooth sailing for the cruise line. Across all of its ships, Carnival will temporarily shut down two restaurants, Fran Golden reported for Bloomberg.
“Due to our rapid restart, we have had to bring back thousands of crew members in a short period of time, which has resulted in greater government resources needed 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,” a Carnival spokesperson told Insider.
Similarly, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, which typically has over 900 crew members, has fewer than 550 workers, according to Claudette Covey for Travel Pulse. As a result, the cruise line has reduced the ship’s capacity in Hawaii. In addition, some guests on overbooked ships may have to be rebooked on different itineraries; a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson told Insider.
Norwegian has limited the number of guests and cancelled sailings on its Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria ships, blaming the “broader impact of COVID-19” on its hiring difficulties. There may not be an immediate relief in sight, but a Cunard spokesperson has told Insider that these “necessary” cancellations and capacity issues will be “short term.”