Cunard has cancelled some guest bookings due to staff shortages on Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 (pictured above).

The cruise line said it needed to limit guest capacity on the three ships ‘in order to deliver its signature impeccable service’, according to the blog Cruise Hive.

Many cruise lines are struggling to fully staff their ships due to COVID-related travel restrictions and sickness.

P&O Cruises was forced to take one of its ships, Arcadia, out of service for several weeks due to a general staff shortage.

And Cunard had already delayed Queen Victoria’s return to service from 22 April to 5 June.

In a communication to guests, seen by Cruise Hive, Cunard said: “As you may have seen in the news, the wider impact of COVID-19 is affecting hospitality and is disrupting airlines and as such this is impacting the number of crew members we are able to get to our ships.”

“We naturally want to ensure that all guests across the fleet experience the high standards of service on board that they would expect from Cunard and which we are committed to delivering.

“We are therefore limiting the number of guests sailing as we build crew numbers back up.”

Cunard has not confirmed how many bookings have been cancelled, but Cruise Hive said it understood the cancellations were on cruises due to take place in June and July, all of which will still go ahead but with fewer cabins occupied.

Travel Gossip has approached Cunard for a comment.