Riviera Travel has cancelled seven of its European river cruises due to staff shortages.

The cancelled departures are from 6 – 18 April, on two Netherlands itineraries. Approximately 580 guests are affected, from a total of over 7,000 booked to travel in April.

Riviera says it has also been unable to offer its full à la carte dining service on some sailings.

However, the cruise line said no further cancellations are planned.

A Riviera spokesperson said: “Regrettably, due to circumstances outside of our control, we have had to cancel seven European river cruise departures.

“No further cancellations are planned. We have apologised to those guests who were due to sail with us, and have offered them several compensation and rebooking options in return

“We have apologised to those guests who were due to sail with us, and have offered them several compensation and rebooking options in return.”

“Equally, we haven’t been able to offer a full a la carte dining service on some sailings. We have apologised to all guests on these cruises and given them a free drinks package and a partial refund, or a discount on a future cruise.”

It implied the problems were due to difficulties recruiting staff, with delays processing visas for crew and ‘higher than expected’ COVID-related absences.

However, it said: “The feedback we’ve had from guests onboard currently is very positive, in regards both to our response and the overall cruise experience. The situation is improving rapidly, and by next week we expect to be able to offer our full a la carte dining experience again.

“We’re very sorry to all affected guests, and continue to work hard to put things right. We’d like to thank them once again for their understanding and patience, which has been greatly appreciated.

“We would also like to thank our travel agent partners for all their support, and are keeping them and their customers updated.”