Like the rest of the travel industry, river cruise operators are hunkered down in survival mode, hoping the Covid-19 pandemic subsides in time for them to open their European river season come summer.
"It's a wait-and-see right now," said Marcus Leskovar, executive vice president of Amadeus River Cruises. "It's hard."
Avalon Waterways and its parent, Globus, were among the first travel companies to pull the plug on all travel through the end of June.
Avalon managing director Pamela Hoffee said it was "a challenging decision to make, but we think the right one in terms of looking forward for our guests, thinking about their comfort levels."
Others have been hesitant to cancel sailings beyond May.
Ellen Bettridge, CEO of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, said she remains optimistic about getting a least some of her boats sailing by June.
Rudi Schreiner, president of AmaWaterways, said the word from Europe is that river lines could indeed be sailing by June or July. But the question for operators that cater to the U.S. market is when Americans will be able to travel to Europe again.
Schreiner said 95 percent of his clients come from North America.
Indeed, without Americans, the European river cruise market will be hit hard.
New research from IG River shows that U.S. travelers made up close to 36.7% of the 1.79 million people who sailed on European river ships last year. The second largest market was Germans, who made up 28.3% , Ireland at 11.8%, Australia with 7.5 % and France at 7.1%
That means companies like Amadeus, based in Germany and with only 35 to 40 percent of its customers hailing from the U.S., could get an earlier start than the lines who cater mostly to North America.
But planning any partial restart is also fraught with complications, Leskovar said, noting that companies have to look at more than what stretches of river might be open. Companies like his also have to look at the markets that are booked on different sailings.
"You really have to look at the big picture," he said. When companies can start sailing again, "depends on who you are, who your market is and if everything aligns."
The good news: Companies say that load factors look good for later in the year and 2021, although it's unclear how much of that is due to customers rebooking canceled trips.