Celebrity Cruises will make a play at the booming river cruise market, unveiling plans to launch premium river cruise holidays in Europe beginning in 2027. The new brand, Celebrity River Cruises, will comprise 180-passenger “transformative ships” and inherit the “elevated design and sophistication of the Edge Series ocean ships”.

An initial order of 10 ships has been signed for the new venture with two ships slated to debut in 2027, and four in both 2028 and 2029. The vessels will be constructed by TeamCo, based in the Netherlands.

Celebrity River Cruises’ guests will sail through the heart of culturally and historically significant cities, experience locally inspired cuisine and unique shore experiences – “The Celebrity Way”.

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“We’ve redefined travel on the ocean with our best-in-class hospitality, award-winning food and beverage experiences, and elevated design and style,” Laura Hodges Bethge, President of Celebrity Cruises said.

“We are thrilled to bring these experiences to the river and combine them with authentic, destination-rich itineraries that will give our guests an experience unlike any other.”

“Our guests and travel partners should expect us to do what we do best – innovate and elevate the river cruise experience as we meet the growing demand for intimate, culturally enriching travel experiences,” said Jason Liberty, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “With about half of our guests having experienced or intending to holiday on a river cruise, we know they will enjoy Celebrity’s elevated offering on the river.

“By leveraging our valuable loyalty programs across our three brands, we will deepen customer engagement and further our ability to keep guests within our ecosystem of holiday offerings,” he said. The other brands being Royal Caribbean International and Silversea.

Liberty told analysts on a conference call following the announcement that as Celebrity River Cruises grows there will be an “opportunity for our luxury guests to consider a river experience on Silversea.”

“We’re going to start off with Celebrity. We think there is great scale opportunity and we’ll be looking to see if there’s opportunity to expand to our other brands,” Liberty said.

To gauge the cruise industry’s reaction to the announcement, LATTE sought feedback from leading cruise travel agencies and groups.

Robyn Sinfield of Home Travel Company — who sits on Virtuoso’s Member Advisory Board as the Cruise Committee member — said: “It’s exciting news for Celebrity Cruises to announce that they will be able to take their Captains Club members from the Ocean to the world’s most iconic rivers of Europe.

“To have new ships for our clients to consider that are EDGE inspired with 360 degrees of breathtaking views will be well received by the cruisers and advisors globally as they will offer the Celebrity Way in hospitality and also will offer unique itineraries.”

Rhona Rodgers, MTA Cruise Product Manager said: “It’s exciting to see Celebrity Cruises enter the river cruise market. They’ve already demonstrated great innovation in ocean cruising, and by bringing the sophistication of their Edge Series ships to the rivers, they’re set to offer a fresh perspective on this style of travel.

“We look forward to discovering the unique itineraries they will introduce. With their premium contemporary style, this expansion will create new opportunities for our clients and loyal travellers, offering even more choice in luxury river cruising.”

“The popularity of river cruising is growing at pace and it’s become a firm favourite among our clients so we’re excited to see Celebrity Cruises entering the river cruise market with an exciting new offering,” Rachel Kingswell, General Manager, Travel Associates Australia and New Zealand said.

“I can recall the launch of Celebrity Edge – their Ocean Cruise Line – and how much anticipation it was met with. The magic carpet technology revolutionised the cruising experience, so I’m eager to see how they continue to raise the bar with their new river cruising ships.

“We remain committed to delivering exceptional, one-of-a-kind experiences for our clients, and we’re thrilled to see our valued suppliers expanding their offerings to make that possible,” Kingswell added.

Maria Theodosatos, Senior Travel Specialist – Accredited Cruise Masters Consultant at Spencer Travel concurred, saying: “It’s a very interesting move which I feel has been thought out very carefully from Celebrity.

“Traditionally, river cruises seem to appeal to a more mature market and not considered perhaps as exciting as an ocean cruise to the younger demographic. If Celebrity operated river cruises, it would definitely open the market to a totally new style of cruising on the rivers thus appealing to a new group.

“Loyal Celebrity guests would certainly consider this option as they will know that the activities will be in line with what Celebrity currently offer on their ocean cruises and at the same time continue to keep their loyalty benefits,” Theodosatos added.

Phil Smethurst from Bicton Travel said: “Bicton Travel and Claremont Cruise & Travel Centre are seeing a very strong demand for river cruising, and we welcome the news of Celebrity’s entry into this market.

“This will be a great opportunity for us to introduce our Celebrity Cruises ocean cruising clients who may not yet have considered river cruising to this fantastic way of exploring Europe, so we should see our river cruise business demand grow even stronger”.

Phil Hoffmann from Phil Hoffmann Travel admitted he was wary of the decision, with Celebrity River Cruises entering a “particularly crowded segment of the market,” but noting the brand has both the backing of Royal Caribbean Group, and the opportunity to “capitalise on a younger demographic” more akin to ocean cruising.

“People are also seeing the value of river cruising compared to land journeys and hotel stays,” Hoffmann said, highlighting that the sector is “one of the best markets in the industry”.

Hoffmann said the sister Celebrity brands will be able to offer seamless ocean-to-river (and vice-versa) back-to-back itineraries.

Megan Catterall from LUX by itravel says the decision is “great news”.

“People are brand aware. Celebrity Cruises do big ship so well and clients adore them. It’s the service and staff — and everything in between!”

“Celebrity River Cruises is going to be a huge winner. Younger, cashed-up, more active cruisers will take to the rivers now,” Catterall added.

Speaking on behalf of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Joel Katz, Managing Director in Australasia told LATTE: “This is the latest in a string of big announcements by river cruise operators, which shows the interest in sailing inland waterways is stronger than ever.

“The appeal of river cruising has always been high, but the latest evolutions from river cruise operators show there are growing opportunities in very receptive markets like Australia.

“We are about to see a succession of new ships making their debut, not only on the most popular rivers like the Rhine and Danube, but also in areas of growing interest like Portugal, Egypt, and Colombia. At the same time, river cruise operators are showing a huge amount of creativity in the itineraries and experiences they offer, giving guests a much greater cultural immersion as they travel.

“It’s now common to see river cruises focussed on individual interests like food and wine, history and culture, or active adventures that combine cruising with cycling or hiking,” Katz said.

Images shared are of the Celebrity Edge class offering aboard Celebrity Cruises.