Despite some concerns about overtourism in the river cruise market, just a week after Celebrity announced its entry into the small-ship river cruising (Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Brand Roars into River Cruising | Travel Research Online, it’s fair to say response across the industry—from the consortia to the travel advisors to even competitors—ranges from the positive to the jumping for joy.
Virtuoso Board Member (and former CEO of Azamara, Seadream and Cunard) Larry Pimentel said, “As one of the world’s leading sellers of river cruise vacations, Virtuosos global network welcomes Celebrity Cruises entry into the river cruise market in 2027. As a key premium ocean-going cruise line, Celebrity’s expansion into river cruising marks a significant milestone for both the brand and the industry.
Virtuoso travel advisors have responded positively to this announcement, recognizing the strong financial position of Celebrity’s parent company, the Royal Caribbean Group and the strategic intent behind the order of 10 initial river vessels, with options for additional expansion. This investment signals a serious commitment to becoming a major player in the river cruise sector.
Given Celebrity’s track record of transformative ship designs and industry-leading innovation, we look forward to seeing how they bring their unique approach to the river cruise market.”
“It’s a game changer,” said Dream Vacations SVP and GM Drew Daly. “The river cruise market has been growing significantly the past few years, and it is exciting to see a reputable cruise brand like Celebrity enter that market. Overall, the reaction from our network is one of excitement as it will definitely bring more first-time river cruises onto the rivers of Europe. Celebrity’s solid reputation of offering a high-quality premium cruise experience fits nicely with the experience one gets while river cruising.”
Lori Kostecki, VP of supplier relations at TRAVELSAVERS, agreed that “Celebrity has been so successful with its high-quality, innovative ocean product. It makes perfect sense that they would extend their brand into river cruising given the huge opportunity in that segment. River cruising is one of our fastest-growing niches and our sales keep expanding by double-digit percentages. Celebrity’s move into river cruising will mean a new option for Captain’s Club members who can experience a different style while taking advantage of their loyalty program.”
OASIS founder and chairman Lee Smolinski is “imagining all the possibilities and overwhelming positives,” building on the huge customer base that Celebrity and Royal Caribbean can introduce to river cruising.
“They will do great,” he forecasts. “Just like Viking has been a marketing powerhouse driving business into your agencies, this will do the same for more mainstream and multi-generational customers. I think with our support for such a great partner as the RCI group, selling 1,400 guests a week is easy peasy.”
And KHM Travel Group VP of sales & marketing Geoff Cox noted that while having the Celebrity brand sailing the rivers of European “probably doesn’t impact business that much, because the major cruise lines are not sourcing their main customers from that part of the world. But it certainly bodes well to have your brand in front of all those North Americans traveling up and down the river to see your ship go by.”
Signature Travel Network president and CEO, who himself spent some time on the cruise supplier side of the table, agrees that the move is “right in line with what we have seen in the river/cruising business. Think about all of the product expansion in our business….
Ocean expanding to Expedition (Silversea and Seabourn)
River expanding to Ocean and Expedition (Viking)
Tour Operators growing into River (TTC and Globus and in an indirect way, AMA)
And at a broader lever, cruise lines growing or combining from Contemporary to Premium to Luxury or even wholesaler partners expanding from Hawaii to Mexico/Caribbean to Europe and even Exotics…
“Why? Because if they deliver their core product well for both advisors and customers, then one of the ways to grow is to grow the portfolio of products (because you have solidified your distribution and customer base) vs. just building more of the same product.”
Indeed, Sharpe said, “it feels like river would be a wonderful extension of the Celebrity brand. This makes me assume that they considered a more family-oriented river product (under Royal) or an even more luxurious product (ala Silversea) and settled on Celebrity. It’s exciting as I assume their average age is a bit younger, so maybe broadening the market and potentially more families in the summer and holidays.”
But most exciting of all, he noted, is what those 10 ships will look like. “River has constraints as we all know— same length, width and height. But if there is a shipbuilding group in the world that has consistently revolutionized and exceeded what we all thought was possible, it’s been RCG. The canvas is smaller and more restrictive, but I can’t wait to see what they do!”
Meanwhile, Marilyn Conroy, EVP Sales and Marketing of Riviera Travel, the UK’s largest tour operator and owner of 13 river-cruise ships, agreed that “having such a reputable brand involved enhances the credibility of river cruising and brings even more attention to this thriving market. As more prominent lines like Celebrity embrace river cruising, it highlights the unique experiences and destinations this market offers. Their promotion of river cruising to a wider audience will undoubtedly drive greater interest and open up exciting opportunities for travelers looking to explore the world’s most iconic rivers.”
Travel Advisors, Too, See Opportunity
At the travel agency level, there was some concern about overtourism on the rivers. But still, the response was almost unanimously positive.
Susie Conger, owner of Cruisy Susie & Crew – CruiseOne in Idaho, noted that “Celebrity would not likely have made such a huge move without some market research as to the future and viability in the river cruise scene. Next to Viking, they will instantly be the most recognized brand on the rivers (while I love AMA and Avalon, fact is that regular household name recognition is not there). RCI has an enormous base of cruisers ‘loyal to royal’ brands. I am ready to embrace it, as it IS happening, with or without me.”
“Wow, that’s a brilliant move!” said Eileen Wolejsza at Eileen’s Escapes, LLC, in Kew Gardens, NY. “I’m excited to market this to my clients and try it out myself.” River cruises are incredibly popular, and they’re a perfect addition to the Celebrity Cruises brand. With Gen X being Celebrity’s target audience, this aligns perfectly with the growing trend of younger travelers embracing river cruising.
“I am so excited about this! I love Celebrity Cruises and I feel with their knowledge, demographic, and experience in the industry that this will be a win for travel advisors,” said Erin Elliott Stennett of Majestic Memories Travel & Vacations in Indiana.
“I love the idea of Celebrity getting into river cruising,” agreed Gary Smith, whose Dream Vacations franchise, TravelPerks, handles vacation travel for many A-list corporations, and who is the top seller of Viking River at Dream Vacations, as well as a top producer for Avalon and Scenic. “River cruising continues to grow, and while I don’t necessarily believe the river market needs a new supplier, I fully understand the business decision from Celebrity to enter the market. Celebrity clients, and those of [its sister companies] Royal Caribbean and Silversea, are going to take river cruises. At present, that means losing that business and potentially exposing the client to competing products, as some river cruise lines compete in the ocean space as well. The ability to keep these clients within the family of brands, and hopefully put a new ‘Edge’ on what is offered on the rivers, is exciting.”
“I think this is a great move,” said Elliot Finkelman. “Viking has been successful with this concept. It will be a learning curve for them but keeping Loyal Celebrity clients by offering ships that can go where they don’t currently go is a smart move. Looking forward to seeing what they offer.”
DJ Johnson, owner of The Travelers Center LLC, called it “a genius move. This market is growing by leaps and bounds and now there’s a familiar name in the game. Congrats Celebrity.”
And at Dream Vacations Christy Scannell in San Diego, Scannell noted that “Celebrity has shown with Flora in the Galapagos that they can diversify successfully, so there’s no reason to think their river product won’t be a game changer as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how they shake up the river market!”
Madelyn Tyson, a Cruise Planners retiree, predicted that “Gen Xers and active Baby Boomers looking for some luxury inclusions will love it!”
And Matthew Vaughan of Cruise Travel Scapes found the concept “Fascinating!”
“It’s very wise to put this new endeavor under the more upscale Celebrity brand, despite the elevated price-tag as compared to typical/contemporary ocean cruising,” Vaughan said. “Also not revolutionary, since Celebrity had already previously been doing some river cruise business over a decade ago through its subtle ‘expedition’ segment and call center of more experienced res agents (that also has handled cruise tours as well the Galapagos side of their operations). The Celebrity brand occasionally and ongoingly has become very useful to play with and introduce such new cruise ideas—whether river cruises, Galapagos operations, or even to originally debut the small-ship Azamara brand to the industry (remember that confused and almost failed attempt to house proto-Azamara under Celebrity?!)”
Overall, Vaughan says, “I wish Celebrity luck in this new business—it seems to be a bit of a reverse trajectory, and a wise and broad cruise business pursuit, to the way that Viking has expanded the other way around, starting from river cruising and now into ocean and expedition cruising. The others better watch out and ‘up’ their own river cruise game, as the big boys are coming to play!”
Advice From the Travel Advisors: Are you listening, Celebrity (and competitors)?
Looking forward, Vaughan said he is most curious to see “what they mean by bringing ‘the quality and sophistication of our Edge Series ocean ships to the most iconic rivers, starting with Europe,’ since there is not much room on a European river cruise vessel for such innovations and features (and venues and specialty restaurants). But if these general and vague talking points simply mean about the decor and modernity of design as well as bold modern art being present—as Celebrity’s ocean ships exemplify—then this might be enough to stand out and apart from the numerous other river cruise competitors.”
Susie Conger, meanwhile suggested they focus more on active excursions. “I hope they bring something unique that appeals to a younger 50-something crowd with active itineraries and great onboard experiences.
And Diane McIntyre Mason took it a step farther, suggesting three things Celebrity (and its competitors) should offer to stand out: connecting cabins; cabins that accommodate more than two people; and more active excursions. Younger people don’t want walking tours of churches, she agreed; “they want hands on things like Tile Painting in Portugal, Scavenger Hunts in small towns, macaroon baking class in France, local performances, truffle hunting, behind the scenes tour of horse training in Vienna.”
But Is It Good for Travel Advisors?
Travel advisor Lu Maggiora already is thinking of ways to upsell a river cruise booking, by combining a Celebrity river with a Celebrity ocean cruise…or even a river and a transatlantic (or vice versa)…in a single itinerary. “Cruisers with time and money love to extend their experience with back-to-backs,” she said. (Though she is concerned about how they will differentiate the loyalty status experience onboard if, for example, most of the ship is Elite/Diamond/VS, and a handful are not.)
KHM’s Cox also called it good news for advisors for whom Royal Caribbean is a preferred supplier, as “keeping your eggs in one basket helps you on the negotiation side because you have more revenue to leverage.”
In the end, Celebrity told TRO, “Travel advisors are of primary importance to Celebrity Cruises, and we know they play a key role in helping guests understand the elevated, premium vacation experience that Celebrity delivers. Celebrity’s market research shows that more than half of its guests are either interested in or have already experienced a river cruise. For travel advisors with clients interested in river cruising, Celebrity River Cruises is a natural extension of Celebrity’s premium offering that will bring its unique hospitality-first approach to the river, designed to provide intimate and immersive journeys throughout the world. Your clients will experience personalized service, world-class amenities, and unique itineraries.”
The sailings will begin in 2027, Celebrity said, and “travel advisors should stay tuned for information. Bookings for river cruises will become available starting in 2025.” In the meantime, visit The Celebrity Commitment – Official Site, which includes the opportunity to put in your contact information to receive notifications as details on trainings, details and news!
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.