- Celebrity River Cruises looks to expand its itineraries beyond Europe.
- The new river line has also hinted at what they will be offering guests pre- and post-cruise.
- The ships, Celebrity Seeker and Celebrity Compass will be the first to launch in 2027.
Celebrity River Cruises is looking to expand beyond European itineraries, according to Royal Caribbean Group.
Speaking to trade partners onboard the Celebrity Xcel, the latest ship from the line, Jason Liberty, the Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group told Cruise Critic, “We will have river ships around the world, not just Europe.”
“We’re very excited to enter the river space,” said Liberty to trade partners the following day. “And I’d like to emphasise, because sometimes people ask how many we are going to order, where are they going to be – we’ve ordered quite a few.
“I just always remind people – this is not a hobby. We don’t do hobbies.”
The new river line is set to shake up the industry by “miniaturising” its popular Edge-class ships for the river.
Some of the features the like the Sunset Bar, Martini Bar, a mini Café al Bacio and a version of the Magic Carpet in the form of pods, can be found on the new river vessels.
Currently, Celebrity has ordered 10 new river ships. The first two – Celebrity Seeker and Celebrity Compass – are set to launch in 2027.
The 2027 itineraries will start in August 2027 with sailings on the Danube and Rhone rivers. There are seven-day itineraries between Budapest and Vilshofen in Germany; Basel and Amsterdam sailings as well as Christmas Markets voyages between Budapest and Nuremberg.
What Celebrity River Cruises will be doing for shore excursions
Celebrity Cruises’ President Laura Hodges Bethge told Cruise Critic, “One of the things I’m the most excited about that we haven’t announced yet, but I can give you the context for is what we’re going to be doing, pre- and post-cruise.
“I’ve said pretty consistently is that we believe the river landscape, both ship and shore, is ripe for innovation.
“We’re carrying 172 guests, and so you can really do curated things on land that are very, very special.
“And when you think about how we position ourselves, the intimate feel and thoughtful surface of a smaller ship, you’ll get that on the river, but the variety.”
She added that due to the size of river ships being restricted, much of the big ship-style entertainment would have to be on land rather than onboard.
“We don’t have the bigger platform on the ship. We’re taking that variety and excitement of a bigger ship and putting it on land.
“And I’m very excited about being able to share how we’re going to do that next spring.”
