The premium ocean cruise line on Tuesday (28 January) confirmed it would start taking bookings this year for 10 new-build river ships, which will initially set sail in Europe from 2027.
Celebrity River Cruises will embody “the quality and sophistication of our Edge-series ships”, the company’s president Laura Hodges Bethge said. Royal Caribbean Group chief Jason Liberty added this week he could see the group’s other brands, such as Silversea, entering the river market too.
Agents told TTG Celebrity would face stiff competition going up against a number of established brands, identifying Viking as a key rival, which itself this week announced plans to expand its river fleet to 107 ships by 2028.
James Hill, of GoRiverCruise, believes Celebrity will price itself higher than the Scandinavian operator to reflect its aim to deliver a higher quality product, although this would pit it against the likes of Avalon Waterways, AmaWaterways and Riviera Travel.
He welcomed the new entrant, telling TTG: “I think the effect will be to increase overall interest in river from both agents and clients, and that will turn into more bookings for all operators on European – and possibly more far-flung – rivers.”
Asked about the risk of over-capacity, Hill said: “There is a danger of that in weaker sailing months, which will lead to yet more discounting.” Hill suggested popular calls like Amsterdam, Cologne, Koblenz and Passau could be crammed at busy times.
As for the customer base, he added: “Existing river cruise clients will want to try Celebrity as the brand stands for high quality and great value, and perhaps has more appeal than Fred Olsen and Crystal had when they entered the river niche. Ocean cruise clients may well seriously consider river after being a little hesitant, so I will pitch to both. Overall, this is great news.”
Sam Ballard, managing director of Club Voyages, agrees. He said: “It’s going to really shake things up. Celebrity is one of the most innovative ocean cruise lines so it’s going to be very exciting to see both what – and who – they bring to the market. I imagine there are lots of Celebrity Cruises clients considering a river cruise for the first time right now.”
Cruise.co.uk managing director Tony Andrews said that while the river sector had been growing in popularity, there was still a huge number of people who hadn’t yet considered it – but that Celebrity’s entry could change this.
"Celebrity coming in with their established reputation means we’ll see more ocean cruisers dipping their toes into the river world, particularly those who already love the brand," he said. "Anything that gets more people talking about river cruising is good news.”
Panache Cruises founder James Cole said: “Celebrity is renowned for being an innovative luxury brand, so I am expecting them to enter the river market with some fresh ideas and attract new customers. Their entry can only be positive as they will be spending significantly on promoting the benefits of river cruising.”
Alison Earnshaw, managing director of River Voyages parent World Travel Holdings UK, added: “We would anticipate that the brand strength and customer loyalty a well-recognised brand like Celebrity Cruises boasts will attract a new customer to the river cruise market.
"There is a lot of capacity in the sector and there is a lot of work to do in the UK to really build awareness of river cruising and its many benefits.”
