Celebrity Cruises is about to get into the river cruise market.
The announcement was made on Tuesday morning that Celebrity Cruises, as the company will add a fleet of 10 river ships.
The first river cruise will begin in 2027, and the idea is to bring the cruise line's vision for ocean going vessels to river cruises.
Introducing Celebrity River Cruises
Celebrity has placed an order for 10 ships, and all of them will operate in Europe.
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty says half of their guests have experienced or intend to vacation on a river cruise.
Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge spoke about the significance of the announcement in a statement, "Celebrity River Cruises will bring the quality and sophistication of our Edge Series ocean ships to the most iconic rivers, starting with Europe."
"We've redefined travel on the ocean with our best-in-class hospitality, award-winning food and beverage experiences, and elevated design and style. 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."
By getting into river cruises, Celebrity wants to offer more culturally enriching travel experiences.
Celebrity River Cruises will focus on offering premium experiences, local cuisine, interesting shore excursion opportunities, and 360-degree views of historic cities.
Plus, the 10 new ships will incorporate design elements from Celebrity's Edge Series ships.
Specific details about destinations, fleet specifications, and excursions will be announced in the coming months.
Disrupting the river cruise market
Celebrity's entry into river cruising is a major move, and it's a sign that demand for river cruising is big enough that Royal Caribbean Group wants in on it too.
Plus, offering river cruises in addition to its ocean going sailings could attract new travelers who prefer smaller ships and land-centric itineraries.
Celebrity has built a reputation for itself offering an upscale, premium ocean going cruise. They call it "modern luxury" and their Edge Class ships have been exemplary in how their ships emphasize service, design, and innovations.
Bringing this approach to river cruises is how the company hopes to differentiate itself from the market. Plus, they could infuse younger travelers into a traditionally older river cruise demographic.
The river cruise market is currently dominated by companies like Viking, AmaWaterways, and Avalon Waterways. With Celebrity now coming in, it not only grows their own offerings, but also shakes up the traditional river cruise market.
Keeping customers within the brand
Royal Caribbean Group hinted at the possibility of river cruises back in April 2024, when it told Wall Street analysts, "that could be something that we would consider at some point in the future."
Back then, they acknowledged they saw potential to grow their business in the river cruise market.
"River is an area where we do see some overlap, not a lot of overlap, but we do see some overlap occurring," said Mr. Liberty.
The idea behind it was to offer more to their customers so there was less reason to try a different company or vacation.
Mr. Liberty talked about retaining customers during the call, "We remain intensely focused on attracting and keeping guests within our unique portfolio of brands, and providing experiences for all of life's moments."
"We have been very thoughtful about having the right brands and the right segments," he explained and gave an example of how customers can dip between the different companies.
Mr. Liberty indicated they're always looking for ways to get better at what they do, and making their customers aware of ways to cruise within the company ecosystem is one component to their plan.
Royal Caribbean's annual profit largely above analysts' expectations
Royal Caribbean Group also reported its fourth quarter 2024 and 2024 full year financial results on Tuesday.
In 2024, the company had total revenues of $16.5 billion and Net Income of $2.9 billion.
2025 is off to a stellar start with WAVE season off to a record start, according to company spokespeople. Essentially, their bookings are where they've been in prior years, but at higher prices.
In fact, the company expects expected adjusted earnings growth of 23% in 2025.
Robust demand
Net Income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $0.6 billion compared to Net Income of $0.3 billion for the same period in the prior year.
Royal Caribbean Group has seen bookings accelerate since the last quarter, resulting in the best five booking weeks in the company's history.
Guest spending onboard and pre-cruise purchases continue to exceed prior years driven by more customers opting to buy add-ons and at higher prices. Royal Caribbean Group says that's due to their "robust commercial engine."
