Catching Up with American Cruise Lines’ Charles B. Robertson

2024 was an “extraordinary sales year” for American Cruise Lines, with strong growth on both its river and coastal itineraries.

Much of that growth is thanks to travel advisors who represent a “major part” of American Cruise Lines’ sales, president and CEO Charles B. Roberstson told TMR.

“They’re essential to it,” he said. “The U.S. market to me is still in growth mode and it’s still in awareness mode. Travel advisors are really critical to that… advisors are a big part of closing the education gap that exists for the U.S. market.”

While consumers are more aware of the river cruise options in Europe than ever before, Robertson said there’s still not as much awareness of the options available in the United States. And that’s where advisors come in.

“When they have a client who’s interested in a river cruise, they’re often the first ones to say, have you considered doing that in the U.S.?”

They’re also the first to tell clients about options beyond the Mississippi.

“We’re in 35 states now and we’re on most of the waterways that you can navigate any reasonable sized boat on… We think that about 95% of Americans live within a couple hour drive of one of our ships.”

He added, “Advisors have the knowledge and awareness to find clients the right cruise.”

Growth for ACL hasn’t been limited to sales and bookings. More advisors are engaging with the line as well.

“We’ve seen it broadening out and more advisors that had never considered the U.S. are jumping in now. And the ones that had just been European river specialists are coming in,” he said.

He also told TMR there’s been a number of consortia that have been working to push their ACL business.

“We see a lot more concentration for certain agencies or consortia… they work much harder to certify more of their agents and increase their volume a lot with us.”

What’s Popular?

While the Mississippi River remains ACL’s strongest product offering, and where it has the most capacity, Robertson told TMR that the Columbia and Snake River itineraries are also doing “terrific.”

He attributes much of that success to a generational mindset shift, which has older travelers still interested in active vacations.

“That lends itself to the more active conception that people have about the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “The Columbia/Snake offers something for everyone with Lewis and Clark history, Native American history, and outdoor adventure, whether it’s kayaking or biking or hiking.”

American Cruise Lines’ Puget Sound sailings are also doing well, he added.

“We’re adding more coastal capacity,” he said. “Six of the nine ships that are under construction are coastal, and all of the last four that we introduced in the last 16 or so months have been coastal, so we’re pressing that area of growth more at the moment.”

River vs. Coastal Fleet?

With that said, Robertson emphasized that ACL doesn’t see their river and coastal products as separate things.

“Coastal and river is not quite black and white to us,” he said.

He added that at times “coastal” is a bit of a misnomer, as many of those routes are along intercoastal waterways where there’s land on both sides of the ship.

“It looks like a river. It feels like a river. It’s just technically not a river,” he said.

In some of these cases, the same ship is used for both. For instance, you might be on the same ship for a Hudson River cruise and a New England Islands cruise.

Rather than think of the fleet in terms of river or coastal, Robertson said he thinks of it in terms of regions, such as Eastern U.S., Mississippi, Pacific Northwest, or Southeast Alaska. 

The blurriness of the lines between the river and coastal fleets is something Robertson thinks advisors really understand.

“That misconception is something that travel advisors are really great at explaining how you could have all the comfort of a river cruise, even if it is technically in-between Charleston and Jacksonville on the Intercoastal Waterway, even though it’s not a river.”

Remaining Misconceptions?

One piece of the American Cruise Lines puzzle Robertson still thinks advisors get wrong is what modern U.S. river cruising looks like.

“One thing I think advisors still often have as a misconception about us or about the market is that the industry hasn’t evolved and that the U.S. industry is still the way it used to be.”

He explained that for decades, the U.S. river and coastal waterways market was a collection of old ships and old equipment. For so long the words Mississippi River cruising conjured up images of “Mark Twain on a steamboat.”

“That’s not the case anymore. It’s a fully modernized market that’s ready to compete in a global arena. Our ships are as modern as anyone’s and some of the newer ships in the world.”

While ACL does have four paddlewheelers in its fleet, most of the fleet is modern.

“They make a lot of people happy and they have their own following and their own demand, but it’s not where we see the future of the market,” Robertson said of these vessels.

Older Demographic

One common perception of U.S. waterway cruising that is not a misperception, Robertson told TMR, is that it’s for an older clientele. And he’s just fine with that.

“We’re very much a 55-plus market,” he said, adding that the average age is closer to 70. “We’re really very happy with this niche we have focusing on a mature clientele. We wait for people to graduate into our market.”

American Cruise Lines does allow kids and there is a small amount of multi-generational guests onboard, but it’s not an area of focus and it represents a very small percent of the business.

Expanding Beyond U.S. Waterways?

With such a large fleet and lots more vessels coming, TMR asked Robertson if American Cruise Lines would ever consider expanding beyond U.S. waters?

“We have Pearl Seas Cruises,” he said.

Pearl Seas is a sister brand to ACL. It currently has one ship, Pearl Mist, which sails primarily in the Great Lakes and on the St. Lawrence River.

The company does almost no marketing, as the ship is nearly always full with an “extraordinary repeat rate.”

But it’s that brand that Robertson said has international expansion potential.

“We’re waiting for the right opportunity, but I think that could continue to expand in North America. I think it could go to Europe… it’s really going to be the international focus of the growth for our family of companies,” he said.

In the meantime, their focus is on growing the American Cruise Lines fleet – 21 vessels and growing. As such, their shipyard (which is an affiliated company to ACL) order book is full. When they have some time, he said, “we’ll build some more Pearl Seas ships.”