Celebrity Cruises Reveals Shore Excursion Program for River Cruises

Celebrity Cruises has revealed its shore excursion program for Celebrity River Cruises. The program features four experience categories, with each option designed from scratch to best highlight the best each port of call has to offer. Every port will feature a selection of included and premium, extra-fee excursion options.

“We don’t want to force experiences,” Katina Athanasiou, senior vice president of sales for Celebrity Cruises, told TMR. “We want to be authentic to the destination. We want to bring people closer to the destination and the culture, so we’re building around each destination. That for us is what’s really meaningful and what guests say that they want.”

Local guides will lead the Storyteller and Skillmaster series, while the Keys to the City series will give guests the tech-driven tools to explore at their own pace with a choice of points of interest to choose from. Finally, available once per sailing, a Celebrity Takeover event will be a one-of-a-kind experience exclusively for Celebrity River Cruises guests.

“On a Celebrity River Cruises vacation, no two days are the same because no two places are,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises. “We’ve built a destination program that connects guests to Europe more personally than anything the river cruise industry has offered before.”

“Because our guests are culturally curious and they want to see the destination in an immersive and authentic way, we’re going to building a destination program that will best showcase cities based on how they’re best seen,” Athanasiou added.

Storyteller Shore Excursions

The Storyteller series of included excursions offers experiences guided by residents, artists, and cultural insiders who call each destination home. Guests can choose from multiple included Storyteller experiences per port.

For example, in Amsterdam a canal captain will share Amsterdam’s relationship with water and showcase some of the city’s lesser-known waterways. Guests will also see the city’s oldest buildings through the eyes of someone with deep family ties to the region, board a legendary Dutch trading ship, and learn about modern canal engineering.

In Prague, guests who prefer to explore a destination through food and drink will be led through the city’s brewing traditions by a local brewer. Guests will explore historic breweries from the U Vejvodu Tavern to beer-infused artisanal shops.

Skillmaster Shore Excursions

The Skillmaster series of tours features included, locally-led experiences that go beyond sightseeing to hands-on activities that can include cooking, crafts, and more.  

For example, in Budapest a local Mamika (grandmother) will lead the culinary-curious guest through generations-old Hungarian recipes from her own home kitchen. After selecting ingredients at the local Central Market Hall, guests will uncover the dishes that bring Budapest’s to life through Mamika’s family recipes and cooking secrets.    

In Amsterdam, a local artist leads a painting class that immerses guests in the imagination of Van Gogh, after exploring the famed painter’s works at the iconic Van Gogh Museum.

Keys to the City Explore on Your Own Tours

The Keys to the City series provides guests with an included, digital tool that enables guests to explore on their own, according to their personal interests, with curated routes maps tailored to specific interests such as art, history, food, and architecture.

Interactive maps, audio guides, and video content lead guests off the beaten tourist path to interest-led locations where stationed local hosts provide behind-the-scenes access and exclusive experiences at working studios and craft sites to create moments of surprise and delight. 

For example, architecture enthusiasts in Bratislava can use the tool to visit St. Martin’s Cathedral, hearing from a local historian who brings its coronation past to life, before hiking to Bratislava Castle, then stopping beneath the modern span of the UFO Bridge with an architect who explains its bold vision. 

Or, uncover the city’s authentic Slovak flavors from raising a glass in a traditional Slovak pub while a generational brewer pours his stories into every craft drop, to tasting delicate sweets in a family-run pastry shop where the baker shares recipes passed down through decades. 

Once-Per-Sailing Celebrity Takeover

Once per cruise, Celebrity River Cruises will offer an exclusive, included landside experience that transforms must-see attractions and unassuming sites, like plazas, into elevated private events available only to Celebrity guests. Each Celebrity Takeover Series indulgent bucket-list experience is designed to be the defining memory of a guest’s Celebrity River Cruises vacation.  

Pre- and Post-Cruise Stays

Celebrity River Cruises guests can extend their journey with multi-day pre- and post-cruise stays that carry the same locally-led, small-group discovery philosophy as every sailing. Available in Prague and Budapest beginning in 2027, and in Amsterdam in 2028, each stay includes daily small-group tours with local hosts, premium hotel accommodations, dedicated concierge service for dining reservations and private experiences, daily breakfast, and airport transfers. 

Bookings open for 2027 and 2028 pre- and post-cruise stays this summer. All other destination experiences will open for booking in 2027.