Celebrity Cruises to Launch River Cruise Division

Celebrity Cruises is expanding beyond the high seas, with the launch of a river cruise division that will begin sailing Europe’s rivers in 2027. Royal Caribbean Group has placed an initial order for 10 ships for the brand, Celebrity River Cruises.

“We’re thrilled to announce our entry into the river cruise market through our Celebrity Cruises premium travel brand,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “Our guests and travel partners should expect us to do what we do best – innovate and elevate the river cruise experience as we meet the growing demand for intimate, culturally enriching travel experiences.”

Celebrity has coined a new phrase – the Celebrity Way – to represent its combination of premium hardware with elevated service, which it says will exemplify its new river cruise offering.

“With about half of our guests having experienced or intending to vacation on a river cruise, we know they will enjoy Celebrity’s elevated offering on the river,” Liberty said. “By leveraging our valuable loyalty programs across our three brands, we will deepen customer engagement and further our ability to keep guests within our ecosystem of vacation offerings. We are the best in the world at delivering the vacation of a lifetime, and this is the latest example of how we are building the capabilities to deliver a lifetime of vacations.”

“Celebrity River Cruises will bring the quality and sophistication of our Edge Series ocean ships to the most iconic rivers, starting with Europe,” added Laura Hodges Bethge, president, Celebrity Cruises. “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.”

Bookings for Celebrity River Cruises will open later this year.