Rounding the bend into 2025, river cruise executives are optimistic about the chances for a banner year. Those expectations are shaped partly by tailwinds from 2024, which has seen record demand at some lines.
At Viking, the river sector's biggest brand, 2025 inventory is already 67% booked, leaving few cabins available for impulse travelers. The $2 billion of river bookings already pocketed for next year is 22% ahead of where Viking was for 2024 at the same point in 2023.
"The figures look very encouraging," chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen told analysts in a conference call.
Tauck has racked up double-digit growth (percentage-wise) over last year's passenger levels, chairman Dan Mahar said. Demand for Tauck's 2025 European sailings is also robust, with double-digit gains in preseason bookings year over year.
To meet demand, lines are adding ships next year, both newbuilds and repurposed ships. Riviera River Cruises, which is rebranding as Riviera Travel, will deploy the Riviera Radiance and the Riviera Rose next year, while Amadeus River Cruises will add the 164-passenger Amadeus Amara. AmaWaterways, citing runaway demand for Douro River cruises, will launch the AmaSintra in Portugal next year. It will also deploy three ships coming off long-term charters to Australia Pacific Touring. The AmaStella, the AmaVenita and the AmaReina will be put to work on the Danube and the Rhine.
In the Americas, the old is new again at Victory Cruise Lines, which will start offering Great Lakes itineraries on two 30-year-old coastal cruisers. The Victory I is expected to set sail from Toronto on April 27 and the Victory II from Chicago's Navy Pier on May 12.
And American Cruise Lines will continue its headlong expansion with the debut of the 130-passenger American Patriot, which departs Boston on June 21 for a two-week Grand New England cruise.
Also in play are two new waterways untapped by river cruise lines until 2025. In South America, Ama plans to deploy two ships on the Magdalena River, Colombia's longest, while Pandaw River Cruises will expand in India with seven-night cruises of the Kerala backwaters.
Lines that aren't adding ships or destinations are busy upgrading their fleets. Emerald, for example, will redesign the Horizon Bar & Lounge on its ships that sail the Rhine-Main-Danube routes, the Douro and the Rhone. Other improvements, such as Missoni textiles and yacht-inspired art installations, are also in the works.
A Viking ship cruising the Rhine River. Viking's 2025 inventory is already 67% booked. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Viking
New business models
Breaking with the tradition of laying up ships from January to March, there will be more winter cruising in Europe this coming year, as Viking and Ama both continue experiments with a handful of their ships to offer February sailings on the Rhine and the Danube.
Viva Cruises, which also embraces the chill, will hold a naming ceremony for the 190-passenger Viva Enjoy in Frankfurt on Jan. 15, followed by the first in a series of five-day wellness-themed cruises along the Rhine.
Also breaking the mold will be Transcend Cruises, which early next year plans to launch its first newbuild catering exclusively to the group charter market. "The global corporate meetings and incentive market and the luxury travel events sectors have been clamoring for our solution," said Kimberly Daley, Transcend Cruises' chief revenue officer.
Its sleek black ship, with 60 cabins, will sail the Rhine. A sister ship, set for Danube voyages, is launching in June.
Finally, affinity cruises remain top of mind for many lines. Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will offer its first women-only cruise through Provence and Burgundy in August on its 158-passenger S.S. Catherine ship.
And Ama has extended its Soulful Experiences series of themed cruises for a third year. The cruises, which celebrate Black heritage, traditions and culture, will be offered in 2025 on the Rhone, Nile, Douro and Magdalena rivers.