This T+L Reader-loved Cruise Line Will Launch European River Trips in 2027

Celebrity Cruises will launch European river trips in 2027, a first for the brand that is a favorite of Travel + Leisure readers.

Best known for its amenity-packed mega-ships, Celebrity Cruises plans to launch 10 river vessels, with the first operating in Europe by 2027. It will be the first time Celebrity has operated river ships of any kind, said Laura Hodges Bethge, the line’s president, in an exclusive interview with T+L.

“This is a brand-new adventure for us,” said Hodges Bethge, who has been with Celebrity’s parent company for 25 years. “We've never done river [cruises] at the Royal Caribbean Group.”

With the launch, the company plans to establish a new brand called Celebrity River Cruises. Reservations will open later in 2025.

“About half of our guests have experienced or intend to vacation on a river cruise, [so] we know they will enjoy Celebrity’s elevated offering on the river,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, in a statement shared with T+L.

While Celebrity River Cruises has yet to release detailed itinerary information, a handout image from the brand depicts a ship on the Danube River, which is the most popular destination worldwide for this style of travel, according to Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel advisors.

Two of Europe’s most iconic cities — Budapest and Vienna — are along the Danube. The waterway also gives travelers access to interesting places such as Bratislava, Slovakia, and Regensberg, Germany, that may be lesser known among Americans.

“We will, over time, bring all of Europe's best rivers to our guests,” Hodges Bethge told T+L. “You can extrapolate if you look at where all the other river cruise companies go: they’re on the Danube, the Rhine, the Rhone.”

“The two biggest are the Danube and the Rhine, and it’s realistic to start in the biggest places,” she observed. “For us, it’s making sure that we know exactly what’s going to be the most appealing to our consumers and start there.”

With plans for 10 ships, Royal Caribbean Group is betting on continued traveler interest in Europe, which in recent years has been top of mind for American travelers. While cultural riches and stylish destinations are part of the allure, favorable currency exchange rates are also driving interest in the year ahead: the euro is near parity with the dollar for the first time since October 2023.

To build the new vessels, Celebrity has partnered with TeamCo Shipyard; the Netherlands-based company has previously built river ships for lines including Amadeus, AmaWaterways, and Emerald Cruises.

“We’re obviously still working on the design,” said Hodges Bethge, “but what we do so well at Royal Caribbean Group is innovate and push the envelope. We’re taking river cruising to a whole new level of sophistication and design.”

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