Earlier this year, Travel + Leisure dubbed river cruising as the “smartest way to vacation in 2024,” and Good Housekeeping U.K. designated the travel style as “the luxury, grown-up alternative to backpacking.”
Indeed, the river cruise landscape of today looks dramatically different than it did five, 10 or 20 years ago. New lines have stepped onto the scene with state-of-the-art ships, the segment is expanding into new locales, and there’s an entirely new set of travelers packing their bags and taking to the rivers.
This spike in interest has allowed travel advisors to excel in this space, too; in fact, the appeal of earning “commissions with a comma” lured some 1,300 attendees to the American Society of Travel Advisors’ (ASTA) third River Cruise Expo, which featured 12 ships from nine river cruise lines in Amsterdam earlier this year (2025’s event, taking place in Vienna, is currently sold out).
Here’s what travel advisors need to know about this evolving segment.
Credit: 2024 ASTA
New and Updated Ships on the Rivers
Several ships are finding their homes on the waterways over the next couple of years. In 2025, AmaWaterways will launch two vessels on the Magdalena River in Colombia (AmaMagdalena and AmaMelodia), and AmaLilia is debuting on the Nile this year. Meanwhile, AmaSintra will set sail on Portugal’s Douro River in 2025, joining the new Avalon Alegria from Avalon Waterways — which was christened in late March — and the Porto Mirante from Riviera River Cruises.
RELATED: Review: Avalon Alegria on Portugal’s Douro River
Other new ships include Amadeus Nova from Amadeus River Cruises (featuring a hybrid diesel electric propulsion system); S. S. Elisabeth (in 2025) and S.S. Emily (in 2026) from Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, which also debuted S.S. Victoria this year; and Riverside Debussy from newcomer Riverside Luxury Cruises, which launched last year during the ASTA expo. Viking is planning to add 10 new longships in 2025 and 2026 in addition to a new ship on the Mekong and one on the Nile, while Riviera will launch Riviera Radiance and Riviera Rose next year.
And though they are not releasing new ships, sister brands Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises aren’t resting on their laurels; they are refreshing 18 of their 22 existing ships.
RELATED: Exclusive: Viking Chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen on Viking’s Completed IPO
Credit: 2024 Avalon Waterways
A Shift Toward Extended Itineraries And Off-Season Travel
With soaring airfares to Europe, travelers are booking longer cruises or shifting to shoulder-season travel to make the most of their vacations, according to several river cruise executives at ASTA’s River Cruise Expo. AmaWaterways aims to alleviate the high-price fatigue with its AirPlus program, which packages airfare into the cruise fare at a flat rate (applicable to all European sailings). It also offers a pre- or post-cruise Complimentary Land Package through June 2024 (combinable with AirPlus).
“One of the things that we kept hearing is the uncertainty with the air and the air cost,” said Alex Pinelo, senior vice president of sales for AmaWaterways. “And that it’s hard to plan and budget. So, our answer to that — because we keep listening, and taking action — is our Airplus promotion, which is combinable with our retail offer.”
Pinelo says he is also seeing interest in combination cruises.
“We’re introducing longer voyages [with] more 14-day cruises,” he said. “And we have back-to-back cruises, or ‘combination cruises,’ where we’re offering a 10% savings.”
Avalon Waterways, part of the Globus Family of Brands, saw similar trends in its annual “Wish List Survey,” which asks past guests how they want to travel, where they want to go and with whom.
The line then uses this data to inform its choices regarding itineraries and destinations for the future, according to Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon.
For 2024 and 2025, Avalon is adding more France and Portugal itineraries, which began with the inaugural sailing of the Avalon Alegria, purpose builtfor the Douro. Next year will see the addition of two new rivers (the Garonne and Dordogne, for a total of five rivers offered), six new cruises and 33%more capacity in France.
Extended itineraries will also be featured; a new weeklong Bordeaux cruise can be combined with others on the Seine, Saone, Rhone and Rhine rivers.
There will also be a series of nine-night cruises on the Danube and Rhine rivers (along with Holland/Belgium itineraries), and more capacity has opened up on 14-night sailings from Amsterdam and Budapest for 2025.
Riviera River Cruises is also placing an emphasis on longer departures in 2025, with new itineraries up to 29 days.
Credit: 2024 Riviera River Cruises
An Appeal to Families, Solo Travelers And New Cruisers
Although Avalon’s survey showed that most travelers prefer to travel in couples, the solo travel market is in demand (leading Avalon to waive its single supplement on select staterooms on nearly every sailing).
Riviera River Cruises is also eyeing this trend, offering “over 40 departures with no single supplement,” according to Marilyn Conroy, vice president of sales and marketing, North America for Riviera River Cruises. It’s a market that she calls the fastest “growing segment, second only to family.”
“People are saying that they want to go on their next trip on their own,” said Avalon’s Hoffee, referencing the Wish List Survey. “But it’s not necessarily that they are single … sometimes, it is somebody who was booked as a couple previously.”
On the family travel front, AmaWaterways will continue its partnership with Adventures by Disney to attract more multigenerational groups, while Tauck is featuring exclusive Bridges itineraries over the summer on five different rivers.
“The great thing about river cruising with families, no matter which river you’re on, is that you get to enjoy the relaxing nature of the ship, but then you also see these incredible places off the ship,” said Steve Spivak, vice president of global sales and reservations for Tauck. “And how do you make the Louvre fun for kids? Turn it into a scavenger hunt. How do you tell the story of [Vincent] Van Gogh’s last days in Arles? You paint Van Gogh’s masterpieces in chocolate.”
The great thing about river cruising with families, no matter which river you’re on, is that you get to enjoy the relaxing nature of the ship, but then you also see these incredible places off the ship.
Clients who are new to the rivers also provide an opportunity, according to Jennifer Halboth, CEO of Riverside Luxury Cruises, who said at the ASTA River Cruise Expo that she wants to break down the misconception that river cruising is for retirees.
Who is she going for instead? It’s simple: the many travelers who are “river curious.”
On the Home Front
Earlier this year, domestic river cruise line American Queen Voyages closed its doors. But that’s not to say that river cruising in the U.S. isn’t alive and well; during this year’s wave season, American Cruise Lines reported a record breaking season of sales across its small ships and riverboats that sail U.S. waterways and coastal itineraries. Viking Mississippi also released several new itineraries, including its Mississippi Delta Explorer, the Upper Mississippi Explorer, the Mississippi River Odyssey and The Big Easy to the Gateway City.