Celebrity River Cruises Commits to 10 Additional Ships
The river cruise brand will double its European fleet by 2031 as it opens 2028 bookings with more than 160 sailings and expanded itineraries across the Rhine, Danube, and beyond.
Photo: Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity River Cruises has committed to 10 additional purpose-built vessels, doubling its planned European river fleet to 20 ships by 2031, while simultaneously opening bookings for its 2028 European season, the company announced today. The expansion begins immediately, with construction underway and the first steel cut completed for Celebrity Compass, the brand’s inaugural river ship.
The newly released 2028 deployment is a major scale-up from the line’s debut year. More than 160 sailings are now open for booking across over 50 European destinations, representing an 80% increase in destinations compared to the 2027 launch season. The 2027 debut will feature Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, followed in 2028 by Celebrity Wanderer, Celebrity Roamer, and Celebrity Boundless.
“Guest demand for Celebrity River Cruises has exceeded our expectations, and expanding the fleet allows us to bring this highly anticipated experience to even more travelers,” said Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “Whether guests already love the Celebrity experience or are discovering it for the first time, they now have new ways to enjoy it along some of Europe’s most iconic rivers. With Celebrity’s expansion into river, we’re strengthening our connected vacation ecosystem, offering more choice, more access, and more reasons for guests to stay with us—turning the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations.”
RELATED: Royal Caribbean Builds Luxury Momentum With Beach Clubs and New River Product
For 2028, itineraries span the Rhine, Danube, Lower Danube, and seasonal routes in the Netherlands and Germany. Highlights include six Lower Danube sailings with an overnight land stay in Bucharest; more than 60 Rhine sailings between Basel and Amsterdam; Upper Danube routes linking cities such as Regensburg, Nuremberg, and Budapest; spring tulip itineraries calling at Keukenhof and Kinderdijk; and winter sailings focused on Christmas markets along the Rhine.
“Our inaugural 2027 Celebrity River Cruises season sold out in under six minutes—a testament to how much guests value the unmatched hospitality and service Celebrity delivers,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises. “To meet this extraordinary demand, we’re thrilled to open 2028 sailings featuring 80% more European destinations, five ships, and more than 160 itineraries. There are now more ways than ever to experience Europe’s rivers The Celebrity Way.”
The river program extends Celebrity Cruises’ footprint beyond ocean itineraries, with operations centered on European rivers and a multi-year build schedule that will see new vessels delivered through the end of the decade.
Bookings for the 2028 European river season are now open, with sailings scheduled throughout the year as the brand prepares for its 2027 launch and continued fleet expansion through 2031.
