Celebrity River Cruises has announced a commitment for 10 new ships that will expand its European river cruise fleet to 20 vessels by 2031.
The announcement marks the start of construction, with the first steel cut for Celebrity Compass – the line’s debut river ship.
The expansion will make Celebrity River Cruises one of the largest European river cruise operators, offering more itineraries and destinations than ever before. The 2028 season is now open for booking, featuring an 80% increase in European destinations compared to the brand’s inaugural 2027 deployment.
To celebrate these milestones, Celebrity River Cruises opened its highly anticipated 2028 season for booking – offering more than 160 sailings to over 50 destinations across Europe. Guests can sail the Rhine to the vineyards of Alsace, follow the Danube to Budapest’s centuries-old market halls, or wake up in Prague and end the day at a café in the heart of Vienna. Celebrity River Cruises launches in 2027 with Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, followed by Celebrity Wanderer, Celebrity Roamer, and Celebrity Boundless joining the fleet in 2028.
Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, parent company of Celebrity Cruises, said that: “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 travellers.”
Liberty continued: “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.”
Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises, said: “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. 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.”
Here’s some of the highlights for 2028, which will feature 163 sailings across five ships visiting over 50 destinations:
- Lower Danube adventures: Six new sailings featuring an included overnight land experience in Bucharest, plus passage through the dramatic Iron Gates gorge
- Dutch Tulip Season cruises: Sailings timed to Holland’s most spectacular spring bloom, including visits to Keukenhof Gardens, Kinderdijk’s 18th-century windmills and charming riverside towns
- Expanded Christmas Markets program: New holiday sailings between Basel and Amsterdam visiting snow-dusted vineyards and candlelit Rhine villages including Mainz, Strasbourg and Heidelberg
- 24 new ports including Straubing (during Germany’s Gäuboden Festival) plus expanded Upper Danube itineraries between Regensburg/Nuremberg and Budapest
Go to www.celebritycruises.com/river for more.
