River Cruises

[mworkman]

Was the release supposed to be today?

[RCARD]

4 minutes ago, mworkman said:

Was the release supposed to be today?

I believe its scheduled for midnight (eastern time zone)  tonight

8/5/25

[Jill]

I’m in a celebrity river cruise group on facebook and some travel agent spoke to Laura’s (president of celebrity) secretary that said it’ll be a few more weeks

[steverk]

Several of the ocean itineraries were released today. that includes 2 Mediterranean cruises that feature a solar eclipse.

I haven't seen anything about river cruises yet.

[PhillyLady]

I noticed Matt pulled the river cruise article on the main page, so I thought probably the date release was premature.  I think this is still a bit of a work in progress, but I look forward to the final announcement!

[twangster]

Celebrity is hinting at something big being announced during the September 2nd travel advisor call.  That could potentially be river but they did not confirm that in absolute terms.

[mworkman]

Well I guess we will hurry up and wait some more. I’ve become a master at this, thanks to the military.

[PhillyLady]

I just received the email today, and I see Matt put up a story on the front page.

I REALLY want to see a ship deck plan and itinerary!!

[Pattycruise]

I received an email about when the bookings will open-priority access is September 3 and will allegedly go in order-Zenith, Elite plus then Elite…however having read it 3 times or more I’m not seeing anywhere that says how to make the $500 refundable deposit to secure a spot to potentially book. 
 

[AshleyDillo]

I interpreted that email to mean that September 3 is the date they will take the deposit to put you on the list to have first access to book when itineraries get released. I'm not confident that date coincides with itinerary release or bookings to actually open.

[steverk]

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I interpreted that email to mean that September 3 is the date they will take the deposit to put you on the list to have first access to book when itineraries get released. I'm not confident that date coincides with itinerary release or bookings to actually open.

That's my interpretation as well.  I suspect the itineraries will be released on the 4th or 5th. But it wasn't specific. 

[PhillyLady]

I have decided no need to deposit $1000.00 and have it sit there, earning interest for Celebrity, when the first cruise launch date is not yet available (but at least not until 2027), no itineraries are yet posted, and I cannot see a deck plan.  I am already a bit bored (in the evenings) when I go on a river cruise --not sure how little children will be accommodated! Will there be a pool??  I can go on a few river cruises already before Celebrity even begins...

By the way, I was just in Amsterdam, and I was told the city is going to cut back substantially on river boat docking, just as they are doing with cruise ships. 

I think Celebrity created a lot of anticipatory buzz, and that is an important p.r. strategy.  I am sure there will be many folks who put in a deposit, just to be part of the synergy. I will wait for some reviews. 

[Doug_Texas]

On 8/20/2025 at 6:53 PM, PhillyLady said:

I have decided no need to deposit $1000.00 and have it sit there, earning interest for Celebrity, when the first cruise launch date is not yet available (but at least not until 2027), no itineraries are yet posted, and I cannot see a deck plan.  I am already a bit bored (in the evenings) when I go on a river cruise --not sure how little children will be accommodated! Will there be a pool??  I can go on a few river cruises already before Celebrity even begins...

By the way, I was just in Amsterdam, and I was told the city is going to cut back substantially on river boat docking, just as they are doing with cruise ships. 

I think Celebrity created a lot of anticipatory buzz, and that is an important p.r. strategy.  I am sure there will be many folks who put in a deposit, just to be part of the synergy. I will wait for some reviews. 

Good idea.  We’ve cruised Viking River and our best friends have done Avalon Waterways six times.  It is so different from ocean ships and ocean cruising that I wouldn’t want to be part of early river cruising with an inexperienced operator.

[Sharla]

There was a webinar today about this- Priority Access bookings begin Sept 3, and they'll require a $500 deposit. The deposit is refundable.

Beginning Sept 10 they'll start contacting guests/travel advisors to get them locked in. Then general public bookings will open after that. 

Sounds like they'll announce specifics after the Sept 3 initial run. 

[steverk]

I received this today

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/celebrity-river-cruises-2027-brochure.pdf

[smokeybandit]

Pretty damn slick.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Can't wait to see some prices !

[HeWhoWaits]

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Can't wait to see some prices !

There are some prices in the pdf @steverk posted above.

[steverk]

Based on what I found on the pdf, it isn't cheap but appears less than Viking and more than Tui

[twangster]

I'm sorry where's the casino? 

 

[Curt From Canada]

No indication that I can find if Celebrity Status has anything to offer on a River cruise.

Watching with interest.

Curt from Canada 

[KLA]

Given the blog on the front page today, these look amazing. I'll have an eye on going in the next couple years. 

[twangster]

4 minutes ago, Curt From Canada said:

No indication that I can find if Celebrity Status has anything to offer on a River cruise.

Watching with interest.

Curt from Canada 

Not specific, but there will be some CC perks. 

[Curt From Canada]

30 minutes ago, twangster said:

Not specific, but there will be some CC perks. 

Not counting on much. Anything would be “gravy”. 

Curt from Canada

[JasonOasis]

Sold out in less than 10 minutes. 

If they can deliver even half of what they are promising Celebrity will be a disruptive force in the river cruise market.  They've for sure peaked my interest to the point I may have to book one in say 5 years or so.

[twangster]

Celebrity Executives:

[Curt From Canada]

This appears to be very different for River Cruising, and might be the biggest change Celebrity is brining to River Cruising. From my brilliant TA at MEI:

“According to Celebrity: "Celebrity River Cruises will offer a similar level of booking flexibility to our ocean cruises to match our commitment to the friendly booking policies our guests have come to expect from Celebrity. The $500 deposit for the Priority Booking Access list is fully refundable at any time prior to being converted into a booking. Once it is a booking, it would follow the refundable or non-refundable fare rules depending on the selected fare."

So it sounds like you will have a choice of Refundable Deposit or Non-Refundable Deposit. I'm assuming that like ocean bookings, the Non-Refundable will be less expensive but less flexible and the Refundable will be more expensive and more flexible.”

 

I am not a River Cruising “expert”, but every time we tried to book, we could not get a refundable fare. 
 

This feels like a game changer …

 

Curt from Canada

[Matt]

Booked a sailing today (because I'm Zenith, I guess it's a day early).

Pricing was way more than the brochure. Maybe I just picked a bad date

[Curt From Canada]

31 minutes ago, Matt said:

Booked a sailing today (because I'm Zenith, I guess it's a day early).

Pricing was way more than the brochure. Maybe I just picked a bad date

When something sells out in less than 10 minutes, all the VPs get out their Ouija boards to set the revised price list.

I am not looking forward to the sticker shock tomorrow.

Curt from Canada 

[Riley]

The least expensive sailing right now is the 10/28 eastbound on "Seeker" and they are also adding a few more dates... a prime balcony "all in" was about $14,000 (I don't know how much taxes and port fees are but they're included in this price).

That's too late in the season for us so we picked up a "Compass" sailing earlier in October, which was more expensive (I'm not being coy - I actually am not sure how much until I get the invoice as my TA and I were running about 10 different scenarios).  Plus we added a refundable deposit, which hikes the cost up quite a bit more but it's far enough out I'm hedging our bets. 

FYI they are offering the same $100 per person change fee, but in a silo - you can only change to a different river cruise.  

Finally, brace yourselves: the $500 was to hold place in line. Our actual deposit to book was about $1600 (which they credit the $500 towards). 

 

 

 

 

[steverk]

17 hours ago, Riley said:

The least expensive sailing right now is the 10/28 eastbound on "Seeker" and they are also adding a few more dates... a prime balcony "all in" was about $14,000 (I don't know how much taxes and port fees are but they're included in this price).

That's too late in the season for us so we picked up a "Compass" sailing earlier in October, which was more expensive (I'm not being coy - I actually am not sure how much until I get the invoice as my TA and I were running about 10 different scenarios).  Plus we added a refundable deposit, which hikes the cost up quite a bit more but it's far enough out I'm hedging our bets. 

FYI they are offering the same $100 per person change fee, but in a silo - you can only change to a different river cruise.  

Finally, brace yourselves: the $500 was to hold place in line. Our actual deposit to book was about $1600 (which they credit the $500 towards). 

 

 

 

 

Ouch! No river cruise for me!

[Curt From Canada]

1 hour ago, steverk said:

Ouch! No river cruise for me!

More numbers … everyone sit down.

First thanks to a #1 TA from MEI. Over 2 hrs on hold, to be told:

Riverside

Non-Refundable: $7597

Refundable: $12,156
Infinite Balcony

NRD: $11,397
Ref: $18,236

 

Riverside

NRD: $7197

Ref: $11,516
Infinite balcony

NRD: $10,797

REF: $17,276

 

We are officially off the River Cruise wait list.

 

Curt from Canada

[steverk]

8 minutes ago, Curt From Canada said:

More numbers … everyone sit down.

First thanks to a #1 TA from MEI. Over 2 hrs on hold, to be told:

Riverside

Non-Refundable: $7597

Refundable: $12,156
Infinite Balcony

NRD: $11,397
Ref: $18,236

 

Riverside

NRD: $7197

Ref: $11,516
Infinite balcony

NRD: $10,797

REF: $17,276

 

We are officially off the River Cruise wait list.

 

Curt from Canada

Are those prices per person?

[Curt From Canada]

24 minutes ago, steverk said:

Are those prices per person?

No … per cabin (based on double occupancy).  I assume a single can pay the full cabin price and they would not mind.

The bigger issue, for us, was we could not get the dates we wanted. The availability will be “nil” quite soon. 
 

Curt from Canada

[karl_nj]

How do these prices compare to other river lines for similar dates/itins?

[PhillyLady]

The quoted prices seem more or less average to me, but cabin choice always has an impact. Wow--I would have to go with NR to be sure. 

River cruise prices also vary depending on time of year.  One must always be aware of water levels.

Is airfare included?

I get offers from Viking all the time, since I have sailed with them on the river.  The prices are a bit better than the quotes above.  I will probably sail on a Viking river cruise again before Celebrity even starts. Viking also has more unique itineraries and uses many different rivers!

I am hoping to sail on Uniworld in Egypt as soon as Middle East politics improve. (I like their ship decor!)

Of course, it is hard to calculate costs for two-three years in advance.

 

 

[Reigert2008]

Just in case you did not get this email, there is a "webinar" you can watch that shows some of what is coming on the ships.  It was the first I'd seen anything related to details.


We redefined travel on the ocean. Now, we’re bringing that same elevated experience to the world’s most exciting rivers—sailing through the heart of Europe’s culture, history, and unforgettable cities. Discover everything River has to offer in this special River Cruises Webinar where you’ll get a closer look at room amenities, the ship designs, the itineraries, and more.

This is one webinar you don’t want to miss.

Register by September 23, 2025, and earn 20 Power Up Points.

https://click.na.celebritycruises.com/?qs=e56b63a76491a72bc37e1cee64a0bbb7d2e56f4cca21ae82186f54b5741c7c037402c99f04ff013194ff9f462a1ae958108b7e8389b0310b09580fe97bf360ff

[PhillyLady]

Yes, I did the webinar.  It was just okay....