Celebrity Opens Bookings for River Cruise Land Extensions
Celebrity says each stay is planned in advance and includes hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, ship transfers and a daily tour led by local experts.
Celebrity River Cruises has opened bookings for guided, multi-day European land extensions tied to its future river sailings, with 2027 programs in Prague and Budapest and 2028 additions in Amsterdam and Lausanne. The branded Before and After Stays can be added before a river cruise begins or after it ends, combining guided touring, hotel accommodations, breakfasts and ship transfers.
The product is being sold ahead of Celebrity’s entry into river cruising in 2027. Celebrity River Cruises has no ships in service yet. Revenue operations are scheduled to begin that year under Celebrity Cruises, part of Royal Caribbean Group.
“Every element of a Celebrity River Cruises sailing is designed to bring guests closer to Europe’s culture, history and people, onboard and ashore,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises.
Local touring built into each stay
Each Before and After Stay is led by local experts and includes one Discovery Collection tour per day. Guests will be able to choose from at least three themed tour options daily.
In Amsterdam, Celebrity said a contemporary artist will guide guests through the city’s street art scene before guests help create a wall piece using spray paint. In Prague, the program includes routes tied to alchemists and early scholars, along with medieval walls, hidden bunkers and Cold War shelters. Food and drink culture will also be part of the tour mix.
The company said the stays are planned in advance, with guests not required to coordinate or reconfirm individual components. The packages include hotel stays in premium or ultra-premium accommodations, daily breakfast and transfers to or from the ship.
Celebrity also tied the land program to work with regional organizations and small enterprises along Europe’s rivers, naming local artisans, farmers and cultural institutions among the groups involved in its destination programming.
River brand still moving toward service
The brand has announced an initial commitment for 10 new ships and plans to expand its European river fleet to 20 vessels by 2031.
The first vessels in the rollout include Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker in 2027, each planned for 172 passengers. Celebrity Wanderer, Celebrity Roamer and Celebrity Boundless are scheduled to follow in 2028, with the inaugural European program focused on the Rhine, Danube and Dutch and Belgian waterways.
Construction on Celebrity Compass began with first steel cut on Jan. 29, 2026. Celebrity has said longer-term expansion beyond Europe is part of its ambitions, but no concrete non-European deployment plans have been announced.
The announcement did not list pricing for the Before and After Stays or identify additional extension cities beyond the four named programs.
