Transcend Names Connect, Its First Purpose-Built MICE River Vessel
Connect has sixty staterooms that can pair into thirty two-room suites, plus five full-group event spaces and ten breakout rooms.
Transcend Cruises named Transcend Connect on Monday at Den Breejen Shipyard in the Netherlands, introducing its first purpose-built river vessel for full-ship group charters, meetings, incentives, conferences and private events. The 135-meter vessel is configured for up to 120 attendees.
Connect is designed to function as a floating venue, with accommodations, meeting rooms, hospitality spaces and electronic signage adapted for each client.
A full-ship venue for MICE charter clients
“Every detail of this ship has been purpose-built for meetings, incentives, conferences and exclusive events,” Transcend Cruises CEO Gregg Marston said at the naming. “She is not a river cruise ship. She is not a hotel,” said Kimberly Daley, the company’s chief operating officer.
Before the short naming cruise from Dordrecht, Transcend hosted brokers, alumni and affinity travel planners, tour operators and corporate incentive planners onboard. The first charter after the naming is for a multigenerational family, followed by National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions and then a group from an Australian tour operator.
Connect has 60 staterooms that can be paired into 30 two-room suites, with 120 beds and 54 crew members. Its event layout includes five spaces able to hold the full charter group and 10 smaller breakout spaces. The Forum, a tiered central area, is intended for presentations and gatherings, while other rooms can be set as boardrooms or private dining rooms; the vessel also includes a studio space and a large spa/wellness area.
Tillberg Design of Sweden handled the interior and exterior under Viken Group. The design includes a reverse bow, large windows and interiors using natural timber, textured stone, warm metals and soft fabrics. “Transcend challenged us to rethink what a river vessel could be,” said Anna Silvesjo, CEO of Viken Group.
The vessel uses EU Stage V engines and an electric thruster system for short emissions-free operations, with a listed maximum speed of 14 knots. River Advice/United Waterways provides ship management and crewing for the vessel; Sascha Gill, CEO of United Waterways, said Transcend had created a “dedicated MICE product” for the white-label market.
Marja van Bijsterveldt, the Netherlands envoy for the maritime manufacturing industry, served as godmother and called the vessel an “excellent result of Dutch maritime manufacturing.” Peter Burger, managing director and CEO of Den Breejen Shipyard, said the project brought together participants from several countries and thanked Transcend for its partnership on the build.
Newbuild series moves to the next hull
Transcend began operations with the chartered Transcend Advance, formerly Crystal Mahler, before moving into newbuilds dedicated to the group-charter model. Founder Matthew Shollar traced the Connect concept to a 2018 planning session and said early deck plans remained close to the vessel presented at the yard.
The hull of Transcend Evolve, the second vessel in the current four-ship series, arrived at Den Breejen from Romania during the Connect event and will be outfitted at Hardinxveld-Giessendam ahead of planned 2027 delivery. Sister vessels Create and Engage are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
Shawn Horwitz, Transcend chairman and an investor, called Connect the “first of 12 chapters in a book we are about to write.”
