River operators address concerns about overcapacity in Europe

River cruise operators have responded to concerns about overcapacity on European rivers as new players are due to enter the market and others plan to expand their fleets in the next five years.

New entrant Celebrity River Cruises has committed to deliver 20 new-build ships in Europe by 2031, while luxury operator AmaWaterways has an order to add eight new ships to its Europe fleet by 2030.

Speaking on stage at the Clia RiverView conference, Celebrity Cruises’ international vice-president Giles Hawke said more capacity on European rivers presented “an opportunity” for UK agents.

He insisted the line’s new river ships would be tapping into “a database of ready-made customers” from its existing ocean-going clientele, adding: “There are a lot of people already cruising.

“Adding some more river cruise capacity isn’t going to make a dent on the sort of volume that we’re carrying around the world as ocean cruise companies.”

He said the number of passengers on river relative to ocean was “tiny”, with the average river ship carrying 130 passengers compared to ocean vessels which can carry anywhere between 300 and 7,500.

When asked if the new river operation would be docking in lesser-known ports to ease congestion on the dock, he said: “As far as I know, we are going to be right in the centre of cities where our customers want to be.”

He added Celebrity River Cruises was “good for the next five years” in terms of ship orders, but insisted river was “not a hobby for us” so he “did not think we will stick with Europe long-term”, hinting at ambitions on rivers in long-haul destinations.

Avalon Waterways president Pam Hoffee said its fleet would “grow a little bit differently” and said the right pace of growth for the family-owned company was around one ship year.

She said the fleet will grow from 15 to 16 ships in 2026, adding there were “a few reasons” not to grow at “this huge fast pace that everyone else is going in”, such as a shortage of trained river captains.

Hoffee said: “If we were to come out with five ships in one year, I don’t know how we would deliver the same Avalon [Waterways] experience that we do.”

She added: “We need to make sure we don’t create overcapacity.

“We were in that position in about 2014-15 as an industry, and that’s not good for any of us.

“It means that everything goes to rock bottom pricing, and so those big commissions that got talked about also drop down, so we don’t want to be in that position.”

Speaking to Travel Weekly, Hoffee said: “There will need to be new destinations developed, which we are already doing.”

She gave the example of Ybbs on the Danube which is a small town where Avalon Waterways has been developing the port and excursions.

“They want travellers to come there and that takes away some of the pressure,” Hoffee said. “Those are the types of things that are possible.”

She added that Amsterdam has said that it does not want “continued growth” of incoming travellers, so river operators needed to find alternative destinations and ways of carrying out excursions to spread out the impact.

Hoffee said: “The key to sustainable travel is do they want us back and how can we work with the community to make that happen.”

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises UK and Ireland managing director Chris Townson told Travel Weekly that in its 50 years operations the company had accrued "a huge amount of knowledge, experience and contacts" in addition to "robust infrastructure" to navigate overcapacity issues. 

The luxury operator has three newbuild ships scheduled to sail in Europe on order to be delivered by 2027.

Townson said: "We are bringing new ships to market, but we’re growing at a sensible and realistic pace, prioritising elevation of the fleet and guest experience over volume, so feel we are in a good position to continue offering our guests the very best offering on the rivers."

AmaWaterways president Catherine Powell said it was “very exciting” to have more people investing in river cruising which would bring more agents and guests to the sector.

However, she admitted multiple growing operations put “a huge amount of pressure” on the supply chain of building ships, which can take 24 to 36 months from design to delivery, as well as on operations with docks, locks and power connections along the rivers.

“There is no doubt about the pressure on the industry, but I think as a whole it’s an incredibly dynamic industry and we’re very excited about this,” she said.

APT Luxury River Cruises & Tours UK and Europe managing director Paul Melinis echoed these comments, adding: “Every river cruise customer wants new ships and also new destinations, but it is difficult to build ships.

“You can’t just order a ship today for delivery tomorrow.”

Michelle Daniels, Viva Cruises country manager for the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, also placed a focus on “giving people a much broader destination experience”.

The European specialist currently has two ships on order for its new Viva Boutique line.

She said: “As river cruise operators, there are only so many rivers in the world, and particularly in Europe, where we focus, there are the rivers [we can operate on] and you can’t make new ports up.

“But by being able to connect rivers that gives people the opportunity to experience river cruising in a slightly different way.”