Nicole Edenedo
February has arrived, and with it comes news from some travel advisors that clients are not just in the mood for love. They're in the mood for river cruises.
According to a 2024 trends report from the Destination Weddings and Honeymoon Specialists Association, more couples who are planning honeymoons, familymoons and anniversary trips will opt for river cruise and small ship experiences over larger, oceangoing ships as cruise fares continue to trend lower than land-based lodging.
"We do see cruisers coming back in a big way this year. We're hoping to see more of them really embrace the idea of appealing to couples," said John Hawks, executive director of the association, adding that river cruises provide a kind of one-stop-shop experience for couples or groups looking to celebrate romantic milestones.
Not only do romance-minded travelers have lodging, meals, spas and lounge areas and onboard activities and programming at their disposal, but they're in the heart of Europe and able to explore the cities at their leisure, or they're able to join the shore excursions that may come with the itinerary.
"River cruises are ideal" for romance travelers, Hawks said. "Especially for the baby boomer couples celebrating an anniversary or a milestone vow renewal. And the age range seems to be getting younger and younger every year."
And with Europe on the minds of many romance travelers these days, it seems reasonable to think that river cruising will continue to grow in demand among that demographic.
Europe romance cruises are on the rise
Europe has become a popular destination among romance travelers, advisors say, with more choosing to spend time with their spouses and loved ones on romance trips across the pond, rather than in the Caribbean, Mexico and other traditional sun and sand destinations a little closer to home.
Charity Peaver, owner of Esprit Errant Travel in Charlotte, said that the romance clients she's booking Europe for are opting to spend less on lavish weddings, whether domestic or abroad, and are choosing to spend more on European vacations. Her clients are also taking longer trips.
European honeymoons that last more than two weeks and encompass multiple locations, babymoons and group couples trips with lots of activities are some of the trends Peaver said she has seen over the past year.
"We saw a rise in couples group trips, with lots of excursions and time for couples to bond with each other and their friends," Peaver said. "People are traveling together in groups more than before."
Hawks said that the rise in romance group travel is an opportunity for river cruise lines to attract this market.
"It's perfect for buddymoons," he said. "For the few weddings that we've heard from members about, it's usually a smaller wedding group. There might be eight or ten guests, as opposed to the kids coming along. They'll do the ceremony off site in one of the ports and work with DMCs to put the ceremony together.
Large groups are still a small market
But romance travel on the rivers for larger groups is still a small market, industry professionals say.
Marcus Leskovar, executive vice president at Amadeus River Cruises, said that while the company just finished hosting a group charter for a lavish Hindu wedding, these kinds of bookings are rare, usually due to all of the costs involved.
"Chartering a vessel for seven nights usually comes out to be expensive for a wedding," Leskovar said. "We usually get charter requests for weddings from families that are well heeled; they're spending far north of a million dollars for a wedding."
There's also the need for total customization, Leskovar said, as group charters have special food and beverage needs and usually want to curate their own cruise programming and schedules. While river cruise lines offer customization, it's only up to a certain point, he added, as crews need to be able to flip the ship back to suit the needs of the leisure travelers booked to depart on the next cruise.
But Transcend Cruises, a charter-only river cruise line aiming for the groups and MICE market, is betting big on the charter market. The company is building two ships, set to debut in 2025, that will offer customizable public areas, event spaces, breakout rooms, theater and more, to accommodate the demand they've seen for group charters on the rivers, including romance travelers.
"It's slow going, but our hope is that more river cruise lines, and even expedition and small ship lines, start to really embrace the whole romance sector," Hawks said. "It's really tailor made for them."