Group charters are big business in river cruising.
Several river cruise lines say that group charters account for a significant portion of their total bookings: for Amadeus River Cruises, group charters make up about 50% of bookings, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises says charter sales represent a "meaningful contribution" to annual revenue and for Tauck, full-ship charters are a significant and growing segment of business.
Karen Devine, president of 3D Cruises Partners, an agency that specializes in finding cruises for meetings and incentive groups, said the company's group charter bookings on river cruise ships exceeded prepandemic levels by the end of Q4 2023.
River charters in the MICE sector, Devine added, have been "gaining momentum over the last few years" due to the incentive sales presence from river cruise companies and because more agencies are focused on ship charters.
But while river cruise lines offer a product that is easier to buy out, groups often request a level of customization that most ships can only deliver to a certain point, since they are designed for leisure travel.
"We do both partial charters and full charters, but there's a difference in how creative or how flexible you can get," said Marcus Leskovar, executive vice president at Amadeus. "Real flexibility and customization is really only possible with a full charter because then you don't have to worry about other passengers that you have to share programming with."
That's where Transcend Cruises comes into play. The river cruise startup is focusing exclusively on the full-charter segment and is making customization a prime selling point.
"We are structured without the same rigidity of existing offerings," said Matthew Shollar, founder and chief visionary officer of Transcend. "Today, when you charter, you take a predetermined itinerary, dining menus and programming; we get rid of the rigidity and the pain points."
With no set itineraries of its own, Transcend enables programming of three nights and up. Groups also customize the onboard experience. There are no set menus or meal times, and groups plan their onboard activities and shore excursions or can request Transcend's assistance.
"We enable our clients to create their own custom shore programming, or we can assist them -- all with no markups," Shollar said. "We don't add surcharges to these customizations."
Demand for Transcend's charter-only product has been so strong, with bookings stretching into 2027, that the company began operations early: Transcend had planned to launch this year on one of two ships currently under construction. Instead, it began sailing last year chartering the former Crystal Mahler from Riverside Luxury Cruises. Transcend's own ships are expected to debut in June and August 2025.
Transcend said its newbuilds, purpose-built for its model, will cater to full-ship charters like no other ship in the market.
Sixty customizable cabins will fit up to 120 passengers, and each is convertible from 210-square-foot cabins for two guests into two-bedroom, two-bath suites.
Transcend Cruises ships will have a Forum theater on the upper deck. Photo Credit: Transcend Cruises
Meetings venues will include breakout rooms for educational sessions or appointments and larger areas for group programming, such as the sun deck and a theater with digital capabilities that can host TED Talk-style programming, award ceremonies, book signings and cooking classes.
The lower deck will have about 1,500 square feet of flex space with collapsible walls and can be used as a yoga studio or other activities centered around wellness, which Shollar said is a big part of the optional Transcend programming. There will be a total of 2,600 square feet of wellness space.
Branding will play a major role on Transcend's ships. Groups can use LED screens inside the ship as well as in exterior areas and on the ship's hull for their messaging.
"Imagine this is Coca-Cola," Shollar said. "We could put their iconic branding on both the inside and exterior of the ship. A drone fly-by can capture exterior marketing shots."
3D Cruises' Devine said there is already a lot of interest in Transcend due to its charter-focused model and because of its ships' advanced technology.
"That would be incredible for charter clients," she said.
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Corrections: Matthew Shollar's title is founder and chief visionary officer. His title was incorrect in a previous version. The lower deck flex space is 1,500 square feet, not 2,600 square feet. The total wellness space is 2,600 square feet.