Omicron has been a hiccup this year, but one segment of the cruise industry, in particular—American river cruising—is seeing a strong business surge early in 2022. Travel Agent has received much feedback about this growing trend recently from agency owners and consortia/host/franchise agency leaders as well.
“U.S. river cruising has definitely experienced a feverish wave of popularity with our 2022 departures currently up by 84 percent versus the same time in 2019,” says Michelle Fee, founder and CEO, Cruise Planners. She says many people are taking renewed interest in exploring the great wonders in their own backyard.
“It’s an alternative to traveling internationally where many travelers are concerned with the continuously changing entry requirements due to COVID,” she explains.
That said, other segments of travel are also seeing growth, Fee adds, noting her group’s “vacation sales for 2022 are up overall for cruises, international travel and guided tours, which tells us people are looking at all different types of travel, and are ready to take those trips that were placed on hold due to the pandemic.”
Demand for Mississippi
So, what are the river cruise lines seeing? “The Mississippi River sailings have been our most popular itineraries throughout our 10-year history and 2022 is no different,” says Shawn Bierdz, chief operating officer, American Queen Voyages, which operates ships on the Mississippi, the Ohio and other heartland rivers, as well as the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake Rivers.
But the trend extends to U.S. coastal waters as well, says Bierdz. From the fourth quarter 2021 and now into Wave Season, guests who were new to American river cruising last year and sailed on the line’s vessels on the Mississippi and elsewhere in the U.S. are now often booking voyages on its North American coastal and lake voyages.
American Queen Voyages' American Countess is among the line's Mississippi River vessels; the Grand Lobby and Bar are shown above.
“They sailed from Memphis to New Orleans or St. Louis to St. Paul when their international travel was altered,” he explains. “Now, as European travel remains complicated, they are booking Chicago to Toronto and Detroit to Montreal on our Great Lakes vessels."
Another trend Bierdz sees is that “past guests who typically booked one cruise with us over the summer are booking multiple itineraries telling us they are making up for lost time when they didn’t travel over the last couple years.”
The U.S. South Is a Hot Vacation Spot
On the research side, Similarweb, a platform for digital intelligence, recently analyzed travel trends related to all types of travel (flights, hotel stays and other bookings). In tracking consumer sentiment and trends, it discovered that southern U.S. cities are seeing the strongest booking performance across the globe.
While no global destinations in that Similarweb analysis had increases in bookings compared to 2019, Atlanta, Austin, Houston and San Antonio had the strongest performance with only 17 percent less bookings on average than December 2019.
American Cruise Lines operates numerous U.S. flagged river vessels on multiple American rivers. Shown above is American Harmony, a Modern Riverboat-series vessel. Photo by American Cruise Lines
Also sailing with a large fleet on the Mississippi, other U.S. heartland rivers and the Columbia/Snake Rivers of the Pacific Northwest is American Cruise Lines. “Memphis-to-New Orleans is as popular as ever—particularly this summer with continued interest in domestic travel,” says Susan Shultz-Gelino, vice president of trade relations, American Cruise Lines. “We are looking for ways to add more options for this region with itinerary adjustments.”
In addition to strong demand, Shultz-Gelino also sees a trend of cruisers seeking to lengthen their vacation time on an American river experience.
The line offers complimentary hotel stays for all river cruises, and “nearly all our guests departing on Mississippi River cruises in Memphis and New Orleans opt in,” she emphasizes, “but we’ve also added longer pre- and post- cruise packages.”
She gives the example of a two-night VIP Graceland package with two nights at the Guest House Hotel, and adds that “we have many guests upgrading to that longer experience in Memphis.”
The new American Melody, an American Cruise Lines vessel, has new interior design by Miami's Studio DADO.
In addition, “across the board, we have seen a marked increase in interest for longer cruises and extended pre- and post-cruise experiences, so we have responded by increasing opportunities across the country, offering longer luxury stays at Four Seasons hotels,” she says, just one of the many steps ACL has taken to tap into the consumers’ growing desire for longer American cruise-land experiences.
That's not just river but lakes and oceans too. Just today, American Cruise Lines revealed details of “Project Blue,” a brand-new fleet of go-anywhere ships for the U.S. market. The company will build 12 identical sister ships that will more than double the nation’s current capacity for domestic coastal cruises.
The hybrid catamaran design will allow the boats, according to ACL, to have unprecedented near-shore operating versatility. The fleet will operate exclusively in the United States, with a focus on small towns and close-to-home adventures.
A New Player Coming Soon
Coming later this year to the American river scene is Viking River Cruises, a global river line with extensive reach. “We’re seeing strong demand for our Mississippi River voyages, which indicates that our guests are eager to explore destinations closer to home with Viking,” says Richard Marnell, executive vice president of marketing for Viking.
He reports that many sailing dates in the inaugural 2022 season are sold out. In addition, "we have opened 2024 sailing dates much sooner than expected due to demand,” Marnell says.
The new Viking Mississippi will soon set sail on the Mississippi River, signaling Viking's entry into the U.S. river market. A rendering of its Explorer Lounge is shown above.
Viking has also seen many guests booking pre- and post-trip extensions, he notes: "They look to maximize their travel with extra time for exploration in cities such as Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans.”
"We're seeing increased interest in U.S. river cruises—with some folks canceling European itineraries in favor of U.S. rivers," says Jackie Friedman, president of Nexion Travel Group. "It's a great option for travelers wanting to explore domestic destinations."
So, as travelers look for a vacation in 2022 or 2023, American river cruising is gaining in popularity, both on the Mississippi and other U.S. rivers, as are coastal and lake cruises along U.S. shores. Consumer seeking to avoid international flights have many choices with new options and opportunities for cruising close to home.
Related Stories
Carnival Restarts Voyages From Charleston With Carnival Sunshine
CDC to Let Conditional Sailing Order Expire on January 15
Hawaii Approves Cruise Ship Operations for Norwegian, Carnival