Escorted touring company Trafalgar launched its new river cruise product last weekend by inviting the trade and media to a special event in Amsterdam.
Those onboard for the christening of Trafalgar Verity, which previously sailed under the name River Queen and is one of three ships to be chartered from sister brand Uniworld, enjoyed two gala dinners, entertainment and excursions that feature in the operator’s land tours programme.
At the same time as the celebration on Trafalgar Verity, fare-paying guests embarked on the inaugural cruise of a second Trafalgar cruise ship, Trafalgar Reverie (previously River Princess) on the Danube.
A third ship chartered from Uniworld, Trafalgar Harmonie, will begin sailing on the Rhine in 2027 and three new-build vessels will be added from 2028, including one that will cruise on the Douro River in Portugal. Trafalgar says more ships will follow from 2029.
Melissa DaSilva, Deputy CEO and Chief Sales Officer of TTC Tour Brands, part of parent company The Travel Corporation (TTC), said the expansion into river cruising is a “natural extension” of Trafalgar’s land tours programme and will appeal to both existing and new customers attracted by a holiday that combines a cruise on Europe’s main rivers with the company’s well-established land excursions.
“We don’t see it as a departure from what at we already do but more of a complement to it. We know it is something our guests are looking for and now we have the product to stop them looking elsewhere for their river cruise,” she said.
“Not everyone wants to do an escorted tour every year; many want to explore in different ways, and river cruise is a popular way to do that. Our ethos is the ship is not the destination…it is a mode of transportation to take you to a destination that you can enjoy and experience it in an immersive way.
“Obviously, we must be in the game in terms of hardware on the river. That is, to ensure guests get a beautiful experience on board, that the food and service is outstanding, that the bed is comfortable…but I don’t think that will be our main appeal,” she added.
“We will be competitive, but our real win will come onshore, when we take our guests to enjoy our Be My Guest experiences and our guided extensions before and after the cruise. I think our opportunity rests in how well we deliver the destination.”
TTC’s research revealed that just 17% of Trafalgar guests had taken a river cruise but when asked if they would either be “likely interested” or “very likely interested” if Trafalgar offered the option 74% responded positively.
“We knew then we were onto something,” she said.
“Of river bookings booked for 2026, 35% are past Trafalgar guests and the other 65% are new to the Trafalgar brand, so river cruising has opened our brand up to a sector of people we were not previously speaking to,” she added.
DaSilva said the opportunity to enter the crowded river cruise market was presented when TTC was purchased by private equity company Apollo in late 2024.
“We had vessels coming out of rotation from our Uniworld fleet as part of an upgrade to their super ships.
“This gave us a great opportunity to do a quick and low-risk entry into the river cruise market,” she said.
Apollo has earmarked an investment pot of half a billion dollars to TTC over the next five years, with most of that being spent on river cruising, including the new build ships.
“We are fortunate Uniworld is our sister brand and we can tap into their teams and knowledge,” said DaSilva.
By 2029 river cruising will represent roughly 20% of TTC’s business – and agents will be key to that growth, particularly in building awareness in the UK and Irish markets which currently makes up a “tiny” percentage of business and where awareness is “low”, said TTC Tour Brands EMEA Kelly Jackson.
“Around 70% of our land tours are booked through our travel advisor partners; they are a huge part of why guests repeat…not just for the experience they have with us but also the experience they have with their travel advisors.
“But for cruise we are starting at the beginning really… and that is why the trade will be highly important to us and why we will be ramping up our engagement with them.”
UK and Irish agents were not invited to the event on Trafalgar Verity but will be offered a programme of ship visits, fam trips, special rates offering discounts or around 60% for their own holidays, competitions and other incentives, added Jackson, who said the agent fams will feature small groups at a time and could start as early as next month (May).
“It’s just a short hop for travel advisors in the UK and Ireland and we will bring over as many as we can, probably more than from any other region,” she added.
“We have room on select sailings between now and October to have agents onboard.”
Key to trade training will be a clear “positioning” of Trafalgar’s river cruise product in what is an increasingly crowded sector.
DaSilva added: “We have been very thoughtful in setting our pricing at a point that Trafalgar guests will be able to afford.
“We are offering a premium rather than a luxury product and see ourselves sitting somewhere between, say, Viking and AmaWaterways and Avalon
“Trafalgar is not a brand for the super-adventurous traveller though…but saying that a lot of the rivers we are considering are not the ones you might first think of, but we are going to be led by consumer research.”
DaSilva said the war in the Middle East was deterring many from its main markets, the USA, Australasia and Asia, but said capacity for this year is already above 80%, with most bookings made before the conflict started.
This week Trafalgar Verity is sailing with its first fare-paying passengers on a regular nine-day “Best of the Rhine and Amsterdam) itinerary between Arnhem (near Amsterdam) and Basle (Switzerland), featuring stops in Cologne, Koblenz, Speyer, and Strasbourg. The ship will operate Christmas Markets cruises later in the year.
trafalgar.com
