Celebrity Cruises is officially moving deeper into the river cruise market, with its new Celebrity River Cruises brand set to release itineraries for 2028 sailings.
The announcement marks another major step in Celebrity’s expansion beyond ocean cruising, following the cruise line’s confirmation of its first purpose-built river ships and a luxury-focused approach aimed at European river itineraries.
While Celebrity Cruises has not yet formally announced the full lineup of its 2028 river cruises, travel advisors say additional sailings are set to be released soon. In a Facebook post, Jim Burns of Caribbean Breeze Travel confirmed that Celebrity River Cruises plans to release more 2028 itineraries on January 30, 2026.
According to Burns, the 2028 river cruise season will introduce new vessels to its fleet of Celebrity-branded river ships designed to operate on some of Europe’s most popular waterways, including the Danube and the Rhine.
Moreover, the travel agent confirms there will be three new Celebrity river cruise ships joining the fleet in 2028: Celebrity Boundless, Celebrity Roamer, and Celebrity Wanderer.
Multiple test itineraries and staging pages can be found on Celebrity’s website. While these pages are clearly marked as test content and are not finalized, they provide a strong indication of the ship names and potential sailing options Celebrity is preparing to release.
Here’s what we know about Celebrity River Cruises itineraries for 2028.
New Celebrity river ships: Boundless, Roamer, and Wanderer
One of the most notable developments tied to Celebrity River Cruises’ upcoming itineraries is the addition of several newly named ships, expanding the cruise line’s initial river fleet ahead of its 2028 launch.
Among the new ships is Celebrity Boundless, which is positioned to sail on the Danube River. Early details point to itineraries spanning Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, with Budapest featured as a marquee destination.
Also debuting in 2028 is Celebrity Roamer, which will operate on the Rhine River. Test itineraries associated with this ship show sailings through Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, connecting cities such as Basel and Amsterdam with historic river towns along one of Europe’s most popular cruise corridors.
The Rhine will also be home to Celebrity Wanderer, which appears across multiple test pages operating similar Rhine routes. While overlapping in geography with Celebrity Roamer, the presence of both ships suggests Celebrity may offer multiple variations of Rhine itineraries, potentially rotating vessels or adjusting port sequences to provide guests with more choice.
Although not mentioned by Burns, another vessel named Celebrity Pioneer also appears on testing pages. This seemingly confirms that another river cruise ship could be joining Celebrity’s river fleet in 2028.
Two other Celebrity river ships, Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, are positioned farther east on the Danube. Early itinerary details suggest a broader Eastern European focus that could eventually extend into Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania, signaling an effort to expand beyond the most traditional river cruise routes.
Test itineraries unveil potential routes
Although the sailings aren’t confirmed yet, the testing pages unveil potential itineraries that Celebrity cruisers can expect.
The most prominent test itineraries center on the Rhine River, with several seven-night sailings appearing between Basel, Switzerland and Amsterdam, Netherlands. These itineraries are shown operating aboard multiple ships, including Celebrity Pioneer, Celebrity Boundless, Celebrity Roamer, and Celebrity Wanderer.
Ports listed on these test Rhine itineraries include:
- Basel, Switzerland
- Breisach, Germany
- Strasbourg, France
- Speyer, Germany
- Mainz, Germany
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
The test itineraries significantly broaden the port lineup, especially on the Rhine, adding classic stops like Strasbourg, Speyer, Mainz, and Düsseldorf that are largely absent from the 2027 schedule outside of holiday sailings.
Strong demand expected for Celebrity’s river cruise expansion
Celebrity has positioned its river cruise product as a natural extension of its premium ocean brand, with an emphasis on modern ship design, elevated dining, and immersive destination experiences.
Similar to the 2027 itinerary roll-out, demand is expected to be strong. Itineraries sold-out within minutes for pre-booking while sailings to the general public were completely booked within hours.
River cruise inventory is inherently limited because of the smaller ships, and new-ship launches tend to sell quickly. This is especially true for repeat Celebrity cruise guests looking to try river cruising for the first time.
With Celebrity’s loyal customer base and growing interest in land-intensive European itineraries, the 2028 sailings are likely to attract significant attention as soon as bookings open.
More details, including onboard features, final itineraries, pricing, and sailing dates, are expected to be announced alongside the official booking launch.
At the time of publication, Celebrity Cruises has not officially announced river cruise sailings for 2028, so this article should be treated as speculative.
