Cruises

New in Cruise: Why Cruise Lines Aren’t Staying in Their Lane

By Erica Silverstein Oct 5, 2026 11:40am

Explora Journeys Lindblad Expeditions Royal Caribbean Sandals Resorts International

Explora III_Exterior_Explora Journeys — Explora Journeys is expanding to river cruises (pictured: Explora III). (Explora Journeys)

Welcome to New in Cruise, our biweekly update on all the latest happenings in the sector. Here’s the latest news you can use in cruise:

It’s been a doozy couple of weeks in the cruise world!

If you haven’t been following along at home (or here), Royal Caribbean announced late last month that it had bought a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts International, known for its Sandals and Beaches brands of all-inclusive resorts. The deal comes roughly a year and a half after the company made headlines when it unveiled plans for Celebrity Cruises to launch the corporation’s first river cruise line in 2027.

Not to be outdone, MSC Group’s Explora Journeys came out with its own huge announcement days later that it, too, would be starting a luxury river cruise arm. The relatively new luxury cruise line, the third of whose six planned oceangoing ships launched this year, has signed a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilder Den Breejen Shipyard and plans to open bookings sometime next year.

And earlier in September, Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, parent company of the well-known expedition cruise line, acquired a majority stake in White Desert, a luxury Antarctica land-based travel company, and Echo Charlie, a new aviation brand that offers small-group expeditions via a restored Douglas DC-3.

It all leaves an advisor wondering: Why are your favorite cruise brands expanding beyond ocean travel into other vacation types? And what does this mean for your business?

It’s all about the diversification of customer and revenue streams, said Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics for CoStar.

“They bank on the fact that there is a certain amount of crossover, and they can cross-sell from river to ocean and ocean to river, or from people who like all-inclusive land to all-inclusive [at] sea and vice versa,” Freitag said.

Both Sandals and Royal Caribbean have robust loyalty programs, and it’s expected that the programs will ultimately merge to allow rewards and status to accrue across land and sea vacations.

Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty is fond of saying that his goal is to “turn the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations.”

A life is a long time to only travel via oceangoing cruise ship, so by embracing the type of vacations Royal Caribbean fans wish to take (river cruises) and likely already take (resort vacations), the company can keep guests within its ecosystem and earn a larger slice of the vacation revenue pie. Some of the biggest names in the travel advisor sector certainly appear excited by the acquisition.

“As a leading seller of both brands, we see tremendous potential in bringing these two iconic vacation companies closer together,” Stephen McGillivray, Internova Travel Group’s chief partner marketing officer, said in a statement. “The Caribbean is in their DNA, and it’s in ours, too. Their vision of turning a vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations is music to a retailer’s ears. It’s also at the heart of what great travel advisors do: build relationships with customers that span many trips and many stages of their lives. This partnership gives our advisors even more opportunities to create extraordinary vacations, deliver exceptional value to travelers and introduce more customers to both brands.”

The expanded ecosystem theory also applies to Lindblad. Its high-net-worth, adventurous clientele are exactly the people who have the interest and means to explore Antarctica’s interior with White Desert or fly off to remote locations with Echo Charlie.

“It is a powerful partnership between two businesses that have spent decades pushing the boundaries of what experiential travel can be,” said Lindblad CEO Natalya Leahy.

Explora Journeys doesn’t have quite the loyal following that Royal Caribbean does, given that it began sailings as recently as summer 2023. But based on the rave reviews we’ve heard from travel advisors and journalists alike (and experienced ourselves), it’s only a matter of time. The luxury cruise line holds appeal for luxury hotel aficionados who are intrigued by a more hotel-like concept at sea and longtime luxury cruisers disappointed by cutbacks and slipping service standards on the more established upscale brands.

The line would not comment much about its entrance into the river cruise market, but a statement from the line said it “believe[s] there is an opportunity to bring the Explora Journeys approach to Europe’s rivers. … Additionally, we take a long-term view of the development of the Explora Journeys brand.”

Whether Europe’s rivers can handle so many new entrants when ships are already triple-berthed at the same location — and cities like Amsterdam are trying to cut down on cruise passengers — remains to be seen. But the time is right for new luxury travel initiatives.

“Industry-wide Luxury and Premium Ocean demand continues to be exceptionally strong as the ‘wealth-effect’ continues to be in full-effect,” wrote Patrick Scholes, stock analyst for Truist Financial, in a September equity research report, in which he noted “fairly lethargic” demand on the mass-market side.

Freitag agreed, noting that “the upper-end income earner is choosing experiences over goods, and there is a lot more room to run given the current stock market performance.”

Your UHNW clients are ready to spend, and Explora Journeys is taking the opportunity to expand its reach now to take advantage. Are these expansion plans limited to a few corporations or will other cruise brands jump on the bandwagon? And will the new initiatives be the financial boons the companies believe them to be?

The industry will watch Royal Caribbean’s next two quarterly earnings calls with much interest. The line has said the deal should boost 2027 earnings. The key areas to watch, Freitag said, are whether the brands can consolidate costs on the back end for savings and whether the mashup can convert resort-goers into cruise travelers and vice versa (or convince existing double-dippers to switch their loyalties from external brands).

The success of both Celebrity’s and Explora Journeys’ river cruise ventures might take time to discern; demand for Celebrity’s inaugural season was high, but that doesn’t guarantee the product will be appealing enough to convince customers to repeat. Both lines claim they can transfer their winning hospitality styles from a big ship to a small one, but when your guests love space and spaces, going small can be a big challenge.

The impact of these deals on travel advisors is less apparent. If you don’t already sell both resort and cruise vacations, or ocean and river cruises, now might be the time to expand your business to include both. Start thinking about how these expansions can give you leverage to convince clients to book another vacation without hesitation now that they have more options within a trusted brand. Both Sandals and Royal Caribbean are staunch allies of travel advisors, and that shouldn’t change with this deal.

And if you know the perfect match for Carnival, Norwegian, or Viking, let them know. They might now have renewed interest in finding the perfect partner for long walks on the beach and sailing into the sunset.

In Case You Missed It…

New Ships and Launches

Mitsui Ocean Cruises, a luxury cruise line that sails exclusively in Japan and nearby countries, named its newest ship Mitsui Ocean Sakura in Yokohama on Sept. 16.
Celebrity Compass, the first ship in Celebrity Cruises’ new river fleet, floated out ahead of its August 2027 debut.
MSC Cruises’ new MSC World Asia completed sea trials prior to its December debut in the Mediterranean.
Viking also completed the float-out of one of its new ships, Viking Astrea, the company’s second hydrogen-powered cruise ship; the ship will debut in May 2027 with Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries.
Four Seasons Yachts completed the keel laying of Four Seasons II at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy; the ship will launch in 2028.
Royal Caribbean named retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson as the godmother of its new Icon Class ship, Legend of the Seas.

Onboard Update

Holland America will bring Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding Bar to its Caribbean-based ships in 2026-27. The line is also introducing a new Morimoto By Sea menu, in partnership with chef Masaharu Morimoto, and the Iron Chef is set to sail aboard a May 2027 Alaska cruise.
Four Seasons Yachts unveiled its 2027 Chef-in-Residence program aboard Four Seasons I, featuring chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong, Paris, Cap-Ferrat, Tokyo and Napa Valley.

Itinerary and Excursion Roundup

Holland America has revealed enhancements to its private island Relaxaway, Half Moon Cay, including a new food pavilion serving island-inspired barbecue, an exclusive Beach Club experience, upgraded cabanas, and renovated bars and eateries.
Scenic Group announced its expansion into India, with plans to operate two luxury Scenic River ships on the Brahmaputra River by 2029-30.
MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia will return to its popular weeklong Canary Islands and Madeira itineraries in winter 2027-28.
Windstar Cruises announced three new Destination Discovery Events for 2027 in Livorno, Dubrovnik, and London (the latter including after-hours access to the Tower of London).
Regent Seven Seas has expanded its partnership with Motorsport Lab to offer shore excursions that allow guests to drive Ferraris and Lamborghinis in Barcelona and classic Porsches through Catalonia, in addition to other luxury automotive experiences.
Celestyal unveiled 190 new shore excursions on its new winter Mediterranean cruises aboard Celestyal Journey in 2027-28.

Sailings to Watch

Azamara Cruises has opened bookings for its 195-night world cruise in 2029, sailing from San Diego to Copenhagen aboard Azamara Quest.
Explora Journeys has opened reservations for its 2027 Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco experience, when the ship will be docked at Port Hercule for the duration of the race.
Ken Muscat, Scenic Group USA & LATAM president, will host his April 2027 President’s Cruise aboard Emerald Lumi on a special “Sensations of the Seine & Normandy” itinerary, sailing round-trip from Paris.
Seabourn has opened bookings for its 2029 world cruise, a 138-day voyage aboard Seabourn Quest that takes guests to five continents.

On Sale Now

Seabourn has launched its Explore Beyond Event, offering up to $2,000 in shipboard credit per suite for bookings made through Nov. 16.
Windstar Cruises has opened bookings for its summer 2028 Europe season, when it will position five of its ships in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Silversea has grouped its 17 suite types into four new categories — Oceanview, Veranda, Residence, and Villa — and attached an expanded slate of perks to the top two tiers. The added benefits will begin on Jan. 1, 2027.
Carnival Cruise Line has opened sailings for its new short cruises aboard Carnival Jubilee departing Galveston in 2028 and 2029. The line is also now taking bookings for Carnival Tropicale’s inaugural season, which will also sail from Texas, beginning April 2028.
Oceania Cruises has opened for sale 12 segments of Oceania Aurelia’s 180-day world cruise in 2028.
Expedition line HX has announced its 2028-2029 season, including new Antarctic departures from the Falkland Islands and the brand’s debut in the Baltic.
UnCruise Adventures is more than doubling capacity on its “Aleutian Islands Adventure with Dutch Harbor & Kodiak” itinerary for 2028, swapping the 36-guest Safari Explorer for the 74-guest Wilderness Explorer after three years of sellouts.