The 2018 river cruise market is booming.
In order to truly understand why, we have to take a quick look back at what the cruise lines did to stimulate 2017 bookings. Unlike ocean cruises where it does not matter when you book (there seems to be an endless supply), river cruises usually book well over a year in advance.
2017 was like a perfect storm for the river cruise lines.
To those of us selling river cruises, 2017 will be remembered as the year of the “disappearing deal.” Everyone was caught a bit off-guard by the strong demand in 2017 after two really miserable years (2015/16). No one knew what to expect, so cruise lines kicked off the 2017 sales season (which began September 2016) with very aggressive offers designed to stimulate early bookings — and, boy, did they.
Their incredible early promotions worked so well that by February 2017 (5 months later), over 70% of all 2017 inventory was sold out. The incredible early booking pace signaled the cruise lines to temper the offers for the remaining 2017 space and they did exactly that. But, even without the big discounts, demand remained extremely strong for the rest of the year.
For 2018, demand fueled by "Boomers" is stronger than ever.
YOU MUST book early this year, as prices will go up quickly as ships fill early again. We are not trying to alarm you, just alerting you to current market conditions: high demand; stable supply. There were only 7 new ships built in 2017, and only about 8 new ones will be delivered and available for the 2018 season.
But, don't worry about losing too much in the way of savings! Even though the cruise lines have already begun to reduce the early-booking discounts, we’re definitely still able to find some really good values including FREE or reduced air fares and discounts of up to $2000 per couple. Just remember... This is a year where — if you wait, you will pay more. And, based upon what we're already seeing, this trend will continue into 2019, as well.
As one of the largest river cruise specialists in the world, we do get special deals from all of the river cruise lines. We are the experts to come to that will help you find not ony the best river cruise that will fill all your desires, wants and needs, but also find you the best river cruise values for 2018 AND 2019. We'll do our part to help, but if you're considering a river cruise in 2018, you really must BOOK NOW!
To help you get started selecting the river cruise of your dreams, take a look at the cruise lines listed below.
