Celebrity Cruises Is Making Its River Cruises Longer With New Immersive City Stays
Your river cruise may soon begin days before you step aboard.
Celebrity River Cruises has unveiled a new collection of Before and After Stays, curated multi-day experiences designed to bookend its upcoming river cruises with immersive city explorations in some of Europe’s most iconic destinations.
The new programs are now available for reservations, with 2027 stays in Prague and Budapest already on sale and 2028 additions in Amsterdam and Lausanne expanding the lineup. The experiences are available before your sailing begins or after it ends, extending the vacation beyond the river itself.
The announcement comes as Celebrity continues building toward the launch of its new river cruise operation, which is set to bring the brand’s premium style to Europe’s Rhine and Danube rivers.
A Different Kind of Pre- or Post-Cruise Experience
Celebrity’s Before and After Stays go beyond the traditional hotel package.
Each itinerary includes two or three nights in centrally located premium or ultra-premium hotels, daily breakfast, transfers to or from the ship and a curated program of experiences designed around the character of each destination.
Instead of standard sightseeing tours, Celebrity is introducing what it calls its Discovery Collection, with locally led experiences built around history, food, art and neighborhood culture.
Every day includes one guided excursion, with guests choosing from at least three different themes depending on their interests.
Celebrity says the goal is to help travelers experience cities through local perspectives rather than simply checking off major landmarks.
Exploring Europe Through Local Eyes
The new experiences rely on two types of local experts.
Local Storytellers lead small-group experiences focused on the people, traditions and stories that define each destination.
Destination Insiders help guests uncover restaurants, neighborhoods and experiences that often don’t appear in traditional guidebooks.
In Amsterdam, one excursion is led by a local contemporary artist through the city’s evolving street art scene before guests create their own collaborative mural.
In Prague, experiences range from following the city’s medieval alchemists through hidden passageways and Gothic architecture to exploring Cold War shelters beneath the city. Another option focuses on Czech brewing traditions, visiting historic taverns while tracing centuries of beer culture.
The emphasis is on giving travelers multiple ways to experience the same destination depending on what interests them most.
An Extension of the Cruise
Celebrity says the city stays are designed to feel like a continuation of the onboard experience rather than a separate vacation component.
“Every element of a Celebrity River Cruises sailing is designed to bring guests closer to Europe’s culture, history and people, onboard and ashore,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises.
She said the Before and After Stays are intended to deepen connections with each destination through experiences that create lasting memories beyond the cruise itself.
The cruise line also handles all of the logistics in advance, allowing guests to arrive knowing hotels, transportation and daily programming have already been arranged.
Looking Ahead to Celebrity River Cruises
Celebrity River Cruises plans to operate 33 sailings in 2027, expanding to 160 departures in 2028, visiting more than 50 destinations along the Rhine and Danube rivers.
The addition of Before and After Stays reflects a broader trend in premium cruising, with more cruise lines encouraging travelers to spend extra time in embarkation and disembarkation cities rather than treating them simply as gateways.
For Celebrity, the new programs are designed to make Europe’s great cities as much a part of the vacation as the rivers connecting them.
