Lindblad Expeditions aims to make waves with European river cruises

The exploration brand is bringing its experts to the destinations on the continent

May 7, 2025 - 21:01

0 6

Lindblad Expeditions aims to make waves with European river cruises

Lindblad Expeditions is bringing its exploration style of cruises to European rivers for the first time.

The expedition cruise brand already takes passengers through the Peruvian Amazon, the Nile in Egypt, and the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the United States, but is now developing customised itineraries for Europe.

The sailings will be provided through the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions partnership with charter ship brand Transcend Cruises, in a deal that runs until at least 2028.

Details of the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions debut European river expedition season and the chartered vessel will be released in the coming weeks.

Each voyage will be staffed by expedition leaders, knowledgeable field staff and at least one National Geographic expert.

The experts will guide passengers on private tours, exclusive tastings and curated excursions.

Natalya Leahy, chief executive of Lindblad Expeditions, said: “We know that ‘how you see it’ matters, and that’s why we’ve curated these river voyages with the same depth, care and expertise that define all of our expeditions.

“With National Geographic naturalists and historians, and exclusive events woven into each journey, our guests will explore Europe’s storied rivers in truly meaningful ways. We’re equally excited to partner with Transcend Cruises to introduce a brand-new ship, custom-designed to deliver the elevated, personalised experience our guests expect from us.”

River cruising is one of the fasted growing areas of the market, according to industry body the Cruise Lines International Association, and cruise brands are responding with new sailings and ships.

Avalon Waterways launched a new Bordeaux itinerary in March to satisfy demand from passengers to explore the region.

Viking Cruises took delivery of its latest river ship, Viking Nerthus, earlier this year, and it has 25 additional river ships on order up to 2028. This will take its total ships on the river, sailing in destinations including Europe and Egypt, to 109.

Celebrity Cruises also announced earlier this year that it has ordered 10 ships to launch Celebrity River Cruises, which will set sail in Europe from 2027.