Tauck‘s investment in two new river boats for France’s Rhône and Seine rivers in 2026 could be broadened to more new ships and other European rivers, LATTE can reveal.Speaking with LATTE at Virtuoso Travel Week, Tauck’s President, Jeremy Palmer, alluded to further fleet expansion on the rivers.Last October, Tauck announced two brand-new, custom-designed riverboats in the lead up to the luxury travel company’s 100th anniversary of operation this year. In March, further details were unveiled for the vessels, ms Sereneand ms Lumière, following a public naming competition.The 130-guest ms Serene and ms Lumière will offer a variety of cabin types, with 80% of the cabins being 21 square metres (225 square feet) or larger, including suites with beds that face the river. Their introduction also sees the launch by Tauck of a new 11-day itinerary in 2026, Bordeaux, Paris & The Seine.Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.On the topic of new riverboats, talking one-on-one with LATTE At Virtuoso Travel Week, Palmer said:
“That won’t be our last announcement on that front. More are coming,” the brand’s former Chief Operating Officer said.
“These boats are awesome. They’re custom-built, that have a whole new retreat section at the back, a whole new sundeck and pool section on top, and still – I believe – the highest percentage of suites on the rivers, lowest number of guests. They’re going to be awesome,” he enthused.“When you talk about trends, for the premium American market, ‘25 was a record year for most people… blew 2019 out of the water.”“We have almost 70% of our planned business already booked for ‘26, and that’s running ahead of ‘25. And on the rivers, is running double digits ahead, so this is why we’re adding more capacity in France. We’ll be adding more capacity elsewhere,” he told LATTE. ” really, really proud of those ships.”Questioned by LATTE if Tauck could go to small ocean ships, Palmer said the brand already has existing charter partnerships or group allocations with the likes of Windstar, PONANT and Silversea.“We’re always looking at new vessels as well. Trying to get smaller. The best ship for the destination, so we’re looking at that as well.”Palmer said Tauck currently has record capacity on the oceans. “More than we’ve ever had.”“We’re very blessed and we’re very humble about all this, but everything we do is about investing for the guests and meeting them where they want to be.”
More broadly, Tauck has added new safari product and new National Park product, among 30 new tours globally.“We’re just really fortunate that the tailwinds are behind us. We are quite happy and we’re investing. We want to keep investing in our guests.”Palmer added that Tauck’s investment in self included its operating systems and website. “We’re elevating the experience wherever we can.”
