Tom Stieghorst
Competition is heating up on France's Seine River next year as no fewer than eight river cruise lines duke it out for passengers.
Tauck, for example, is adding a new Christmas market cruise on the Seine and in 2026 will debut a pair of new ships in France, including a 124-passenger vessel devoted to the Seine.
Jennifer Tombaugh, CEO of Tauck, said renewed passion for the Seine is at least partly due to the attention created by the Paris Olympics over the summer. "Talk about a PR campaign that knocks your socks off," Tombaugh said. "France, and Paris in particular, really hit it out of the park."
Tombaugh said Tauck was strategic in its approach.
"We learned after the 1984 Olympics in LA never to run and operate during an Olympics year at that [Games] destination," she said. "The rates go up really high, there's no availability, then there's a surge of availability at the last minute, everything is closed so you can't give guests the experience they want.
"So, we were softer in France in 2024 purposefully because we were not going to operate during the Olympic period."
Next year is a different story. "Basically, the whole country seems to be really showcasing its strengths in new and exciting ways. Our demand continues to surge. France is up something like 50% in river cruising alone."
Adding to the Parisian glow is the newly rebuilt Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris. Rebounding from a devastating fire that nearly destroyed it five years ago, the landmark reopened Dec. 8, a feel-good story of beauty, national purpose and cooperation.
"Pick up any newspaper today, and you'll see Notre Dame," Tombaugh said.
While the cathedral isn't explicitly included in the agenda for Tauck's five Christmas market cruises next November and December, guests will have their choice of excursions either to the Cluny Museum to discover medieval works of art or to the Gothic stained-glass shrine of Sainte-Chapelle.
Also included will be an excursion that Tombaugh is especially proud of: a private lunch and afternoon tea at Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, the inspiration for Versailles. "I've been there at the holiday time, it's a magical place, and the fact that it is still family owned and run just makes it that much more special," she said.
Who else is cruising on the Seine in 2025?
Other lines are ahead of Tauck on the Seine, at least in quantity. Viking is adding the Viking Hermod in 2025 to do 14-night trips between Avignon and Paris. It is the company's fifth ship at least partly dedicated to the Seine.
Scenic has no less than seven ships that will be on the river for some or all the 2025 season. Avalon Waterways has four ships plying the Seine next year, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has three and Ama Waterways has two; Gate 1 and Riviera Travel are also in the mix.
Tauck's two entries, the Sapphire and Esprit, will be reinforced in 2026 by the newbuild, as yet unnamed.
Beyond adding ships, cruise lines including Tauck are looking for creative ways to provide extra value on existing routes. The new Romantic Capitals: Paris to Prague itinerary debuting next year combines an eight-night Moselle-Rhine-Main river cruise with stays at either end in Paris or Prague.
It addresses the question, Tombaugh said, of how to take the rivers and marry them with land components while tying things together in a creative way. "We find people really like that," she said.