Forbes Travel Guide will evaluate river lines. What does it mean for advisors?: Travel Weekly

Brinley Hineman

Forbes Travel Guide will begin rating river cruises for the first time in 2027, and river cruise specialists say the move confirms that the industry has moved from a niche product into the mainstream.

Forbes Travel Guide will begin evaluating river cruises next year through in-person, incognito inspections, with plans to reveal the ratings in February 2027, standards and ratings president Amanda Frasier told me. 

Prior to inspections, lines must meet a high level of guaranteed service, including the quality of its culinary program. The inspectors will assess “experiences that make river journeys so appealing,” including sun deck facilities, itinerary and excursion quality and the level of personalized service, Frasier said.

Though advisors who specialize in river cruises are experts on the industry and often test the product themselves, the debut of the Forbes Travel Guide’s river ratings can be another tool in the advisor arsenal as they steer clients to the right cruise, especially for those who are at the beginning of their river cruise-selling journey.

“I see this as a positive move,” said Jesse Taylor of Taylor Elite Travel, which sold $1.1 million in river cruises last year. “Forbes Travel Guide is a trusted source in luxury travel, and its entry into river cruising will help advisors and travelers make clearer comparisons.”

Taylor added that the guide’s rating paired with his expertise will boost client confidence if they are newbies to river cruising. 

Samuel Spencer, owner of Ocean & River Cruises Travel, said he was “very keen to see what Forbes brings forward here for the river cruise segment.”

Spencer said his agency, at which a quarter of sales are river cruises, has used The Berlitz Guide to Cruise Ships and The Berlitz Guide to River Cruising to help clients as they weigh which cruise they want to take. But fewer in-person visits to his office means fewer opportunities to pull the books out. 

“Having the ability to digitally access, on the fly, all of the ratings and content for key river operators and vessels from Forbes would certainly be something I’d likely leverage and to further support the quality level of my recommendations for client proposals,” he said.

The first river cruise ratings will focus on the Danube,
Rhine, Nile and Mekong rivers, and brands like AmaWaterways, Aqua
Expeditions, Avalon Waterways, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Scenic Luxury
Cruises & Tours/Emerald Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and
Viking could be considered. But we will have to wait until 2027 to find
out which brands will be tested and rated.