Bonus: 9 Revelations from Seatrade 2025, the Leading Cruise Industry Conference and Tradeshow

Seatrade Global is the world's leading annual business-to-business event for the global cruise industry, taking place in Miami, Florida. We just returned from this premier industry event, which invites media to attend its tradeshow, keynote addresses, panels, and press conferences. 

Learn about the nine revelations that impact small ship cruising for the year ahead and that will influence your future travels, understanding how you'll benefit from the news announced there.

We highlight the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States and the unique itineraries offered by American Cruise Lines. Our conversation also covers the increasing demand for cruises, particularly in North America and Europe, and the importance of sustainability in the cruise industry. 

We've said it before and we'll say it again: the value of small-ship cruising is great! Find out why along with how the definition of luxury travel is evolving.

Dive into the 9 Revelations from Seatrade with us, including: 

1) 250th Anniversary of the United States, with U.S. Cruise Options

2) Deepened Desire to Cruise North America

3) The Increase in Seine River Options in France

4) Trends with the Growing Demand for Small Ship Cruises

5) Increased Time on Cruise Ships

6) Incredible Value of Small Ship Cruising

7 & 8) The Ship is the Star and What Is Luxury?

9) Sustainability Remains a Top Priority in Cruising

Chapters

• 0:00 Insights from Seatrade 2025 & 9 Revelations from the Industry's Leading Cruise Conference
• 3:35 1) 250th Anniversary of the United States, U.S. Cruises
• 8:26 2) Deepened Desire to Cruise North America
• 10:07 3) There's an Increase in Seine River Cruise Options in France
• 12:35 4) Trends with the Growing Demand for Small Ship Cruises
• 15:21 5) Increased Time on Cruise Ships
• 17:05 6) Incredible Value of Small Ship Cruising
• 18:56 7 & 8) The Ship is the Star and What Is Luxury in Travel?
• 24:32 9) Sustainability Remains a Top Priority in Cruising

Transcript

Mikkel (00:35)
We are excited to do a bonus episode today because we just got back from the leading industry cruise conference. Now this is B2B including media, not B2C. So we are here to give you the inside information with nine small ship cruising revelations from Seatrade 2025. 

And I don't know how you feel about this Dan, but I feel like it was our best Seatrade yet. We went in wanting to know more and more about small ship cruising. We set up specific meetings with brands that we wanted learn more information about and get some answers. And I really feel like it was such a productive and incredible Seatrade. How did you feel about it?

Dan (01:22)
Not only did we get to see friends and colleagues but every single tree Seatrade we've been to there's been something that we come away with either an "ah ha" moment or just a "I didn't know that existed" because you've got the press conferences you've got the panels, but then also the trade show floor and all the mix of equipment and products and all that goes into cruising. 

So for our listeners example, you might find a vendor that does just uniforms or somebody that will style the ship for you. Or there was also a virtual reality kind of mixed reality ride.

Mikkel (01:57)

Yeah, like a ride. Yeah, that's a great reminder. Yeah, I'll have to post that to our Instagram social media @sometimessailing and we took some video of that because it was really fun to watch the people that were testing it out. You could wait and test it out. We didn't but you know, because we live by theme parks but in Orlando. 

But I love that you're saying that because it's always mind blowing the vendors that you would never expect. There was a vendor there printing key cards.
Of course, people need key cards. There was a fog machine person there. There were people with pipes and new technology for sewage on cruise lines. 

I mean, all of it. We don't speak to all of them, but there are destinations that want to share about their ports. Japan is a favorite, so we walked over to talk to them about Yokohama and see the different things that is new in all cruising around the world. So, that was definitely a highlight. 

And also it's just fun to be amongst people that love cruising. There's a cruise for everybody. Some of our friends really love big ships. They don't like small ships. We love small ships, so we like to balance that seesaw out. A lot of people love all cruising, so it really just depends. But at the heart of it, everybody is there because they are really passionate and adore cruising. And it's really fun to be amongst like-minded people like that, which is why we're so excited that we reach you listening on the other side of this similarly because of that and you're really curious about it.

So let's get into the revelations starting with the 250th anniversary of the United States is next year and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And I hadn't even realized that until American Cruise Lines brought this up in their press conference. Did you realize that?

Dan (03:54)
No, I didn't. seems like as a kid I was celebrating something maybe about the Constitution. I don't know. I remember having a sticker. I was like wearing a sticker when I was in fourth grade. But no, I didn't realize that we were coming up on 250 years.

Mikkel (03:59)
Yeah. It's interesting because we go to Europe and one of the things we love about it is that the history is there and they just have centuries and centuries of history and we think of the United States being really young, but we're getting up there too.

Dan (04:20)
Sure, yeah, yeah, they've got some gray hair.

Mikkel (04:23)
So with that, American Cruise Lines is offering some really unique American Cruise Lines is not just the premier luxury river cruise line in the United States, but they really only have Viking cruise lines on the Mississippi competing with them. And I wouldn't even say competing because they just don't cruise as many itineraries as American Cruise Lines.

There are three itineraries and they're relatively long. So this is obviously for somebody who can work remotely or is retired or has another arrangement that they can cruise for so long. But what's really cool is that American Cruise Lines has combined various rivers and taken care of your journeys in between, whether you need to fly or whether you need to take a train or they need to drive you. 

So here's three examples:

The Great United States Cruise of 2026 includes 18 states and you're going to sail on three ships between Portland, Oregon and Boston, Massachusetts. And this is from the end of May. So Memorial Day, May 29th, 2026 to July 19th, 2026. And here's what I love about this itinerary. Guests on this cruise will spend the 4th of July at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US with a fireworks display over the Boston Harbor. I made a joke...I don't know if there's going to be any tea spilling over but that was instrumental in the United States being formed. So of course it came to mind.

Dan (05:58)
Such a great itinerary, you just lean into America, right? What I was enjoying about all of the itineraries that they introduced in this particular press conference was the idea of mixing and matching. So maybe you get on a plane and you fly to another ship on another river or else you get on a bus, right?

It's not just one river or even one body of water. It's kind of all over the place in a very organized manner, but like what an epic trip. It's not just a road trip. It's like it's an everything trip.

Mikkel (06:31)
It's an everything trip. Another one is Spring Across America next year, and that is 51 days, and it's sailing from Charleston, South Carolina to Juneau, Alaska. 

Juneau, Juneau, Juneau, Juneauver, Juneau, Alaska. 

And that is from April 3rd to May 23rd, 2026. This goes to 10 states on five ships. That's right, five ships, all American Cruise Lines ships, by the way.

And you're going to explore Charleston on the Atlantic side and the Charleston Harbor over to the Gulf Coast. You're going to the Gulf Coast of Florida, that is. You're going to explore the Mississippi River, Columbia and Snake Rivers and then go over to Alaska. Amazing. And lastly, we have the Great American Fall Foliage Cruise of 2026.

55 days, 54 nights, sailing from Juneau, Alaska over to Washington, D.C. And that's September 5th to October 29th to hit that amazing fall foliage. Do not forget your layers and your jackets. Right? Says the boy from Buffalo, Dan's from Buffalo, so he knows it better than anyone else. And you're gonna explore 18 states on four ships, including the brand new American Patriot, American Cruise Lines ship. And also what we learned during this press conference was that they are the only cruise line ship that can dock inside Washington, DC, which is amazing.

Dan (07:29)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah,

Mikkel (07:52)
That's really cool.

Dan (07:53)
That's pretty cool.

Mikkel (07:54)

Jinx!

Dan (07:57)

Another one that they introduced, we won't spend too much time on it, but the Civil War, there's a Civil War cruise. I believe that was 34 or 33 nights and going to go to pretty much all the major battlefields and cruise and also a land portion of that. You're going deep, but if you're a Civil War junkie, like that is epic.

Mikkel (08:14)
Mm-hmm. Totally. Yeah, epic and such a part of forming the history of the United States. Speaking of the United States, the second revelation was a deepened desire to cruise North America.

Dan (08:32)
Mm-hmm.

When we were at the Explora Journeys press conference, they talked about new itineraries to Canada and New England.

American Cruise Lines we already kind of talked about the US itineraries they have there. But one thing that always comes up that I forget about, we live in Florida, but I still forget about it, but like all the Florida cruising that happens, ocean and in the Gulf, but also on rivers here in Florida.

Mikkel (08:56)
Rivers, amazing, who knew?

Dan (08:58)
And they said that they always sell those out, which is awesome. You don't hear about them, but they're always sold out. And people cannot get enough Alaska in their life. So even more ships are visiting and there's going be more of those dream cruises in Alaska.

Mikkel (09:00)
Amazing. I love that.

And I want to add to that and say that big ships and small ships are going to Alaska more. And for us, what better way to see Alaska than on a small ship? So when you are looking at Alaska options, you definitely want to look at the smaller options. But in addition to Uncruise, in addition to Alaskan Dream Cruises, we were surprised that even HX Expeditions is going there, a cruise line out of Norway, and Explorer Journeys is going there. So these are just two examples of more small ships. So what excited us was not just to hear that more ships are going, that honestly was not that revolutionary to us - Alaska's really popular - it was that small ships are increasing.

Dan (10:02)
Right.

Mikkel (10:04)
Increasingly going there.

Dan (10:06)
Yeah.

To piggyback off a previous point we made, the third revelation for us was the itineraries in Paris and the cruising the Seine and Normandy. So we talked about Civil War history. Now let's talk about a little World War II history.

So Emerald Cruises announced that they were going to be sailing in Normandy in 2026. So that's the first time for them. What immediately stuck out in my mind is, you know, we've done Normandy on land and it was phenomenal. But it's going to be even more special doing it on a cruise.

Mikkel (10:39)
We have been seeing increasing attention to the Seine River and Paris. And it was in our meeting with Scenic Cruises and Emerald Cruises - Scenic owns Emeralds - that Robert Castro, one of the executives there who we're very fond of and love talking to about all things river cruising and yacht cruising, mentioned that the renewed love of Paris and interest in the Seine was because of the 2024 Olympics. 

And on top of that, the American flag flies next to the French flag there, which Dan said we know firsthand from visiting Normandy. And we went to Normandy a few years ago. If you don't mind me saying so, your grandfather had landed in Normandy during World War II on Utah Beach. And it was a dream vacation for us to go and be able to learn more about World War II history. And what I like about this is that it is keeping that history alive and it is visiting the cemeteries there to pay our respects even all these years later. 

It is taking people to Rouen. It is taking people to Honfleur. And Rouen is famous for where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Honfleur is famous for the flowers there. I remember there being a sign that it's one of the prettiest villages or cities in northern France. So I love that they are going there and I think that's a really great thing more and more cruise itineraries are focusing on.

Also, Riviera Travel is going up to Normandy. To give you a little hint of one of our revelations, we're going to talk about in a few minutes: People have a desire for longer itineraries and that plays into Riviera's journey up into the northern part of France and the Seine River.

Along with that, of course, is number four: for us, a revelation was that demand for cruises is increasing. Now, the demand in our household for cruising increases;
 as soon as we get off a cruise, we're thinking about our next one. So that's not that unfamiliar to us, I'd say, but you know, the data is there.

And CLIA, the cruise organization, has the statistics and the information to prove that it is a growing travel market. This includes small ships.

Dan (13:07)
Yeah, like Mikkel said, not really a surprise to us, but it was great to hear. And then also interestingly enough, a lot of the cruise lines were talking about how their audiences are starting to skew younger and they're demanding good internet and they're demanding a place to work or work space, maybe within the cabin, within their stateroom.

I heard the term "working affluent" and it just like it really stuck in my head. There are people that have that luxury of location of where they can work, but they still need to work. And a cruise is just such a great way to do that. So we could talk about superyachts. We could talk about river cruises. But that kind of being

Mikkel (13:32)
Mmm.

Dan (13:51)
Not just your home away from home, but also your workspace.

Mikkel (13:54)
Right.

And all this technology and the Starlink internet is helping people do that. And just to finish up this fourth revelation about the increased demand for small ship cruises, we want to mention the big announcement at Seatrade for Emerald Cruises that they are bringing more superyachts to their fleet. They have Emerald Kaia, which is not news, launching in 2026, but the news that's big is that they're adding to more superyachts. 

And what that says it is definitely true that there's more demand for these types of luxury superyacht cruises. And in episode six, we talked about budgeting for cruises and what to expect price point-wise and uncovered that river cruising and yacht cruising could be the same price.

So if you think you want to go on a small ship and explore an area, don't forget about these luxury superyachts, especially from Emerald Cruises that are bringing on more and more because the demand is so high. And that is just proof, if you don't believe us, that the data is there, that people are booking these types of vacations more and more.

Dan (14:47)
Right.

Mikkel (15:07)
So not only do they want working affluent and their jobs and lifestyle allow them to be like that, like Dan said, but they want to cruise for longer and they want to do it on beautiful, luxurious superyachts, for example.

So this brings us to point number time on these ships. People are cruising for more days. So for example, the increase in the 50 plus day itineraries we mentioned before for American Cruise Lines. And what I touched on earlier that I said I'd get back to, promises fulfilled that Riviera Travel is doing a two week itinerary. So this is kind of a combination of Provence area of France and then up to the Seine Northern area. So Provence is Southern and they're gonna start in Avignon and go up to Lyon and then take the train - the TGV - over to Paris same day and then hop on another ship to take that from Paris through the Seine River and up to those Normandy cities.

Dan (16:10)
Yeah, we definitely saw that trend of the cruise being maybe a small part of your entire vacation. Like Mikkel always says, like, if we're gonna fly to Europe, like, why are we gonna go for seven days? If you invest the time flying to a place, you're definitely going to want to maximize your time there. A longer cruise is the way to do that.

Mikkel (16:31)
And that's to say that a longer cruise vacation encapsulates that. So whether you do the back-to-back cruise itineraries and that makes it longer, or you go with a cruise line like Riviera Travel that's now themselves to include the travel portion to indicate to people that you can book, as Dan's saying, the pre and post tours through them. 

And to support the notion and the proof that people want be away for longer and thankfully remote jobs and whatever life circumstances allow people to do that.

Another thing that supports this, our sixth revelation and we've known this for a long time but we kept hearing it over and over during Seatrade during these press conferences... so it really drove the point home, which is why we want drive this point home to you...

Mikkel (17:20)
is that the investment for small ship cruising gives people an amazing value. So you want to cruise longer? Well, the value is there. I mean, when we go away on vacation and on these cruises, I always say we're saving so much money in shopping for groceries and we're just two people because we're cruising. the investment, of course, we invested in the price for our vacation and where we're going to eat and restaurants while we're away. 

Mikkel (17:48)
But our groceries are already being provisioned and purchased for us on these river cruises, these yacht cruises, these barge cruises, and the meals are included.

Dan (17:58)
Yeah, I can't remember who it was, but I heard somebody say, you literally cannot spend money on the ship, on that particular cruise line, right? Because it's all inclusive, it's all paid for, you've already paid for it. There's nothing to buy on the ship.

Mikkel (18:13)
Right, that's true. I mean, even your coffee and tea are included, your beer, your wine. Again, please listen to, if you haven't already, episode six that talks about budgeting for your cruise and what that includes for all these small ship cruise options, including river cruises, yachts, expedition, barge, and sailing ships.

And in a lot of cases for the value for the money and your investment, it includes excursions. Most cases, I would say, depending on the type of cruise. But then in some cases, it even includes airfare. So when you're comparing this to a land vacation, I would almost say it doesn't even hold a candle to the amazing value that small ship cruising gives people.

Let's move on to our seventh and eighth revelation, which goes hand in hand.

Dan (19:02)
So with that, some luxury small ship cruise lines are focusing more on just really the ship itself being the star. And it kind of seems obvious when you think about it, it's like, "Of course, I'm going on a cruise. Why wouldn't the ship be the star?" But the way these brands are approaching it, look at it as they want that experience on board to be so magical that you may or may not even want to take an example, at the Explora press conference, they were talking about just really the ship being so magical, so beautiful, so welcoming and inclusive that you don't want to get off.

Mikkel (19:42)
And the incredible thing about the leadership at Explora Journeys is that the two people that were informing us about the incredible things about this small ship cruise option, and they have several more ships coming in the next few years, which again, just supports that more people want to cruise and more people want to go on small ships. 

And these luxury experiences that we're talking about right now is that Anna Nash, who is the President of Explora Journeys, comes from a luxury background in hospitality from Orient Express, which is a very high-end train experience. And Chris Austin, who we really had great conversations with, comes from being at Starwood Resorts and Hotels for many, many years. And the two of them are injecting this luxury five-star hotel feeling into Explora Journeys. And we've just heard the most amazing things about them. It is definitely on our bucket list to go on Explora Journeys and share that with all of you. 

Mikkel (20:41)

And this includes things like Chris was talking about experience that he went outside on his balcony to read a book and there's a daybed on the balcony from what we understand on every single balcony there. And he sat down to read the book and just got mesmerized by the ocean and connecting with the ocean.

And that is luxury. And that is the five-star experience and making the ship the star. And also that all the rooms are balcony rooms. Every single cabin on these Explora Journeys ships, Explorer I, Explorer II, Explorer III, that is the name of the ships. I'm not just numbering them for anyone listening unfamiliar with the brand who's learning about it right now.

All these cabins are so you can enjoy the ship and connect with the sea. Explora Journeys - they don't include excursions. You add the excursions because they know that not everybody wants to go on a ship and do the excursions. They want to work remotely. They want to cruise for longer. They want to connect multiple itineraries, which you can do with Explora as well. 

And they want the Starlink internet and they want to work from their desk, like Dan said, on the ship. And another thing that we said goes hand in hand with the ship as the star is that luxury is choice.

And Dan, I'm going to let you kick off the conversation about this because I know that you were really moved by this and what Chris said about luxury being choice.

Dan (22:13)
It seems like it's a theme at every Seatrade and you listen to the panels with the luxury cruise lines on there and everybody's trying to define what luxury is and it feels like this year was the first time it clicked for me. And there was sort of a consensus almost. And that is luxury is choice.

Chris Austin from Explora quote that I wrote down from that press conference was, "Luxury is space and choice." And I thought, yeah, I think that was really the first time it clicked for me what luxury is. 

And that was also echoed in our conversations with CEO of Riverside - Riverside Luxury Cruises - Jennifer Halboth, and she was talking about it's really that choice - that's what makes it luxury. It's almost like you build your own luxury as you go along. And they just give you kind of they give you the tools to do that. And I thought, "Oh, that's really interesting." And it clicked because it's not about one size fits all. It's about building your own version of luxury and they just let you do it. Or give you the tools to do it, really.

Mikkel (23:22)
Right. You know, thinking about the 250th anniversary of the United States and why America is so amazing is that we have freedom and isn't freedom a luxury? Haven't you heard anyone say that in your lifetime or haven't you thought that luxury is freedom. And freedom of choice with these river cruise lines, these yacht cruise lines, these expedition cruise lines.

And Jennifer Halboth, as you were saying, was saying that they have a modular model of sorts for Riverside Luxury Cruise itineraries because it allows guests to choose their vacation length on a ship. It allows them to choose if they want drinks or not. You know, I've heard from several friends and colleagues that they've chosen to stop drinking recently. So what do you need to include alcohol if you're not gonna drink it?

This includes excursions and the choice to go on a bicycle or not if they have the bicycles as Riverside does. So Jennifer and Chris, we appreciate them from two different cruise lines, two different types of ships, river versus luxury yacht cruising, but really just driving that point home and this revelation that luxury is choice.

Dan (24:33)
Rounding off number nine, and this one is something we always are on the lookout for - and that is sustainability. It's always a topic at every Seatrade - how the cruise industry is very carefully monitored and watched and they police themselves just because of how easy it is to get some bad press if something goes wrong on a cruise ship.

Mikkel (24:55)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, all the scrutiny.

Dan (24:58)
Yeah. And for this particular Seatrade when we were walking the floor, we ran into 4Oceans and their booth. 4Oceans - their main mission is to

Dan (25:10)
pull plastic off beaches or out of the ocean or out of our waterways and then recycle it and do something with it. You may have seen some of their bracelets around. I think that's their way of kind of reminding people to recycle and a way to use the plastic in somewhat positive way.

Mikkel (25:29)
They were generous enough to be giving out Seatrade bracelets with the recycled plastic and I put it on immediately and every time I look down on my wrist. It's not the first one I've had. 

It reminds you of every little small action you can do to reduce, reuse, recycle, makes an imprint and makes a difference. And they partnered with Seatrade for the 40th anniversary of the conference for a $40,000 investment in removing 40,000 pounds of plastic from the waterways that we love to vacation on to keep our earth healthy. And that was just one example. 

MSC, we were so fortunate to go on the MSC World America cruise sailing out of Miami right after Seatrade. And we were blown away by the Yacht Club, but also blown away by their amazing recommitment again and again to the opening of Marine Conservation Center at Ocean Cay. So this is a recommitment to MSC Foundation and helping to restore corals in the oceans. 

And then lastly, just as an example of sustainability remaining a top priority for cruising, HX Expeditions has even more plans in the works for hybrid battery-powered expedition ships. They are leading the cause to get to battery-powered ships and operations increasingly and really are a, I would say, role model in that as far as cruise lines go for battery-powered operations. And with that, the ports have to commit to having battery power for them to plug into to recharge just like battery-powered cars do. You know, just like a Volt plugs in and needs more energy. So the ports are definitely partners in that.

But like Dan said, every year we hear about this and it's not a sexy topic. It doesn't get the most clicks on websites.

But to be honest, it's THE most important topic because if we don't take care of our earth, then we're not going to have an earth to live on.

Dan (27:35)
Yeah, well said.

So that was Seatrade 2025.

Mikkel (27:40)
Incredible. We hope you learned something from this. If you don't already follow us, please hit that follow button. Give us a review if you feel inclined, we would really appreciate it. Share this with a friend. We would also appreciate that. And we hope that you are thinking about your next small ship cruise. And we can't wait to talk more about it in next week's episode on Wednesday. They are released every Wednesday. We will talk to you soon.