Cruises for millennials? The brand promising to make cruise enthusiasts of younger travellers

Can onboard DJs, craft cocktails and yoga classes tempt millennials to take a cruise?

River cruise company Uniworld is hoping so, as it's launched a new brand specifically aimed at younger travellers.

The new U by Uniworld line will set sail next April with two specially-designed ships, called The A and The B, tailored to 21- to 45-year-olds. The vessels come with yoga studios, open-plan communal spaces and rooftop lounges, where travellers can sip cocktails or take a mixology class with onboard bartenders. The ships will also feature onboard DJs and “cool interior design”, claims the company.

The Danube, Budapest

Itineraries will cover rivers including the Rhine, the Danube and the Seine, with stops in major cities such as Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam and Budapest. Shore excursions are tailored to different “travel personalities”, such as foodies or solo travellers, and after dark, “U Hosts” are available to show guests the local nightlife. An eight-day cruise along the Seine in France is priced at US$1,999, and the eight-day Germany cruise is US$1,699.

“Cruising may not have been on the millennial travel agenda much before because, historically, there’s never been a product on the water specifically created for, and marketed to the youth market,” Kathryn Beadle, UK MD of Uniworld, said. “These itineraries are really fun, immersive and adventurous.”

Uniworld may lay claim to the only dedicated young people's cruise brand, but other travel companies have attempted to coax the millennials on board. MSC Cruises offers discounts for passengers aged 18-29, while adventure tour operator G Adventures, whose customers have an average age of 37, has introduced a river cruise collection that includes trips along the Ganges, Amazon and Mekong.

The Mekong, southeast Asia

For several years now, music festival organisers have been branching out with sea-faring itineraries, too; Coachella ran a cruise edition around the Caribbean in 2012, while Inception at Sea, which set sail on its second voyage this March, bills itself as “the world's only spring break floating music festival”.