Dertour Adds Three Cruise Lines to 2027-2029 Catalog Program

By Daniel Okafor

Dertour will add three new cruise operators to its catalogue on December 9, 2026, covering travel from May 2027 through April 2029. The German tour operator announced the move at the industry event Campus Gespräch, naming Saudi ocean brand Aroya Cruises, Stuttgart-based Sailing Classics and Swiss river operator Thurgau Travel, together with its German subsidiary.

The math behind the lineup is simple. Three operators, three segments, none of them competing head-on with the mass-market giants. Aroya Cruises is Saudi Arabia's first independent cruise line, launched at the end of 2024 under the Cruise Saudi Group. It develops the Red Sea and broader Gulf market. Its inclusion gives travel agencies in German-speaking countries direct access to Aroya's flight-and-cruise combinations through Dertour's booking systems for the first time. That's a distribution first, and Dertour clearly wants sellers to notice.

What does each partner bring?

Sailing Classics, based in Stuttgart, runs a fleet of three large sailing yachts. The product targets travelers who want small passenger counts, flexible itineraries without fixed major ports of call, and a classic sailing experience. It's the deliberate counterpoint to volume-oriented mega-ships, and catalog placement puts a niche product in front of a much wider customer base.

Thurgau Travel handles the river side. The Swiss operator has built its position on smaller or less busy European waterways, using shallow-draft vessels on rivers like the Weser, Ems, Hunte and Oder, while larger competitors crowd the Rhine, Danube and Rhône. For the 2027 travel year, the company plans to deploy the new Thurgau Avanti, built to its specifications to handle low bridge clearances and fluctuating water levels on specific route sections.

Why publish a catalog six months early?

The catalogue drops almost six months before its validity period begins. That timing tracks a real shift: cruise customers increasingly book far in advance to lock in early-booking discounts and preferred cabins. From December 9, 2026, agencies can order printed promotional material and digital booking templates through Dertour's webshop and its agency portal, Come Closer.

The strategic target is obvious. Dertour wants to strengthen sales through traditional travel agencies against the cruise lines' direct online booking portals. Exclusive or hard-to-find product is one of the few reliable levers an operator can pull to keep agencies relevant.

Can niche partners move revenue?

The economics cut both ways. After years of consolidation and a focus on large ships, European tour operators are hunting for differentiation. Rising port fees, fuel and logistics costs are squeezing operators to optimize revenue per passenger, and specialty travel allows higher maximum prices than mass-market berths.

The catch is operational. Smaller ships and complex itineraries demand precise capacity management, which raises the bar for booking systems. Niche inventory is only profitable if the technology can sell it without leakage or overbooking.

Dertour's revenue expectations for the three partners remain projections until proven. The market will render its verdict when bookings open in the first quarter of 2027 — and the numbers, not the catalog copy, will say whether niche is a strategy or a decoration.