Cruises - the incentive trip of choice for 2026?
For years, cruises sat firmly on the fringes of the incentive conversation in Europe. Popular in the US, certainly - but on this side of the Atlantic, they were often dismissed as too traditional, too large-scale, or simply not right for corporate groups.
But that perception may well now be shifting, with agencies increasingly turning to cruises to stand out from the crowd – and clients, if you’ll pardon the pun, jumping on board.
According to Ellen Quigley, charter sales manager (MICE) UK & EMEA at Scenic Group, cruise incentives have been quietly gaining momentum for several years, with demand now reaching record levels.
“We started to get buyout requests and that’s when we realised it was really on the rise,” she says. “Corporates are looking for something new and different. They’ve done a lot of destinations and hotel chains already.”
For many corporates, the appeal of a cruise incentive lies in its simplicity - and its novelty. Rather than relocating a group from hotel to hotel, a cruise offers the chance to unpack once and experience multiple destinations in a single trip.
That flexibility is proving particularly attractive in Europe, where Scenic Group’s Emerald yachts are being used by UK and European corporates across the Western Mediterranean, with Barcelona, Nice and Rome among the most popular ports. Croatia and the Greek Islands also feature strongly, with some demand extending into the Caribbean.
River cruises, meanwhile, offer a slightly different proposition.
“River cruises are like a city break in Europe where you wake up in a new city every day,” Quigley explains. “It’s a new concept for a lot of corporates.”
‘Wild card’ appeal
Another key driver is agencies themselves. With clients increasingly seeking something that feels genuinely fresh, cruises are being positioned as a bold alternative to traditional incentive formats.
“Agencies throw it in as a wild card option,” says Quigley. “They want to offer something different and stand out from the crowd. And the corporates get excited because they’ve never thought about it before.”
That excitement is translating into serious business. Scenic Group is currently working with corporate groups ranging from 50 to 200 delegates, with automotive and insurance among the most active sectors - and bookings already stretching as far ahead as 2028.
While cruise incentives are well established in the US, Europe has been slower to embrace the format - largely due to lingering perception issues.
“Historically there’s a perception that cruising is for older people, or that they’re massive ships,” Quigley says. “But we offer a unique private experience - intimate, with small numbers. It’s a nice niche that works well for corporates.”
Crucially, these are not off-the-shelf experiences. Every corporate charter is tailored, with clients customising everything from itineraries to onboard experiences. These ships have theatres/conference centres on board for presentations, conferences, entertainment, which seat all guests, as well as huge outdoor spaces for events around the pools.
The time is now?
With corporates under pressure to deliver incentives that genuinely inspire, cruises are emerging as a compelling answer: immersive, flexible, logistically efficient and - perhaps most importantly - different.
What was once seen as a risk is now being reframed as a reward. And as more planners look beyond traditional destinations and formats, cruise incentives may be moving from the margins to the mainstream sooner than many expected.