There’s a newcomer to the river cruising scene that clients may not know about: Van Loon Cruises.
I first discovered the line at River Cruise Week, a virtual event produced by the American Society of Travel Advisors. Although established in 2021, Van Loon Cruises launched its first passenger riverboat in 2024. We chatted with Jasmijn Van Loon, co-owner and sales director of Van Loon Cruises, to better understand the company’s market position and how they work with travel advisors and clients.
What can you tell us about Van Loon Cruises' overall background?
We come from the cargo shipping [industry]. My parents started the company 38 years ago with just one small cargo ship, and then it grew to tanker vessels [transporting oil and liquids].
Then we, as a family, decided to do something different next to the existing business. With an eye on the future and the growing tourism market, we thought it might be a good time to step into river cruising. Our first river cruise vessel, named The Gentleman, set sail in April 2024. It sails from Amsterdam to Basel.
We work with many employees, [including four] family members — my parents, my brothers and myself. Then we have 70 crew sailing on the ships, on the tanker vessels and on the river cruises.
What riverboats are in the current and future fleet?
In 2026, we’ll [debut] our second vessel, The Nobleman. The Nobleman has 84 cabins (168 passengers) and The Gentleman has 86 cabins (172 passengers) The Gentleman has a massage room and a gym, but The Nobleman has a massage room, a bigger gym and a sauna.
We still have cabin availability for next year. We are open to working with themed cruises, music cruises or cooking classes. We also plan to do tulip cruises, Christmas market cruises and New Year’s cruises.
Co-owner Jasmijn Van Loon says The Gentleman’s modern interiors make it stand apart from over vessels in the market.
Credit: 2025 Van Loon CruisesWhere does your line fit into the existing river cruise market? How would you describe the brand?
If I have to name comparable river cruise companies, we are like Amadeus River Cruises or Viva Cruises. We’re four-and-a-half stars, we’re not five stars. We don’t have butler service, but we have a steady formula onboard with four-and-a-half-star catering and very modern rooms.
The interior of the ship is something you don't see in the market now. We have modern interiors with a lot of light, natural colors and natural materials. We have very big and open public spaces. Think about the restaurant, the bar and the lobby. The lobby and the reception really [bring] the “wow” effect onboard. Where other river cruise vessels decide to put two more suites, we decided to add [space] to the lobby.
What is your sales model?
This year, we have our first Americans onboard, and we are aiming to extend more in the American market.
We are a new product. At the company itself, we are flexible. If you talk to us, you talk to a ship owner. And for the guests themselves, it’s a totally different experience.
Tour operators can come to us with their own game plan. We don’t have a fixed itinerary; we are not stuck to the way we [have been] doing it for years. We are very open to conversations with tour operators to understand what their needs are, so we can fit our product to them.
For U.S. travel advisors, we have to do a full charter. They take the entire ship for a week or [more], and they sell it to other travel advisors. For now, we do full charters and groups, but not FIT trips.
