Riviera Travel, the United Kingdom’s leading river cruise operator, is bringing its highly rated five-star product to the U.S. market, offering 11 itineraries across Europe in 2018 to American customers through a new national sales office in Fairfield, Connecticut, and website starting April 3, 2017. With more than 30 years of experience in European travel, Riviera Travel has hosted over 100,000 guests on its river cruises, which are known for spacious cabins and suites, a relaxed atmosphere, sumptuous on-board meals, captivating excursions and exceptional value. For more information about the new U.S. operations, visit http://rivieratravel.com/, or call 888-838-8820 or your travel professional.
“After years of success in the U.K., Riviera Travel is excited to introduce its competitively priced, five-star river cruise product to U.S. travelers for the first time,” said Jana Tvedt, Vice President of Riviera Travel’s U.S. national sales office. “If you compare the quality of our ships, food, excursions – everything we offer – and our prices, we don’t think you’ll find a better river cruising experience for less.”
Riviera Travel itineraries available to U.S. customers include cruises on the Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Main, Rhône and Douro rivers aboard the MS Lord Byron, MS Jane Austen, MS William Shakespeare, MS Charles Dickens and MS Swiss Corona, and, new in 2017, the MS Thomas Hardy, MS Emily Brontë, MS Robert Burns and MS Douro Elegance.
Each Riviera Travel river cruise ship is a floating, luxury boutique hotel with exceptional river views guaranteed. In the grand marble-floored lobby, guests are bathed in natural light streaming in through the glass roof of the atrium above. Other facilities include fully air-conditioned decks, a panoramic observation lounge and bar, and a choice of two restaurants with tea and coffee, full buffet breakfasts, delicious lunches and sumptuous four-course dinners of international classics and regional specialties. Most ships also feature a sauna, steam room, pool, fitness suite, library, and hair salon or treatment room.
All cabins and suites are luxuriously appointed, with hotel-style bed, crisp cotton linens, choice of soft or firm pillows, en-suite bathroom with shower, thick fluffy towels, complimentary toiletries, hair dryer, sitting area, small desk, flat-screen TV, complimentary Wi-Fi, safe, telephone and individually controlled air conditioning/heating.
On Riviera Travel ships, itineraries are thoughtfully balanced so there is ample time to relax, sip coffee in a quintessentially European café and watch the world go by. Dedicated cruise directors and tour managers offer personal service at every step, and the hand-picked crew is on call 24/7 to make guests’ stay more comfortable. In cities and destinations along the way, tour managers and local guides bring history and culture to life through engaging excursions, while guests also have the freedom to explore on their own.
Riviera Travel guarantees there are never any hidden surcharges, extras or fees that will be added later, so the cost won’t increase no matter what happens after guests book. To ensure everyone pays the same, Riviera Travel doesn’t inflate prices or offer artificial discounts, nor does it automatically include gratuities or drinks, so the choice is up to guests.
Riviera Travel is very supportive of the travel agent community and recently named two U.K. agents as godmothers of its newly christened ships. More than 30 travel agents attended the company’s ship christening on Feb. 24, 2017, in Amsterdam, where Christina Astill of GoCruise and Tracey Scales of Travel Counsellors were named godmothers of the Emily Brontë and Thomas Hardy, respectively.
