British river cruise company launching U.S. sales: Travel Weekly

U.K.-based river
cruise company Riviera Travel is introducing its fleet of European river
vessels to the U.S. market with a sales office opening in Fairfield, Conn., and
a U.S.-facing website launching on April 3.

Starting next
week, U.S. customers will be able to book Riviera’s 2018 sailings. Riviera offers
cruises on the Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Main, Rhine and Douro rivers aboard its
five ships: the Lord Byron, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens
and Swiss Corona.

The company has
four new vessels joining its fleet this year: the Thomas Hardy, Emily Brontë,
Robert Burns and Douro Elegance. The ships are built exclusively for Riviera and
are leased by Riviera, according to the company.

“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,” stated Jana Tvedt, vice president of Riviera Travel’s U.S.
national sales office.

Each ship features
a lobby with marble floor and glass-roof atrium, an observation lounge and bar,
and two restaurants that serve buffet breakfasts and lunches and four-course
dinners. Most ships also feature a sauna, steam room, pool, fitness room,
library, and hair salon or spa treatment room.

Riviera stated
that it is “very supportive” of travel agents, and as such recently
named two U.K. agents as godmothers of two new ships.

More information
about the new U.S. operations will be available next week at
www.rivieratravel.com.