Will Sarson recently headed up his first river cruise launch as Riviera Travels new head of product, and celebrated by catching up with Travel Bulletin on the launch, consumer excitement and the collaborative effort behind the programme.
With the 2025 European river cruising programme on sale now, along with 32 themed departures, Will gave us a river rundown on what the programme offers guests new and returning.
"Our new themed cruises bring new, unique twists on our classic itineraries. It gives our customers an opportunity to indulge some of their favourite pastimes and interests, while enjoying all the usual five-star service you would expect from a Riviera river cruise.
"We have seen various comments from customers in letters to us, by way of our Tour Managers and Cruise Directors and on social media that they would like us to offer some slightly more specialised itineraries.
"Off the back of that we conducted some research of over 2000 customers and prospective customers to help us hone exactly what we have offered. So this new range of cruises is very much a collaborative effort with our customers!"
The new river cruising programme is balanced with the enhanced escorted touring programme: so where does the burgeoning sector fit within the wider Riviera portfolio?
"River cruising and escorted tours are both incredibly important, and very complementary parts of our business. We know that our customers do not necessarily stick with one style of holiday with us and we are always thrilled with the feedback we receive when they try different types of holidays.
"Our customers tell us that they trust us to deliver great holiday experiences, regardless of the style of holiday."
