Recommend sat down with Stuart Milan, President of North America for Riviera Travel, to get insight on what the future of the company, now that it has rebranded, looks like—from new itineraries and new ships to a focus on North American travel advisors.
“A UK brand for the last for 41 years, we are now making sure we have the same presence in the U.S. as we have in our other global markets,” says Milan.
New Tours & Ships
“We don’t just sell river cruises. Riviera Travel also sells yacht cruises in the Adriatic (40 passengers max) and we’re going to start combining our Europe land tours with our Europe river cruises, including an expansion of our Grand Tour collection, with three new 2026 itineraries,” adds Milan.
The new 14-night Grand Tours for 2026 are exclusively for American travelers: The Grand Tour of the Heart of Italy to Portugal’s Douro Valley Cruise, with four departures; the Grand Tour of Italian Lakes, Swiss Mountains and Majestic River Rhine Cruise, with five departures; and the Grand Tour of France Provence, Paris & River Seine Cruise, with five departures.
Riviera Travel also recently welcomed the 114-passenger Riviera Rose on the Douro River and coming later this year is the 178-passenger Riviera Radiance on the Danube, with another ship expected in 2026.
Trends
“We are different in that we have 50 solo-dedicated sailings in 2025. These are either single or in groups, but only solo travelers on board these sailings. This is a very fast-growing segment.
“On the growing trend for themed cruises, such as wine/food, culture, we are offering more than ever before,” Milan notes.
Regarding length of cruise, Milan says Riviera Travel is seeing a trend in both shorter and longer cruises, versus the standard 7-day cruises. So, in addition to their 8-and 11-day sailings, they offer “5-day sailings as well as longer combination cruises that are three to four weeks,” he says.
Focus
Riviera Travel “serves the ‘over 60’ market, not families,” says Milan, “We are going to stay focused on this market. We offer excursions throughout our brand, some more off the beaten path, and we change the food and wine served, so we evolve and cater to the destination we are sailing to,” adds Milan.
He points to the Douro as being hugely popular, telling us that the river “has seen tremendous growth and is still one of the fastest growing segments of our cruises.” That said, for the first-time river cruiser, he recommends the Danube.
Milan reminds advisors to tell customers about the value proposition with river cruises. “[River cruise] passengers sail to capital cities, but if they try to do them individually [by land], it will cost them a fortune.”
“We consider ourselves a premium brand and we price ourselves in the ‘great value for the money’ bucket,” says Milan. “Riviera Travel has a strong commitment to the U.S., with a new office in Fort Lauderdale and a dedicated contact center for the U.S. travel advisor and customer service.” He adds, too, that the company is expanding its regional sales staff to better serve travel advisors, as well as investing in a new dedicated learning platform for travel advisors that is coming this summer with the debut of a new website.
For more information, visit rivierarivercruises.com/agency.
