Riviera Travel has launched its 2018 River Cruise programme, which is now on sale with new additions and updates to its fleets as well as a new drinks package and itineraries, plus a new itinerary around Eastern Europe.

Fleets for 2018

Along with the MS Emily Brontë, Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde, the MS Robert Burns will be the fourth of the new ships, launching in April, joining the seven existing Riviera Travel ships. The full fleet of ships for 2018 will be as follows:

• Emily Brontë                     Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube
• Thomas Hardy                  Danube
• Oscar Wilde                       Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube
• Robert Burns                     Rhine, Main, Danube
• Jane Austen                       Rhine, Moselle, Main
• Lord Byron                         Rhône
• William Shakespeare       Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube
• Charles Dickens                Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube
• Swiss Corona                     Rhône
• Swiss Ruby                         Seine
• Douro Elegance                Douro

Itineraries

The cruise line will be launching a brand new rcruise from Budapest to the Black Sea. Customers will travel to Budapest, visiting the historical Paprika museum and cathedral, as well as a traditional horse farm before moving onto Belgrade in Serbia. They will also pass through the Iron Gates, a gorge forming the boundary between Serbia & Romania and explore the Mesolithic archaeological site before making their way to Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanassi in Bulgaria. Another itinerary, the Enchanting Rhine and Yuletide Markets will also go on sale for 2018 at a later stage.

The existing Amsterdam, Kinderdijk & the Dutch Bulbfields itinerary will now include a visit to Rotterdam and the windmills at Kinderdijk, and the Medieval Germany – the Main to the Danube itinerary will finish in Nuremberg allowing for a stop in the medieval town of Marktbreit.

Drinks packages

2018 cruises will also offer drinks packages, for the first time, that can be purchased before travelling. This will include a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during lunch and dinner, per person. The prices are dependent on duration of the cruise as follows:

• 4 night cruise: £59pp
• 7 night cruise: £99pp
• 14 night cruise: £199pp

Head of agency sales, Joseph Grimley, said: “Listening closely to agent and customer feedback, we have made a some exciting updates to our River Cruise Programme in 2018. We have enhanced some excursions and have included a new itinerary for 2018, Budapest to the Black Sea, which was growing in popularity. We know how well received our itineraries have been so far but we believe in improving the Riviera Travel experience as much as possible, year on year.”

For more information please visit: https://agents.rivieratravel.co.uk/escorted-tours, e-mail [email protected] or call 01283 744307.