TORONTO — Cruise Strategies Ltd. has signed a new partnership with David Morris International (DMI) and Riviera River Cruises, a British company with offices in Fairfield, CT as the cruise company enters the Canadian market for the first time.
“With the expertise of the DMI and Cruise Strategies teams we can now focus on bringing our product to North America,” said Ben Hitchcock, Riviera Cruises’ Director of Sales and Marketing.
The company was established in 1984. In the last five years Riviera Cruises has introduced more than 100,000 people to river cruising in Europe, says Hitchcock.
Riviera selected DMI exclusively to represent its cruise division in the North American market and DMI has in turn selected Cruise Strategies, headed up by President and CEO Vanessa Lee, as its Canadian partner.
To meet the demands of its current market and to expand into North America, Riviera has added two new ships to its fleet in 2018 –MS Robert Burns and MS Douro Splendour – with two more vessels, MS George Eliot and MS William Wordsworth, on the way for 2019.
“It is always a pleasure to work closely with our long-standing colleagues at DMI and to assist in their marketing efforts here in Canada. I am most impressed with the beautiful ships and the high standards onboard the Riviera River Cruises fleet and look forward to showcasing them to our Canadian partners,” says Lee.
MS Charles Dickens – Deluxe Balcony Suite
The cruise line currently has 11 river ships sailing throughout the heart of Europe. Unique eight to 15-day itineraries have been developed for all the major rivers: the Douro, Dutch Waterways, Rhône, Saône, Moselle, Rhine, Main and the Danube.
The fleet of five-star vessels is primarily Swiss built and operated with an English-speaking crew and has been characterized by the Berlitz Guide to River Cruising as “some of the finest river cruise ships to grace Europe’s waterways.”
For onboard dining, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the main dining room with flexible dining hours (dinner is served between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.) so guests may come and go as they please, says Lee. Guests may also dine in the more casual Bistro for both lunch and dinner with seating for up to 30 guests. Reservations are requested but there is no additional charge.
MS Robert Burns – Bistro
More than 80% of the ships’ standard staterooms and superior suites have full or French balconies. Accommodations range from 161 to 312 square feet. Modern marble bathrooms offer Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries, plush bathrobes and slippers. There are also hotel-style beds, crisp cotton linens and pillows, flat screen televisions, hairdryer, safe, telephone, complimentary WiFi and morning room service.
Riviera Cruises sailings include guided tours and shore excursions. A custom tour program, ‘Personalize Your Vacation’, can be booked through the cruise director onboard. There are also 12 bikes onboard which are complimentary to all guests. The onboard currency is the euro and port charges are included in the price. Alcoholic beverages are not included; however, there are beverage packages available for pre-purchase that include wine and beer for lunch and dinner and range from US$79 (five-day cruise) to US$159 (eight-day cruise) per person.
“The major point of differentiation is the value,” says David Morris. “For instance, a seven-night departure on the MS Emily Bronte in April 2019 is from just US$1,819 per person, commissionable to agents at 15%.”
Each voyage also offers a limited number of rooms where there is no single supplement.
For more information or to book, contact 1-888-838-8820 or see rivierarivercruises.com.
For assistance with groups or for further information agents are asked to contact Cruise Strategies. Vanessa Lee can be reached at vlee@cruisestrategies.com or call (416) 518-0262. Olga Sebestova is at osebestova@cruisestrategies.com or (416) 968-9797 or 1-877-768-9797.
