About us
Who are we
Riviera River Cruises is a business operated in North America, owned by Riviera Travel, the UK's biggest river cruise and tour operator. For 40 years our experts have been bringing to life the world’s most fascinating destinations.
Like you, we love to travel, and we are passionate about what we do. We personally select every aspect of your holiday, and we are dedicated to ensuring that the content and detail of each itinerary is thoughtfully balanced, so there’s time for you to explore at a relaxing pace. We offer you a superb choice of holidays, but we also ensure each of these has been honed to perfection. Our focus is on quality not quantity.
Where do our holidays go?
Whoever said the world is small needs a better travel company. Riviera Travel operates in over 60 countries, offering incredible holiday experiences from relaxing ocean cruises to jam-packed European tours. There's so much to choose from.
| 66 |
| countries |
| 90 |
| European tours |
| 52 |
| Worldwide tours |
| 19 |
| Ocean cruises |
| 43 |
| Solo traveller vacations |
| 50 |
| River cruises |
Ownership history
Founded in Burton-on-Trent, England, by Michael Wright in 1984, Riviera Travel was under founder led ownership until 2014 when Riviera Travel was acquired by Phoenix Equity. In 2017 Silverfleet Capital took over the ownership of Riviera Travel. Under Silverfleet Capital, Riviera has continued to build its sector leading proposition.
To find out more about Riviera Travels full product proposition please contact [email protected].
Meet the team
UK Executive team
US team
Phil Hullah | CEO
Phil joined the business in 2019 overseeing all Rivera Travel companies.
Stuart Milan | Trading Director
Stuart joined Riviera in 2019 and is responsible for Riviera Travel’s international businesses as well as UK B2B distribution.
Marilyn Conroy | VP Sales & Marketing
Bruce Metzendorf | Business Development Manager
Multi award winning
Which? Recommended Provider for River Cruises and Cultural Tours
We are thrilled that we have been rated the 'best-value river cruise line' according to Which?, and have also been awarded the Which? Recommended Provider for Cultural Tours.
Globe Awards 2024
We are incredibly proud to share that we have won Best River Cruises at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards for the second time in 2024, the biggest travel accolade in the UK.
Travel Weekly Magellan Awards
We are proud to announce that we won three silver awards in the Travel Weekly Magellan awards for best cruise company/best river cruise. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!
USA Readers Choice Awards
In 2020 we were also voted amongst the top ten river cruise companies by USA Today Readers’ Choice awards.
In 2021 we won USA TODAY 10 Best Readers' Choice travel award contest for Best River Cruise Line. Voted for by our industry colleagues, the general public and an expert travel panel, featuring editors from USA TODAY and 10Best.com, we are so pleased to be the UK’s leading river cruise company, that is now recognized in North America for its excellence.
Feefo
Feefo is an independent provider of verified customer rating and reviews. This year, we are thrilled to announce that Riviera has clinched the prestigious Feefo Platinum Trusted Service award 2024! This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to you, our fantastic customers. Feefo allows for an entirely objective way of hearing feedback and reviews from our clients, and our high percentage of returning customers is proof that we always listen to what you tell us, and we are constantly striving to achieve more.
British Travel Awards 2023
We are proud to announce that in November 2023 we won two golds, three silver and three bronze awards in the British Travel Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!
Wave Awards 2023
We're thrilled to have won four awards at the 2023 Wave Awards, including Best River Cruise Line, Best Escorted Tour Operator, Best Solo Operator, and the prestigious Grand Prix Award.
Food and Travel Awards 2024
It’s been a remarkable year in the worlds of food, drink and travel and the 2024 Food and Travel Reader Awards reflects the talent and ever-increasing variety out there. Creating memories that last a lifetime with intimate itineraries, authentic experiences and award-winning service. Thank you to all the readers that voted for us, your support means so much to us!
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The Travel Awards 2022
We're the proud winners of the prestigious award for Best Escorted Tour Operator in The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun Travel Awards for 2022.
2019 Cruise Critic UK Editors’ Picks Awards
Riviera Travel won the 2019 Cruise Critic UK Editors’ Picks Award for Best for Solo Travellers. Cruise Critic is the leading cruise reviews site and here's what they had to say about our Solo Traveller river cruises:
"Riviera stands out with the widest choice of sailings and cabins for solo passengers without punishing single supplements. On every cruise, staterooms are set aside for single occupancy at no additional cost, whether passengers are travelling alone or simply want a room to themselves. Riviera is also offering an increasing number of dedicated solo river cruises with no supplements across the entire ship, including suites."
Where Riviera Travel sell our holidays?
The UK has been a stronghold of Riviera Travel since its inception in 1984. Primarily using the UK main media titles Riviera Travel pioneered the use of ‘Reader Offers’ to distribute and promote its holidays. As time moved on Riviera Travel transitioned to a majority direct and travel agent model in the UK.
As Riviera Travel expanded, they entered the Irish market utilising the same distribution routes as the UK. Then, in 2018, Riviera Travel expanded into the North American and Australian markets operating with a trade only distribution route.
