Riviera Travel promises refunds as low water bites and a sale looms

Riviera Travel has launched a Vacation Guarantee covering pre-departure itinerary changes. Clients get three options: continue with a goodwill gesture, move the trip to next year at the original price, or cancel for a full refund paid to the agent within 7 days. Riviera also promises personal advisor contact and says it will cancel a departure rather than run a degraded one.

For advisors, this is a concrete script for selling Rhine and Danube trips this season, and a standard to press other lines on. The launch comes as Riviera reports US sales have doubled, which suggests it is using the guarantee to hold momentum while low water continues.

Reports say Silverfleet, which has held a majority stake in Riviera Travel since 2017, has hired a bank to weigh a sale, with early talks underway with several suitors. Riviera runs about 12 ships and has more than £255M in revenue.

A new owner could change North American commission terms, agent programs and fleet investment. Advisors holding Riviera group deposits should watch for notices, but talks are early and a sale is not certain. Nothing in the reports points to changes to current bookings.

October low water has forced changed embarkation ports, excursions and coach legs on both the Rhine and Danube, and some guests have moved to the Rhône. A Riverside captain says the Rhône has had no low-water navigation problems this year. That is one captain's report, not a guarantee.

Late July Danube lows broke records, and the Viking Ullur grounding shows the operational risk. Expect client questions about 2027 bookings. Advisors can cite supplier guarantees, including Riviera's, and Tauck's president has discussed how its river line manages low water in Europe. The Rhône is worth offering as an alternative where dates allow.

Avalon Waterways is including return airfare and transfers on select Magnificent Europe and Romantic Rhine departures. Cruise-only savings reach up to $3,200 per person on Magnificent Europe and $2,500 on Romantic Rhine for 2027. Bookings must be made by October 30, 2026, a 10-day window from today.

The offer is a competitive pricing move while low water makes Rhine and Danube sales harder, and it gives advisors a closing-date hook for clients on the fence.

CLIA counts 21 new river ships entering service in 2027. They include AmaRudi, AmaFiora and AmaMaya, Emerald Lumi and Emerald Nova, Uniworld's S.S. Audrey, S.S. Marlene and S.S. São Rafael, and Celebrity's entry into river cruising with Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker. TUI River Cruises has announced its 2028 programme, with two newbuilds and a new Seine ship in March 2027.

For advisors, the wave means more 2027 inventory to sell and a new big-brand entrant to watch.

AmaWaterways has added a six-day Machu Picchu extension to its Magic of Colombia itinerary from April 2027. The post-cruise add-on starts in Cartagena, with flights to Lima included, and continues to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham or Inca Rail. It is priced from £4,081 per person (Boutique) or £6,620 (Iconic), and becomes available on every Magic of Colombia sailing from 2028.

It is a higher-value land upsell for river clients on a new South American itinerary.