Riviera Travel has revealed the name of its latest ship, and has not ruled out further additions to its fleet.  

Speaking to TTG during the christening ceremony for all-suite river ships the Emily Bronte and the Thomas Hardy in Amsterdam last week, Riviera’s marketing director Ben Hitchcock confirmed that the company’s 13th vessel, the Robert Burns, will go on sale in March before launching in 2018.

Like much of Riviera’s fleet, Swiss shipbuilding company Scylla will deliver the vessel.

Hitchcock also revealed that Riviera’s 2018 itineraries would be released “in the next few weeks” following a “strong start to the year”.

“What’s really encouraging is we have seen growth across all areas of the business [Riviera also has an escorted touring division],” he said.

“And we are pleased to see that travel agents are responsible for an increasing share of that business [agents now account for 30% of river cruise sales].”

Hitchcock said when the Thomas Hardy and Emily Bronte went on sale Riviera saw a “surge” in demand.

“Our customers are immensely interested in new things,” he said. “They want to be first to experience new ships.

“That said our earlier ships – especially the Jane Austen and the Lord Byron – are still hugely popular.”

Asked if he could imagine more ships joining the fleet, Hitchcock said: “We are absolutely looking at growing our business as we go through the next couple of years.

“Our river cruise offering is growing and we are really excited about that.”

Last week’s naming ceremony was the first of its kind for Riviera Travel – with dozens of agents invited – and Hitchcock said the feedback from the trade on the company choosing two agents as godmothers had been “extremely positive”.

“It is great to be able to recognise what an important part of our business agents are,” he said.

“We hope as many as possible will be able to experience the ships first-hand.”

The 169-passenger Thomas Hardy and Emily Bronte will welcome their first passengers in April before the Oscar Wilde launches in August. Douro Elegance will sail from April.