Riviera, which currently only has river ships in its fleet, began offering customers cruises on Voyages to Antiquity’s Aegean Odyssey in October last year.

Ben Hitchcock, Riviera’s marketing director, told TTG: “River cruise is a really exciting part of our business, so naturally we keep close to the ocean cruise sector.

“However, rather than compete with the mainstream operators, we wanted to find something that was more in keeping with our river cruise product and our brand more generally – something that’s a bit more curated.

“After much research we spoke with Voyages to Antiquity [which describes itself as providing “small-ship cultural cruises”], they have an excellent reputation and a great product, and we share a similar customer profile, so offering our customers the opportunity to experience the Aegean Odyssey made sense.”

Hitchcock said Riviera had given the Aegean Odyssey’s existing itineraries a “unique twist” by adding a land-based element.

Clients are accompanied by an experienced tour manager and offered a choice of regional departure points.

“Sales have been really strong and we’re looking forward to developing this proposition further in 2018,” added Hitchcock.