Riviera Travel hails 'bold new chapter' with plans for first newbuild ship outside Europe

Riviera Travel will launch a newbuild river ship in Asia in 2027, marking its first owned and operated ship outside of Europe.

Prior to this, the operator has offered charters on the Mekong River and escorted tours in the region.

The new Riviera Alba will offer three long-haul itineraries combining touring and a seven-night cruise on either the Mekong, Yangtze or Ganges Rivers.

The 50-passenger vessel will have 25 suites, each with a private balcony,

The new itineraries are: the 15-night Vietnam, Cambodia and Mekong River Cruise, the 15-night Panoramas of China (Yangtze River Cruise with Beijing and Shanghai) and the 13-night India’s Golden Triangle and Ganges River Cruise.

The Mekong itinerary leads in from £4,799, the Yangtze tour from £5,999 and the Ganges trip from £4,099.

Riviera Travel has introduced regional flight options for its long-haul escorted touring programme for selected departures from 2026, which will apply to this new range of river cruises, subject to availability.

Riviera Travel director of trade and partnerships Vicky Billing told Travel Weekly that Mekong sailings for this year were “pretty much sold out”, and next year was “well sold already”, which led the operator to look at other opportunities to add capacity.

She explained: “We wanted to be different with it and because we are a touring specialist, we thought we would tie in seven-night cruises with our tours in destinations like Vietnam and Cambodia.

“The itineraries look amazing, and the team will be fighting to take the first fam trip on Alba.”

She added that as a smaller ship it would be able to access ports and villages which larger ships could not, providing “authenticity of the destination”.

Billing said: “It doesn’t matter what customers want, we have got them covered now, whether it’s exotics, European, or solo.”

Riviera Travel chief executive Phil Hullah added: “The debut of Riviera Alba on the Mekong marks our first step beyond Europe, expanding our horizons and giving our guests the opportunity to experience Asia’s most iconic waterways with the same trusted Riviera service.

“These milestones mark a bold new chapter for river cruising.”