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Alex Pinelo, senior vice president of sales for AmaWaterways, says the expo is a must-attend for the river cruise line to get in front of travel advisors who are new to selling the product. "We are happy to launch Riverside Debussy, our third luxury river ship to join the Riverside Luxury Cruises fleet," said Gregor Gerlach, Co-owner of Seaside Collection, parent company of Riverside Luxury Cruises. "We are dedicated to delivering Europe's most luxurious experience with the best ships and best dining on Europe's most captivating rivers. Our exceptional staff and crew look forward to welcoming travellers for the most seamless and luxurious European river cruise experience." The event also featured numerous opportunities for peer-to-peer learning via panel discussions, workshops and networking parties. During the conference, travel advisors swapped social media marketing tactics, spoke on the importance of forming strong advisor-BDM relationships, gave advice on booking groups on the rivers and more. "With the debut of Riverside Debussy, Riverside Luxury Cruises now offers travel advisors a third option for their clients to enjoy an all-inclusive, luxury European river cruise," said Jen Halboth, CEO of Riverside Luxury Cruises.
A Growing Interest in River Cruising
Riverside Debussy unveils Medieval castles; quaint and charming towns; and dramatic wine valleys along the Rhine, Main and Moselle rivers throughout the spring and summer seasons. Seven-night itineraries alternate departures from Amsterdam and Basel, Switzerland and feature some of the most historic cities, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Rhine Gorge with its highest concentration of picturesque castles, and the wine valleys of the Middle Rhine. Share a social media graphic on Instagram or Facebook from ASTA’s Social Media Toolkit on Flickr with the hashtag #GlobalTravelAdvisorDay2024. Include in the caption three (3) reasons why consumers should use a travel advisor.
Missouri/Kansas Chapter: MO/KS Network Meeting with Viking Cruises
That was the case with the Joy and Riviera's Geoffrey Chaucer, the 176-passenger ship that it brought to the conference. The Cara launched in 2022 and the Riva in 2023, and the Nova will launch in June, in line with the company's "one ship per year" production rate. The Victoria is formerly the Crystal Bach (Uniworld has both the Bach and the Mahler under charter from Riverside; the Mahler is currently operating for Transcend). The same can be said of the newest ship to join Uniworld Boutique River Cruises' fleet, the S.S.
Missouri/Kansas Chapter: MO/KS Network Meeting with Royal Caribbean Cruises
Riverside Debussy begins her inaugural year with a five-night voyage from Brussels, Belgium, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The luxury river ship then cruises a series of seven-night, Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta voyages, departing roundtrip from Amsterdam and visiting cities such as Antwerp and Gent, Belgium; and Middelburg, Veere, Willemstad, Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Travellers can also choose among three voyages dedicated to the Rhine River, departing on April 14 and July 31, from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland, and from Basel to Amsterdam on April 21. Stops on these itineraries include Speyer, Mannheim, Rüdesheim, and Cologne, among other German cities. In addition to rubbing shoulders with cruise line representatives and learning the latest product news and trends in river cruising, ASTA members had the opportunity to attend the March 13 christening ceremony for Riverside Debussy, the newest vessel from Riverside Luxury Cruises. Additionally, free cruises were given out during the course of the conference.
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During a panel discussion on how to convert first-time river cruisers, moderator Nicole Edenedo, senior editor at Travel Weekly, asked seasoned sellers what they hoped expo attendees would take away from the event. “There’s always these misconceptions you’re trying to break down to encourage people to try new things,” she said. There’s also a misconception that river cruising is really rigid, but it’s the most flexible style [of travel]. And with more advisors selling the product, there comes an influx of new-to-river clients, as well. Jennifer Halboth, CEO of Riverside Americas for Riverside Luxury Cruises, is hoping to attract “river-curious” travelers and get away from the perception that river cruising is only for an older demographic.
Third Annual ASTA River Cruise Expo Is Biggest Yet
Riverside Luxury Cruises is Europe's newest and most luxurious river cruise line offering all-inclusive vacations on the Rhine, Rhône, Danube, Moselle, and Main rivers. The all-suites Riverside Mozart, Riverside Ravel, and newly inaugurated Riverside Debussy offer the most spacious accommodations, highest staff-to-guest ratio, and more onboard amenities than other river lines. Riverside Luxury Cruises is named Forbes' Best European River Cruise For Foodies and Cruise Critic's 2023 Editors' Pick Award Winner for Best Dining in the River Category. The first conference, which was held in Budapest, attracted around 500 travel advisors, seven river cruise companies and seven river vessels for ship inspections.
Riverside Ravel will cruise a 3-night, Rhône sampler from Lyon to Avignon, with visits to Viviers, Tarascon and Arles, while Riverside Mozart brings guests on an Easter voyage on the Danube River from Passau, Germany, to Budapest, Hungary. Guests on this itinerary visit Ybbs, Melk, and Bratislava, Slovakia, and observe Easter Sunday in Vienna, Austria. "No other line delivers Europe like Riverside Luxury Cruises," said Jen Halboth, CEO of the luxury river line. Though registration for 2025 didn't open up until after the general session closed, already nine river cruise lines are signed up, with plans to bring 15 ships to the show, which will be in Vienna from March 12 to 15.
EVENTS
Details on those programs are still in the works, but advisors can likely expect sessions similar to previous years, with presentations on the lines' portfolios; highlights of destinations along some of Europe's most popular rivers; and new itineraries and programs. During this year's two-day conference, which opened the evening of March 13, advisors have the chance to tour all 12 rivers ships in port, as well as eat lunch and dinner each day on a different ship. Additionally, the conference offers educational sessions, a trade show, and a three-hour general session that was packed with panels, partner presentations, and more. Tauck, the tour operator that also has a nine-ship river cruise fleet, and the U.K.-based Riviera River Cruises, joined for the first time this year, and both drew a lot of curiosity from advisors who had never seen their ships before. AMSTERDAM -- There were plenty of river cruise ships docked here at the 2024 ASTA River Cruise Expo, which drew a lot of interest from advisor attendees who were curious to see how these vessels stacked up against the rest of each line's fleet. In late-November, Riverside Mozart cruises 3- and 4-night Christmas Markets itineraries along the Danube, with departures from Vienna, Passau and Budapest.
Travel Types
You’ll find local chapter events as well as national and international meetings. The highlight of every year is the annual ASTA Global Convention, where the travel agency industry gathers for three days of thought-provoking programming and idea-sharing. Riverside Mozart will cruise a variety of 3- to 7-night itineraries mostly between Passau and Budapest, and bring guests to captivating Bavarian, Austrian, Slovakian, and Hungarian cities and towns. Many of these voyages includes cruising or stopping in the Austria's historic and picturesque Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The travel agency industry in the United States is a vital part of the travel and transportation infrastructure. While the physical elements of travel include planes, trains, cars, hotels, cruises and tours, it is the travel advisor who is the link, as evidenced by the $115 billion orchestrated in bookings by advisors last year (according to a study by Phocuswright).
In late-May, Riverside Mozart embarks on two, 3-night segments on the Lower Danube from Budapest to the Iron Gates in Serbia. Travellers can combine the subsequent, 4-night return itinerary back to Budapest to combine all three itineraries into a 7-night roundtrip voyage and does not repeat stops. Social media graphics related to this Politico campaign can be found in ASTA’s Social Media Toolkit on Flickr. Posting one of these social media graphics DOES count towards ASTA’s Social Media Contest (see above). The TravelPulse staff is comprised of experienced journalists and award-winning editors and writers.
Other than a few minor changes, such as the logo and company name on the exterior, the Debussy has gone unchanged and advisors found the same style and level of luxury introduced by Crystal. Success storiesOne advisor who made the most of last year's show is Kristie Keller, owner of Addicted to Adventures, who joined Friedman on stage with three other river cruise selling advisors. With more than 1,200 attendees and 12 river ships from nine lines in port, the third annual ASTA River Cruise Expo is the largest ever. The ship was likely most advisors' first look at a Riverside ship since the young company, now in its sophomore year of operations, debuted the doublewide Riverside Mozart at last year's conference. Riverside also launched the Riverside Ravel in August, which sails in the south of France on the Rhone and Saone rivers, and now operates three vessels. Riverside Luxury Cruises, for example, came back for its second year at the expo and debuted its latest ship to sail in Europe, the Riverside Debussy, which was christened by godmother and travel influencer Alle Pierce.
Tauck has eight, two-story loft cabins on the Ruby Deck, one of the lower level decks, that feature a one-and-a-half-story window and a raised seating area for dining located in front of the bed that faces the window. Each is a 225-square-foot, Category 3 cabin, which means they have midrange pricing. Tauck was able to build these loft cabins because the ships are designed to carry a relatively small number of passengers, enabling it to dedicate more space to this unique room design. Chief among them were return of river ships built by former luxury line Crystal Cruises.
ASTA opens registration for River Cruise Expo in 2025 - Travel And Tour World
ASTA opens registration for River Cruise Expo in 2025.
Posted: Tue, 19 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Our 2025 promotional video featuring Alle Pierce, Emmy Award-winning television host, luxury travel advisor,content creator, and recently named Godmother of the Riverside Debussy, can be found here. Mark Meader, ASTA's senior vice president of industry affairs and education, told me that the event sold out within days of it going on sale last March. Of four finalists, the winner was Diane Frisch, owner of Diane Frisch Destinations. In addition to a lovely glass trophy, Frisch earned a complimentary VIP registration to next year's Expo, accommodations on an AmaWaterways ship during the Expo, as well a seven-day cruise on the AmaWaterways ship of their choice departing after next year's expo. The American Society of Travel Advisors opened registration to members for the premier river cruising event.
ABOUT ASTARebranded in 2018 as the American Society of Travel Advisors, ASTA is the leading global advocate for travel advisors, the travel industry and the traveling public. Its members represent 80 percent of all travel sold in the United States through the travel agency distribution channel. A 7-night voyage brings guests on a special itinerary from Nuremburg to Budapest, where she then ventures to the lesser-travelled Lower Danube on four voyages of 3- and 4-night itineraries. Guests will marvel at the natural majesty of Europe's deepest and longest gorge flanked by the Carpathian Mountains and the Balkan Hills; medieval fortresses and castles from the Roman, Ottoman, and Habsburg empires; and cultures and cities once veiled behind the Iron Curtain. Travellers can combine these itineraries for a 15-night, Lower-Danube adventure, cruising roundtrip from Budapest, or cross Europe from the Black Sea to the North Sea on a 23-night grand voyage, departing October 7 from Giurgiu to Amsterdam.
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