Riviera Travel’s decision to dedicate a river ship to solo travelers: Travel Weekly

Brinley Hineman

Riviera Travel announced plans in mid-September to launch what it says is the world’s only cruise ship dedicated to solo travelers. 

The George Eliot, a ship already in Riviera’s fleet, will take on the role beginning in 2027, bringing solo passengers to the Danube, Rhine and Moselle rivers. 

The move signals Riviera’s seriousness about this market and its desire to capture more of it. Already, the line has dedicated departures for solo vacations; in fact, it was success in that venture that prompted it to devote the George Eliot solely to this market. 

It’s noteworthy that these solo cruisers will have their pick of sailing dates, meaning they can cruise during the high season rather than only have solo-specific dates during the shoulder season. The price is right, too: The cruises start at $3,449, which is comparable to the singles prices offered now by the line.

Riviera’s president of North America, Stuart Milan, said the move will redefine solo travel. And executive vice president of business development Marilyn Conroy told me earlier this year that Riviera had increased its focus on the market, finding it to be underserved. 

I’ve written about solo river cruises before after cruising the Danube in March with Emerald. I had just finished the ASTA River Cruise Expo in Vienna and was on a post-conference cruise alone. To my surprise, I discovered that a river cruise was the perfect getaway for a solo traveler. 

Solo travel is popular on ocean cruises and is a growing market for tours, too. I expect the option to continue expanding in the river cruise industry: You unpack once, are brought to the doorways of Europe’s greatest cities and have ample opportunities to meet fellow travelers if you choose, without the pressure of being social. And with an entire vessel dedicated to vacations traveling alone, it removes any stigma — real or imagined — attached to solo travel. 

But Riviera isn’t the only line with its eye on the market: Tauck has been courting this segment for at least 15 years, when it first waived its single supplement fees. Avalon Waterways and Scenic have also nixed the fees on select sailings.

And it’s those fees that can be a deterrent to single travelers, forcing them to pay a penalty for cruising alone. But with the new Riviera ship, there will be no extra fee, since the entire vessel will be allotted for individual cruisers.