We all met up at Heathrow Terminal Five to board our flight to Amsterdam. It was nice meeting fellow Miles Morgan colleagues from other branches. On arriving in Amsterdam, we got a taxi to the CLIA Riverview Conference, which was being held in the Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre.
There were lots of travel agents already there, and we all enjoyed a buffet lunch before heading to the trade fair. I was able to get a lot of interesting information from many of our preferred river cruise companies such as Riviera Travel, AMA Waterways, Avalon Waterways, Emerald Cruises and Tours, and Riverside Luxury Cruises. We also sampled a cocktail and were all entered into a prize draw to win a fam trip before going into breakout sessions to learn more about lesser-known European rivers with CroisiEurope, VIVA Cruises, Riviera, and Amadeus.
The next breakout session was Tips for River Cruise Sales with Trafalgar, Riviera Travel, Saga, and Uniworld. The final breakout session was called Closing Your River Cruise Sale, Creating Advocates and Repeat Customers. This showed us how to help our customers find the perfect river and ship for them. I found all of the breakout sessions very interesting, and they have definitely helped improve my knowledge of river cruises.
After the conference, it was time to grab our cases and head for Emerald Luna, which was the first river boat that we were spending the night on. My cabin was a panoramic balcony cabin, which was lovely, and you could press a button and the top of the window would come down, bringing the outside in. The idea of a floor-to-ceiling window is great. I really liked the fact that the pool on Emerald Luna converted into a cinema area at night. A little later, we all went to dinner; the service was amazing. All the staff seemed genuinely happy to be serving us, and the food was five stars.
We were all up bright and early the next morning and ready for the guided tour ship visits after breakfast. It was really good to be able to compare the different river ships and their cabins; each ship has something slightly different and unique about what they had to offer. Riverside Debussy offered the Melody Suites, which are 194 sq ft double occupancy cabins that do not have single supplements on select journeys. I think this is very refreshing, as so many solo travellers must pay a surcharge, making it so expensive if they are travelling on their own. I will definitely be able to promote this to some of my customers.
We also visited TUI Maya, VIVA, AMA (who have a fantastic pool), Riviera, and Avalon.
After lunch, we all met for the CLIA Riverview Conference Business Sessions. This was very informative but also fun, and we were fortunate enough to meet Susan Calman, who chatted about her experiences while filming Cruising with Susan Calman.
The second night we stayed on Riviera MS Geoffrey Chaucer. I noticed this ship seemed to be a more traditional, elegant ship with lovely marble-floored lobbies and a fitness centre, in contrast with Emerald Luna's modern boutique hotel style. I loved all the extra touches like UK plug points by the bed to charge your phone. The bathrooms and cabins also seemed a little more spacious.
On our third night, we stayed on Avalon View. I loved this ship and must admit it is my favourite, as the panorama suites have wall-to-wall windows and all the beds face the river view. So, you can wake up in the morning and have a lovely view of the river without even getting out of bed. This cruise ship takes 164 passengers. At dinner, again the standard of the food was amazing. It was a really nice night and a great end to the Riverview Conference, as we all dressed up in 80s clothing, which was very funny, and it was really nice that everyone took part.
After a blissful night's sleep in the super comfortable Avalon beds, it was time to head back to the airport to catch our flight home.
I really enjoyed the CLIA Riverview Conference and felt I really did learn so much about river cruising that I feel I could easily sell a riverboat cruise to any of our customers at Miles Morgan in Yeovil from first-hand experience and have some knowledge now of what ships would suit particular customers.
If you would like to find out more about river cruising or discuss the best options for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I would be more than happy to help you plan your perfect trip.
Helen at Miles Morgan Travel, Yeovil [email protected] 01935 577 293
