About us - CK Riviera Tour
"Nothing refreshes the mind like a long journey without an important task."Sinuhe the Egyptian
Dear friends of sightseeing cruises,
In 1675, the Aponte family welcomed the first passengers aboard their ships. Since then, not only has their fleet grown, but so has their experience. Today, their cruise line, MSC Cruises, can be proud of being the largest privately owned cruise line in the world. Our greatest wish is that our guests on cruises with this company enjoy their stay on board in every way, that they feel comfortable and at ease, that they experience moments that make life special and savour each and every one of them. We want to offer you trips to interesting places and destinations so that you can discover the beauty of this world together with us. If you are looking for the cheapest cruise, you may not find it with us. We add value to our cruises in the form of services, customer care, representatives, excursions, benefits and a host of other above-standard services that our customers will appreciate during the cruise, which is naturally reflected in the price of the trip.
Thanks to this, we have built a travel agency that has been the market leader in sea cruises for almost 20 years. In 2019 and 2023, Riviera Tour was awarded the title of Best MSC Cruises Group Seller for EMM MARKET (more here), and three years earlier it became the best group seller of MSC Cruises for the Czechia, Slovakia and Austria. Since 2014, we have held solvency certificates, and in 2017 we even obtained an "AA" class certificate, which ranks us among a select group of companies with high credibility. Our services are also reflected in reviews from our clients. Although we are now the market leader in cruise holidays in the Czech Republic, we treat all our clients with the utmost respect and humility, because we owe our success to our loyal customers.
History CK Riviera Tour
The origins of CK Riviera Tour date back to 1992. Pavel Číž and his wife Hana started their own business, which later grew into a small travel agency that gradually gained experience not only in selling tours from other travel agencies, but above all in direct contact with clients. Every travel agency has its own rules and conditions, so these years were a huge learning experience for us in terms of what works well and, conversely, what clients are missing and what they would welcome as good service. We then used this wealth of experience when establishing and reorganising Riviera Tour into a travel agency.
The idea of selling sea cruises, which at that time represented an almost exotic holiday for our clients, came from within the family. Services, experiences and gastronomy on cruises were what had been missing on the Czech market until then. Our first decision was that we didn't want to just sell cruises, but that we wanted to add value to them with services. The second very important decision was that we would only provide these services in cooperation with one cruise company. At the time, we chose MSC Cruises, and today we know that it was the right decision.
Our history in dates:
1992: Start of business as a sole trader
2005: Founding of a travel agency, which quickly becomes a seller of exotic tours for companies and entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic.
2008: Start of sales of sea cruises and transformation into a travel agency.
2009: Through its managing director, the company establishes DŮM U SLUNCE s.r.o., a company engaged in real estate and advertising activities. The company purchases non-residential premises for the purpose of further leasing.
2010: testing of the project involving cruises with transport and a representative on MSC Cruises.
2011: project certification, Riviera Tour becomes the first travel agency to launch sales of "cruises with transport and representative" packages. In the same year, it publishes its first cruise catalogue and launches its website.
2012–2014: The company actively promotes MSC Cruises, gradually gaining market share and creating new points of sale. During this period, Riviera Tour enters into cooperation with approximately 890 commission-based sales partners in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
2014: Riviera Tour receives an "A" rating certificate of trustworthiness following an audit.
2015: Establishment of our own bus transport division to improve services for clients and provide comfortable transport to the port. This service is highly exclusive and to date, Riviera Tour is the only company in the Czech Republic and Slovakia that provides transport to the port with its own buses. At the same time, it is expanding its sales representation – throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia, its sales team now consists of 1,127 sales points.
2016: Riviera Tour receives the award for best MSC Cruises group seller for the Czechia, Slovakia and Austria and is registered in the 2016 Register of Solvent Companies. It also creates a new website and expands significantly in the cruise market. On its website, it strives to present the cruises and services of MSC Cruises in great detail and high quality. It is currently preparing a campaign to raise awareness of cruises on the media market. Through its managing director, it establishes NA FORMANCE s.r.o., a company dedicated to gastronomic services, and purchases new real estate for the purpose of building a restaurant and establishing a new company headquarters.
2017: Following an audit, Riviera Tour obtains an AA rating certificate for high credibility, placing it among a highly exclusive group of companies that meet the most stringent economic assessment criteria. At the same time, it is registered in the 2017 Register of Solvent Companies. It introduces a new booking and accounting system, publishes catalogues, actively promotes its services in the media, writes articles, and creates advertising campaigns, including activities on Facebook and Instagram. The company achieves a year-on-year increase in sales of over 38%.
2018: Riviera Tour stabilises its position on the market, focusing primarily on the quality of services provided to clients. It also adjusts its sales strategy for the future, which will now focus primarily on a high-quality sales network and the quality of services provided. This year, sales are expected to grow by only about 8-10% due to the stabilisation of the company, preparations for further investments and the planned business strategy for 2019. The company purchases new high-quality buses and improves its fleet, switches to a new reservation and accounting system with data backup, and transforms its sales network in response to the new GDPR rules and the new tourism law. Despite the original plan to increase sales by approximately 10%, sales increased by 29%, for which Riviera Tour received an award from MSC Cruises.
2019: Riviera Tour has decided to expand into the self-drive cruise market, where there has been significant untapped potential to date. It is preparing to launch online cruise bookings and search functions in Czech. It is the first company to offer this service in the MSC cruise market in the Czech Republic. Expected revenue growth of up to 21%. The company exceeds an annual turnover of CZK 100 million and becomes the leader in the cruise market in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the largest seller of group cruises in Central Europe. At the same time, it has been awarded the prestigious Bisnode Top Rating certification, according to which it has achieved the highest possible risk factor rating of 1 for the last 12 months.
2020: After a great start to the season, the Covid-19 pandemic strikes, bringing tourism to a halt and forcing the travel agency to gradually cancel existing contracts worth over CZK 80 million. With the help of its sister companies in the RIVIERA GROUP, Riviera Tour manages to weather the storm with tremendous effort.
2021: Riviera Tour, in cooperation with MSC Cruises, creates a special protocol for cruises during the pandemic and, as the first travel agency in Europe, launches the possibility of travelling and spending holidays even under strict pandemic measures. It receives a special award from MSC Cruises for this activity.
2022: The company returns to the open cruise market and from the outset maintains its position among the most successful sellers of MSC Cruises. The company manages to stabilise after Covid and in November 2022 reports a record number of travel contracts concluded, the highest in its history.
2023: RIVIERA TOUR announces a spectacular return to the cruise market, with sales exceeding pre-COVID levels. In October, it receives the prestigious award for Best Emerging Market (EMM) Group Seller of the Year 2023 (more here). At the HOLIDAY WORLD tourism exhibition in Prague, we receive an award for best exhibition stand. RIVIERA TOUR expands significantly in 2023, moving to new offices and preparing new projects in cooperation with the shipping company Explora Journeys, a subsidiary of the MSC Group.
2024: In February 2024, RIVIERA TOUR organises a training course and a representative ball, Sailor's Evening, at which it announces the establishment of its subsidiary Riviera Journeys, which from that moment on specialises in luxury cruises and becomes an ambassador for EXPLORA JOURNEYS.
It also presents a brand new website for individual and luxury cruises. It is participating in the HOLIDAY WORLD tourism fair in Prague and the IFT SLOVAKIATOUR fair in Bratislava, where it will present its new website and offer special discounts on cruises.-a75a-4d47-95f2-08b38cf261c4" target="_blank">IFT SLOVAKIATOUR trade fair in Bratislava, where it is presenting new projects. It is also expanding its charitable and philanthropic projects, which it organises in cooperation with Diakonie ČCE Vsetín (more here).
In October, Riviera Tour won the award for Best Group Cruise Seller award from MSC Cruises for 2024 in the market covering Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East (EMM).
2025: In February 2025, RIVIERA TOUR receives the prestigious Joyful Certificate from the organisation Zdravotní klaun, o.p.s., which reflects the company's long-term support and active approach to charitable activities, specifically in projects aimed at making patients' stays in hospital facilities more pleasant.
In the same month, RIVIERA TOUR will be the main sponsor of the Czech Ball at Prague's Municipal House, the prestigious highlight of the Czech ball season. Our travel agency donated the main prize in the raffle – a cruise for two worth CZK 200,000 on the luxury Explora Journeys ship with ultra all-inclusive services (more here).
At the end of March 2025, we traditionally participated in the Holiday World Prague 2025 trade fair, where we presented new developments in the field of cruises and a brand new cruise for self-discovery with Nela Boudová to potential and existing clients.-f75d-4ca2-9425-0c6c670a4cb2" target="_blank"> self-discovery cruise with Nela Boudová. A look back at the fair here.
In April 2025, RIVIERA TOUR was one of the few European travel agencies to attend the launch of the new MSC World America ship in Miami, USA.-9783-b4185e7eed5e" target="_blank">the christening of the new MSC World America ship in Miami, USA.
During the Easter holidays, we set off on our first joint Riviera Tour team-building trip to Zlín.
May 2025 was marked by training – part of our team travelled to the Mediterranean on the MSC Splendida, where they attended a meeting and training session for MSC Cruises sales representatives NEM Retreat II 2025.
May was also a record-breaking month – during 31 days, we handled more than 550 clients on our trips. Our drivers covered more than 56,000 km in Riviera Tour coaches, prepared over 1,500 snacks for the coaches, served over 3,600 coffees, more than 4,200 sausages were eaten, more than 260 travel contracts were concluded, and over 65,000 check-in instruction sheets were printed – all in a single month! More here.
In July and August 2025, we set out to prepare new destinations. First, at the beginning of July, we visited the United States, where we prepared cruises from New York and to Alaska from Seattle. At the end of August, we travelled to Brazil and Argentina, from where we will launch cruises with a representative in South America in February 2026.
During October 2025, RIVIERA TOUR received two prestigious awards. The first was the prestigious Certificate of Excellent Management, officially making it part of the BUSINESS ELITE ranking, an elite group of the best Czech companies.
The highlight of the year came at the end of the month. At the prestigious MSC Cruises Emerging Markets Meeting (EMM), RIVIERA TOUR won three awards for best seller: it defended its title as best group seller (for the third time in a row) and added the awards for best seller of cruises on the Czech and Slovak markets and best seller of prepaid packages. More here.
Present: News, articles, awards, history of RIVIERA TOUR
Why choose Riviera Tour for your cruise?
* We are the only travel agency in the Czech Republic that specialises exclusively in the services of one cruise company. This highly specialised approach provides our clients with the perfect service from MSC Cruises.
* You can arrange everything you need right here with us, from boarding passes, carefully prepared departure instructions, detailed destination information, to a menu in Czech or resolving complaints about damaged luggage. We are personally familiar with all the ships, so we can advise you on the choice of ship category, cabin, dining options, various discounts, packages and so on.
* We are the authorised and largest seller of MSC Cruises with transport and a representative for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our prices for cruises with our own transport are the direct prices of MSC Cruises, without any commercial mark-up. Our profit is paid directly by MSC Cruises.
* Transport to and from the port from anywhere in the Czech Republic is provided by our own coaches. Our coach drivers are our employees.
* We are a family-run travel agency. Our interest in each client is truly sincere. We strive to create the best possible conditions for each client's holiday. The representatives on the cruises are permanent employees of Riviera Tour, including the owner of the travel agency. We do not hire temporary workers or students for the position of representative.
* We are a travel agency with our own website linked directly to the MSC Cruises database. On our website, you will find not only the cruise company's direct prices converted into Czech korunas, but you can also check the current prices and available capacity of the cruise company. During the online booking process, you can add discount packages, port parking, or even health insurance. Booking through our online system is quick, convenient, and easy. In just two minutes, you can purchase a cruise with a direct booking with MSC Cruises.
Download: About us - Why Riviera Tour? (pdf CZ)