19 DEC 2018: Marilyn Conroy has joined Riviera River Cruises as vice president of Sales and Marketing for North America. Conroy will oversee a team of dedicated regional sales directors at Riviera River Cruises, the United Kingdom’s largest European river cruise operator with an office in Fairfield, Connecticut. Riviera River Cruises is known for five-star ships and a five-star experience at an exceptional value, and its dedication to the travel agent community.
Six months ago, Riviera River Cruises retained David Morris International, where Conroy is executive vice president, to assist with growth in North America. Because of the very positive response to the product by the travel agent community, Conroy has taken on sales and marketing of Riviera here on a full-time basis.
“We’re thrilled to have Marilyn Conroy as our new vice president of Sales and Marketing as we continue our expansion in North America,” said Jana Tvedt, Riviera River Cruises’ executive vice president. “She brings a wealth of expertise in the cruise industry and a proven record for growth, and we look forward to her leadership in our sales efforts.”
“I’m excited to join Riviera River Cruises and to work closely with sales directors as we grow in the North American market,” said Conroy. “Riviera excels at offering great value for an exceptional product and in working with the travel agent community, and we’ll be building on that reputation.”
Conroy is a travel industry veteran with more than four decades of experience in cruise line sales and marketing. She is passionate about the cruise industry and takes pride in skills including in-depth knowledge of the travel agent community, personal relationships with major consortia in the US, developing and training sales organizations to achieve goals, and effectively managing multimillion-dollar sales and marketing budgets.
Conroy emigrated from England a had a 20-year career with Cunard, starting in the hotel division and later joining the shipping division, which at the time had a fleet of 17 vessels that included the Queen Elizabeth 2. She rose to become vice president of Sales at Cunard Line, making her the youngest and only female vice president in the cruise industry. Conroy joined Crystal Cruises as vice president of Sales in 1995 and Silversea Cruises as Vice president of Sales in 2004, then was promoted to Senior Vice president of Sales at Silversea. Eight years ago, Conroy and her business partner David Morris formed David Morris International, assisting niche cruise lines in launching their product in the North American market.
Riviera is entering its 11th year of European river cruising and opened its North American office in Fairfield in 2017. Its fleet of 12 ships is one of the most modern in Europe, having launched six ships in 2017 and 2018, and launching the MS George Eliot and MS William Wordsworth in 2019. Riviera offers 13 itineraries on nine rivers and waterways, including new exclusive departures for solo travelers.