The new partnership will see Shearings Holidays take a full ship charter alongside selling 19 departures on 12 itineraries on six rivers, as well as a joint marketing fund, allocated to drive awareness among the trade and “help both operators engage fully with agents”.

Shearings Holidays will package the river cruise with a selection of transport options, such as coach travel from the UK to the ships and rail options will include Eurostar and local rail, or flights from a range of UK airports.

In addition, a dedicated Home Connect service will also be offered to all A-Rosa cruise customers.

Jane Atkins, managing director at Shearings Holidays, said partnering with A-Rosa meant it could now offer "the next level of ship class in a move to capture a wide audience”.

She added: “Historically our river cruise product has featured entry-level ships and the addition of A-Rosa provides us with a new product to attract new customers, and we are especially excited about the multi-generational opportunities that our partnership offers.”

Elsewhere, Shearing Holidays has planned a range of agent-focused activity, including educationals, competitions and a VIP trip.

Lucia Rowe, head of A-Rosa UK, said: “Having our brand on a coach provides unprecedented exposure for us here in the UK and I have no doubt that this will help drive demand for travel agents.

“We want to ensure that agents have all the knowledge to confidently sell the product and will be working hard with our marketing efforts over the coming months to deliver this.”