VIVA Cruises has publicly responded to concerns from travel advisors who fear the operator's new AI tools could cut intermediaries out of the sales process, TravelPulse reports.

The dispute centers on distribution. Advisors have voiced worry that AI-driven booking and customer-service capabilities introduced by the Düsseldorf-based river and luxury cruise operator could steer customers toward direct channels, bypassing the commission-earning trade that has anchored the brand's growth.

VIVA Cruises moved to reassure sellers of travel that its AI investments are not designed to disintermediate them. The operator framed the tools as a way to support — rather than replace — advisors, signaling that it intends to keep the trade central to how its cabins are sold.

The episode illustrates a sharper question now facing every supplier building AI into the booking journey: whether automation aimed at consumers will be read by the trade as a direct threat to commission streams. Suppliers that fail to manage that perception risk losing advisor loyalty, which for niche cruise brands often accounts for a substantial share of bookings.

VIVA Cruises has built its position in the European river cruise market partly on trade relationships, making advisor sentiment a commercial variable the operator cannot ignore. Its response to the current concerns signals an attempt to protect that channel while continuing to invest in technology.

The company has not disclosed detailed figures on how much of its business flows through advisors versus direct channels, so the revenue exposure on each side remains unquantified in its public statements.

For advisors, the test will be whether the reassurances hold as the AI tools roll out in practice — and whether commission integrity survives contact with automated consumer-facing features.