Inside Riviera Radiance: What You Need to Know

River cruise line Riviera Travel is making waves: The four-decade-old company recently added Riviera Radiance and Riviera Rose to its fleet, announced its upcoming expansion to the Mekong River with a new ship debuting in 2027, and has pledged to dedicate the MS George Eliot to the solo cruise market.

Riviera Radiance joined the fleet in 2025, making its debut over the summer season. Currently, the ship has nine different itineraries on the Danube River available to book, including the eight-day The Blue Danube River Cruise, a special solo traveler sailing, and Christmas Market holiday cruises.

Travel Market Report was invited to experience Riviera Radiance and The Blue Danube itinerary in September 2025. The following is our insider perspective on the new ship, including selling strategies for travel advisors, important details your clients will need to know, and tips for travelers to get the most out of the experience.

Riviera Radiance: What’s New, Different & Exciting

Riviera Radiance is a 178-passenger ship with 89 cabins across three decks. The ship boasts several key departures from the other ships in the fleet: It offers the most variety of cabin types (including the most spacious suites), adds a third dining option, Mosaic (pictured above), introduces an atrium, and is Riviera’s first split-level design between decks 2 and 3 (called Ruby and Diamond).

Mosaic is a welcome addition to the ship’s overall dining options. The space is warm and cosy, and is much quieter in the mornings during breakfast service than the main dining room. The restaurant does have a bar that guests can sit at; however, during our stay, Mosaic had restricted opening hours, so it’s not a viable alternative to the Panorama Bar.

Riviera Radiance is another Scylla ship, so the room sizes and basic ship design will feel familiar to those who have cruised on one of those river ships previously. Having said that, the new atrium is a tastefully elegant addition for Riviera, setting the tone the moment guests step foot on the ship. With the four comfortable armchairs and nearby coffee and water stations, it also makes for a quiet spot to sit and relax away from the crowds in the lounge and bar.

Riviera Radiance: Social Spaces, Recreation & Excursions

Riviera Radiance is generally a low-key yet sophisticated experience. The design is airy and brightly lit, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the lounge and bar, and charming light fixtures throughout. Fresh orchids adorn every table in the lounge and bar, and the furniture in public areas has a lush, quality feel.

The lounge serves as the main social hub; all onboard experiences take place here, including the mandatory safety briefing and the daily port information sessions. The space hosts some sort of entertainment here on most evenings, such as a live performer playing the grand piano, trivia challenges, and the end-of-cruise raffle.

The Sun Deck is the other main social gathering area; however, during our cruise (late September) it was rarely used because of the weather. On the Sun Deck, guests can soak in the hot tub, soak up the sun on loungers, chill on hammocks, or sit at the table and chairs, which are covered.

Riviera Radiance also offers wellness amenities. There is a massage room, a spa with a sauna, shower, and steam room, and a small fitness center with a few exercise machines and other equipment like medicine balls and weights.

The excursions are all included as part of the package, although there are alternative excursions that guests can choose for an additional fee. Guests are put in their groups on the first day, and they will default to the same group throughout the journey. Occasionally, there are options to choose from, such as a “slow” group for the walking tours, a hiking group that visits the Dürnstein castle ruins, and guests can choose between a tour in Linz or a full-day excursion with tour and lunch in Salzburg. 

Riviera Radiance: Cabin Details

As mentioned above, Riviera Radiance offers the largest selection of cabins in the company’s fleet, as well as the biggest-ever cabins. Guests can choose from double cabins, superior suites, or the grand balcony suites. Most staterooms include French balconies, with the exception of the double cabins on the Emerald Deck and the grand balcony suites, which have a private balcony with a sitting area.

Each cabin includes complimentary water bottles for the guests to use throughout their stay, a coffeemaker and kettle with coffee and tea, and a minifridge. The water bottles can be refilled at a station located just outside of the lounge on the Diamond Deck; there are two, and they offer both still and sparkling water.

The outlets in the rooms are mainly U.K., although there is one Euro outlet near the desk. One of the outlets beside the bed also has two USB ports for charging devices.

TMR stayed in a double cabin on the Diamond Deck. In general, the layout was well-designed for the small space; the bathroom in particular felt comfortable to navigate despite its relatively small footprint. However, we did find the split-twin configuration was not ideal for the space (separating the beds meant putting one directly infront of a light switch, which I inadvertently turned on in my sleep, waking me and my guests up multiple times).

Riviera Radiance: Food & Beverage

The highlight of Riviera Radiance is the food. The ship has an excellent culinary program that offers a variety of delicious dishes ranging from classic Western dishes, American-inspired fare, and a rotating menu of locally inspired entrées.

There are three dining options on Riviera Radiance: the main dining room, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner; the Riverview Kitchen, which is open for lunch and dinner, and Mosaic, which is open for breakfast and dinner. As specialty restaurants, Riverview Kitchen and Mosaic do require reservations for dinner, and because seating is so limited (and there is a brief window for meal times—see below), those reservations fill up fast. All restaurants are included in the basic price.

The dining room has rotating lunch and dinner menus that change daily, and there is a buffet available for breakfast and lunch. Mosaic and Riverview Kitchen have fixed menus, available to view in the atrium by the cruise concierge desk. Mosaic’s breakfast offering is nearly identical to that in the main dining room, but Riverview Kitchen does have a distinct (fixed) lunch menu from the dining room, offering pub food like burgers and pizza.

The dining schedule is very rigid on Riviera Radiance. There is room service for breakfast (ordered the night before via a card), but not for other meals. If you miss the 90-minute window for lunch, there might not be food available again until dinner, which is always 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the evening. Service generally starts to wind down 30 to 15 minutes before the end of meal times as well, and because dinners are full-service only, it can be difficult to get food if you don’t arrive early enough.

On days when the ship is sailing during the afternoon and evening, there is often some sort of planned event in the lounge that includes food, such as a high tea. Cookies and coffee/tea are always available at multiple stations around the ship. There are limited h’ors d’oeuvres sometimes served in the lounge during the information sessions as well at 6 p.m., but generally speaking, it’s best for guests to make it to meals on time.

Riviera Radiance has a unique way of structuring its drink package. There are limited included beverages available during lunch service such as wine and beer, and from 6 p.m. until midnight, the selection expands to wines, beers, spirits, soft drinks and juices, and the cocktail (and mocktail) of the day. Otherwise, guests will have to pay for their beverage.

Starting in 2026, the drink package policy is changing. For 2026 and 2027 sailings, the window for drinks is expanding to 10 am to midnight each day, and that covers beers, house wines, daily recommended wines, soft drinks and juices, house spirits, and the cocktail of the day. Coffee and tea will also be available from the bar; however, there are also three stations for coffee and tea throughout the ship that are always available.

Riviera Radiance: Finding the Right Client

In terms of who is the right client for Riviera Radiance, TMR recommends the ship for experienced travelers who can navigate getting to and from the port independently, don’t mind a rigid schedule, skew in the older age range, have at least some mobility, and are social.

Riviera Travel is early in its journey of expanding into the North American market. As such, the cruise line is overwhelmingly serving U.K. passengers; on our trip, there were approximately a dozen American guests, and the rest were mainly from the U.K..

Arriving on Riviera Radiance was difficult for many of the North American travelers on this trip. Riviera Travel offers U.K. passengers an inclusive package that includes airfare and pre-arranged coach transport to and from the port, and luggage is handled for travelers by the coach. This works very well for those passengers; however, the system leaves holes as far as North American passengers are concerned.

Those flying from the U.S. and Canada have the option to be set up with private car and will be responsible for bringing their own luggage onto the ship (note: travelers don’t have to book transport with Riviera Travel). Even when the transport is arranged via Riviera, travelers are expected to contact the ship the day of embarkation to double-check where it is docked.

We experienced a lot of confusion regarding where our driver was supposed to park (as did other North American guests we spoke to), and because there is no signage or people out front to guide travelers onto the ship, guests need to be sufficiently independent to figure it out and mobile enough to get their luggage down a long flight of stairs.

Travel advisors would be wise to prepare their American clients adequately for the embarkation process, warning them that they may need to contact the ship after arriving at the airport just to verify where it’s docked and how to get on board.

When contacted about the issues TMR faced, Riviera Travel issued the following statement:

“At Riviera Travel, our goal is to provide a smooth, seamless and memorable vacation experience for our North American guests. It appears that in this case, there was a departure from the typical process followed by our third-party transfer provider. We are looking into the matter to eliminate any future issues and as always, we appreciate the valuable feedback.”

Travel advisors considering which of their clients to suggest Riviera Radiance to should look for anglophiles that fall into the Silent Generation and Baby Boomer range. Included excursions and onboard recreation are geared towards a slower pace, and interests sometimes skew older, as well. There’s a lot of history, especially focusing on World War II. There was one optional hiking excursion to the Dürnstein castle ruins for those who wanted something more active, and there are eight bikes available for guests to use, but generally speaking, the ship leans towards less-active travel.

Many of the guests TMR met on the river cruise were repeat Riviera travelers who have fallen in love with the river cruise line’s ships, itineraries, and cuisine. With the Radiance now in its fleet, the company is even better positioned to offer an elevated river cruise experience, marked by social gatherings, good food, and warm hospitality.