‘Above and Beyond’: 4 Years In, Here’s Why Riverside Luxury Cruises Lives Up to the Hype

When Riverside Luxury Cruises bought Crystal Cruises’ former river vessels with the intention of starting its own river cruise line, the industry was skeptical. Would there be room for another player in the market? Would Riverside be able to match the vibe and level of service that previous fans of the ships had come to expect?

On a recent voyage on the Lower Danube aboard Riverside Debussy, we caught up with a couple of travel advisors who were sailing with the brand for the first time. Here’s what they had to say about the product nearly four years after the line’s first cruise set sail.

The Perception of Riverside Is Evolving

Former Crystal cruisers need not worry, said Thomas Carpenter, travel advisor and owner of Huckleberry Travel.

“I didn’t really have any misgivings about Riverside, based on the fact that they hired so many of the Crystal staff,” Carpenter said. “What I was surprised by is that they’ve elevated it.

“I was cautiously optimistic that the product would be consistent, but I also kind of in the back of my mind worried, like, ‘Oh gosh, I hope they don’t ruin it.’ Fortunately, experiencing it now that it’s 100% Riverside … they’ve gone above and beyond.”

“I think the ship is just really well appointed in general,” added Gretchen Dinardo, travel advisor and owner of Sage Travel Agency. “The fact that there’s a bar up on the sun deck … as we just watch the scenery go by is pretty incredible…. I’ve stayed in a lot of luxurious places, luxurious hotels all around the world, and I would say this definitely fits the luxury [definition].”

But that doesn’t mean it’s stuffy. In fact, despite the ships’ ultra-luxury feel, Riverside embraces a come-as-you-are vibe where passengers don’t feel obligated to dress up and there’s more emphasis on excellent food, schedule and pricing flexibility, and immersive shore excursions than on who’s wearing designer clothes.

“That’s another misconception about luxury,” Carpenter said. “People think either that luxury is about spending a lot of money, or they think that it’s about being fussy and fancy…. This [Riverside] is very accessible. I’ve worn jeans to dinner every night on this cruise with a shirt with a collar, nice shoes. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie. It’s a relaxed form of luxury, which I think is really on trend right now.”

“Yes, and [Riverside makes] it more attainable for people to have luxury … but it’s not pretentious,” Dinardo added.

Travel Advisor Relationships Are a Priority

Because Riverside is a relatively small company, Carpenter said the line doesn’t have the sales staff to reach out to everyone who should know about the product. That’s where travel advisors come in. He said the line has done a lot since its debut to beef up its advisor connections.

“I think Riverside has done a really good job of building relationships in the travel advisor community,” Carpenter said. “We know that if there’s something that goes sideways when we’ve got a client on a Riverside ship, we’ve got somebody that we can reach out to. You know, those relationships don’t happen overnight, so that’s taken a while to develop.”

Riverside CEO Jennifer Halboth, who was also on our sailing, agreed that the line is working hard to share the product with advisors.

“When it comes to working with advisors, we want to be a cool partner to work with – not hard, not stuffy,” Halboth said. “We want to cater to the travel advisor in our sales process the same way our staff here caters to their clients, our guests.”

Onboard Food Is a Highlight

The culinary offerings on Riverside ships are truly part of what makes the line stand out from its competition. Unlike most river cruise ships, Riverside vessels provide multiple dining options – a main restaurant, small between-meal light bites at the Atelier bistro, a top-deck grill featuring Big Green Eggs, a super-exclusive chef’s table, and 24-hour room service for everyone (not just passengers in suites).

It’s not just the variety that’s notable. The quality of every dish we tried was superb, and the colors and flavors were off-the-charts outstanding.

“As we’re going from one stop to the next, the staff onboard, many of them are from the destination[s we’re visiting], so the chefs were making dishes that are there [local] and sharing with us, which I thought was really great,” Carpenter said.

Favorites among the passengers are the top-deck barbecue, which happens at least once per sailing and sees chefs grilling up fish, chicken, steak, and shrimp alfresco; the Vintage Room, which serves a pricey six-course dinner with wine pairings for a maximum of 10 people; and daily ice cream and waffles at the Atelier bistro.

Flexibility Is a Hallmark

Another way Riverside sets itself apart from other lines is by catering to passengers with atypical needs. For starters, the line offers short voyages, starting at three nights, that can be stacked to create longer, more customized itineraries. These allow first-timers who are curious about river voyages to test one out without spending the time or money required for a full week onboard. These shorter cruises also allow avid cruisers to extend their voyages without adding a full additional week.

There’s flexibility with pricing and inclusions, too. There are four fare tiers that allow passengers to decide whether they want a price that includes shore excursions, beverages like soda and alcohol, both of those or neither of them.

“We’re just more flexible than other lines,” Halboth told us. “Everything from our pricing structure to you can just do a three- plus a four-night [sailing]. I just think all of that flexibility lends to, hopefully, attracting people that have yet to give river cruise a try. That is what we really want to help travel advisors do.”

The Target Client Might Not Be Who You Think

As part of our conversation with Halboth, she told us that many people mistakenly think Riverside caters to German speakers. (Part of the confusion probably stems from the fact that the line is owned by German luxury hotel and resort brand Seaside Collection.) Although onboard literature is available in both English and German and several crewmembers speak fluent German, all announcements, port talks, and shore excursions are done in English.

Additionally, the line is aiming to skew a bit younger and more adventurous than the average river cruise line does.

“I think they [Riverside] are doing something really important by trying to appeal to a younger traveler than the demographic that thinks it’s right for [river] cruises,” Carpenter said. “As a travel advisor, my job is to figure out who are the right clients for this product…. It’s not just retirees…. If a client is in their 30s, 40s, or early 50s and they’ve got the budget for Riverside, I would say it’s a no-brainer because it’s a really high-quality experience.”

But that doesn’t mean older cruisers wouldn’t also enjoy a cruise with Riverside. As Carpenter noted, “It’s elevated, and it’s a true luxury product, but it’s also not fussy and snooty. That’s the kind of thing that appeals to everybody.”

Halboth sums it up like this: “It’s more psychographic than demographic.”

She gave two examples. First, there’s a 68-year-old woman who’s independent, has her own style, enjoys fabulously curated ginger martinis, and doesn’t need a 45-minute port talk because she’s well-traveled and prefers exploring on her own. Then there’s the 42-year-old who’s still working, makes a decent living, spends a disproportionate amount of her disposable income on travel, and enjoys making new friends and capturing Instagrammable moments.

“Those,” Halboth said, “are both Riverside clients.”