Riverside Mozart.....?

[iticlaudia]

Thinking about booking a river cruise with Riverside but can't much info or reviews.  

Anyone have real life experience with them?  

Trying to find the itinerary with a time schedule.  Menus.  Entertainment.  

Anyone out there that can help?

[steamboats]

Check this thread

 

steamboats

 

[iticlaudia]

6 hours ago, steamboats said:

Check this thread

 

steamboats

 

Thank you!  I did read that thread.  I was just hoping to find some real reviews by passengers rather than travel experts.  

I'll probably book today for a cruise that begins on September 3rd.  It will be our first river cruise.  I guess I might be the first to write a passenger review.  🤪

[steamboats]

John (who did make the videos linked in the other thread) told me that there were only 8 passengers onboard his cruise. So that may be the reason why there aren´t so many reviews. And it´s not an all American (or English speaking) cruise line.

 

steamboats

[iticlaudia]

2 minutes ago, steamboats said:

John (who did make the videos linked in the other thread) told me that there were only 8 passengers onboard his cruise. So that may be the reason why there aren´t so many reviews. And it´s not an all American (or English speaking) cruise line.

 

steamboats

Wow!!!  Just 8 passengers?  How does that even happen?  

When I spoke with my travel agent yesterday, he seemed very cautious as to me possibly booking Riverside.  He said it was newer and maybe geared more towards Europeans (Germans).  That's not an issue for me since I fly to and from Germany every week and speak German.

I would hope there would be more passengers than that, otherwise it will be quite boring in the evenings.  Maybe before I book my agent can find out what the capacity is.  

[steamboats]

There was even one cruise on the Mozart with only 4 passengers.

 

I saw a lot of photos from the first cruise of the Ravel. We could have gone there too but were busy elsewhere.

 

They want to be international although they are German based. The company behind Riverside is a luxury hotel brand.

 

steamboats

[iticlaudia]

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

There was even one cruise on the Mozart with only 4 passengers.

 

I saw a lot of photos from the first cruise of the Ravel. We could have gone there too but were busy elsewhere.

 

They want to be international although they are German based. The company behind Riverside is a luxury hotel brand.

 

steamboats

I booked it!!  

Having never been on a river cruise but having been on Regent and Silversea cruises I think we will love it.  Hopefully!!!

To be honest I'm looking forward to it being a bit more European based similar to Silversea.  We love meeting folks from around the world.  

Being such a new brand, I'll make sure to take lots of photos and review.  

Regardless we are going on vacation and that in itself makes me happy!  

[Host Jazzbeau]

29 minutes ago, iticlaudia said:

Being such a new brand, I'll make sure to take lots of photos and review.

Thanks!

[Coral]

1 hour ago, iticlaudia said:

I booked it!!  

Having never been on a river cruise but having been on Regent and Silversea cruises I think we will love it.  Hopefully!!!

To be honest I'm looking forward to it being a bit more European based similar to Silversea.  We love meeting folks from around the world.  

Being such a new brand, I'll make sure to take lots of photos and review.  

Regardless we are going on vacation and that in itself makes me happy!  

I sailed the ship when it was Crystal Mozart. I have seen pictures since Riverside took over and it looks very similar.

 

It is a stunning ship. I understand they have a lot of the same employees on it. It was literally the best food I have ever had on a ship when it was Crystal. If they have the same chefs, you are in for a treat. You will love the ship. Exterior it looks older but interior it is amazing.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:11 PM, Coral said:

I sailed the ship when it was Crystal Mozart. I have seen pictures since Riverside took over and it looks very similar.

 

It is a stunning ship. I understand they have a lot of the same employees on it. It was literally the best food I have ever had on a ship when it was Crystal. If they have the same chefs, you are in for a treat. You will love the ship. Exterior it looks older but interior it is amazing.

After all the work Crystal did to renovate this ship [basically taking the interior down to the hull], it shouldn't need anything new from Riverside.  Since hulls don't deteriorate, it should be considered a 'new' ship.  The other Crystal river ships they have bought are truly new ships.

 

And Riverside seems to be committed to the same level of luxury that Crystal was.  So, except for the non-English focus [which some people consider a Plus], I don't see anything to worry about with Riverside Luxury cruises.

[WanderingTravels]

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Seabourn, Ritz, etc. all have years of luxury expertise. My travel agent, who belongs to the largest network of luxury travel agents, pointed out to me she’s never heard of Seaside hotels and neither has her network.

Edited August 23, 2023 by WanderingTravels

[steamboats]

1 hour ago, WanderingTravels said:

Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Seabourn, Ritz, etc. all have years of luxury expertise. My travel agent, who belongs to the largest network of luxury travel agents, pointed out to me she’s never heard of Seaside hotels and neither has her network.

 

Which doesn´t mean a thing... Seaside Collection has 11 luxury hotels (6 in Germany, 3 on the island of Grand Canaria, 1 on the island of Lanzarote, 1 on the Maldives). They are a German company and also the hotels are basically in destinations which are German favorites. So it´s nothing really focused on the US market.

 

With only 11 hotels it´s not a big brand like Ritz Carlton.

 

I don´t think they really knew what they got into. They first said they want to focus on their hotel guests as future cruise passengers. But they also wanted to be international. When they christened the Mozart it was during an international travel agent convention and the godmother was from a big TA company (don´t remember whether US or UK but English speaking market). No invitations to German media. Now for the Ravel they did invite international media and travel agents (including Germans - which I only mention as the company is Germany based). So I think they are still in sort of a finding phase for their product. But I only see excellent comments and great photos from the Ravel so far.

 

steamboats

[Host Jazzbeau]

They are sailing what are absolutely the finest ships on the rivers.  All they have to do is not screw it up...

[Canal archive]

Just a silly little point hulls do deteriorate and depending on what fabric they are constructed from some faster than others. Hull inspections should be carried out regularly regardless of the size of the vessel. That’s not to say the ex Crystal vessels have a problem and now that they are owned by - yes I will say it - a great seafaring nation I’m sure they are in safe hands. 
Also not all specialist hotel groups are from the USA, this is a niche market maybe not frequented by the super rich  but kept under the radar by those who know.

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

Now for the Ravel they did invite international media and travel agents (including Germans - which I only mention as the company is Germany based).

Yes, I have now seen German articles online about the Ravel.

 

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Also not all specialist hotel groups are from the USA, this is a niche market maybe not frequented by the super rich  but kept under the radar by those who know.

I would tend to think the same. There are several German/European chains - mid-range to real luxury - that do not market or hardly market to the English-speaking world. Okay, in this day and age they may have now international websites.

 

notamermaid

 

[Coral]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

 

And Riverside seems to be committed to the same level of luxury that Crystal was.  So, except for the non-English focus [which some people consider a Plus], I don't see anything to worry about with Riverside Luxury cruises.

I did read somewhere (at least at one time) that they were going to have English as one of the main languages onboard (and I assume German).

[Coral]

I also wanted to say that this ship is very spacious due to it being double wide. I also absolutely loved the decor. I would sail this ship in a heart beat again.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

I did read somewhere (at least at one time) that they were going to have English as one of the main languages onboard (and I assume German).

Sorry for the confusion.  I didn't mean to imply otherwise.  But the atmosphere onboard will be different than the English-only cruise lines.  Some will prefer that; some will not.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Sorry for the confusion.  I didn't mean to imply otherwise.  But the atmosphere onboard will be different than the English-only cruise lines.  Some will prefer that; some will not.

It will be interesting to read the reviews. Time will tell.

[Canal archive]

Agree could be interesting.

[iticlaudia]

I agree that it's probably going to be interesting.   The great thing is the hubby and I are pretty relaxed travelers. We have vacationed at several new luxury properties over the years and know that sometimes the kinks still need to be worked out.

As I mentioned I'm in Germany regularly.  There are two hotels I stay in, one being a well-known American chain and the other a larger German hotel company.  Both hotels are very nice, but they for sure cater more towards their country's clientele.  To me the most noticeable is the food and food choices.  For example, breakfast where one has lots of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. the other sliced deli meats, cheese, soft boiled eggs, etc.  Both are lovely, just different.  And at both ale cart can be ordered.  

One thing that I've noticed in the very little info I have found on Riverside is the bedding is more American.  Large King size bed with single king size comforter rather than the traditional German two comforters.  The bedding will for sure appeal to more of an international market. 

As for the language.  I would say that all Germans in the travel industry speak English, so I don't see that being an issue for international English-speaking travelers.   

I'm really excited to try this new brand and to report. 

[Coral]

11 hours ago, iticlaudia said:

I agree that it's probably going to be interesting.   The great thing is the hubby and I are pretty relaxed travelers. We have vacationed at several new luxury properties over the years and know that sometimes the kinks still need to be worked out.

As I mentioned I'm in Germany regularly.  There are two hotels I stay in, one being a well-known American chain and the other a larger German hotel company.  Both hotels are very nice, but they for sure cater more towards their country's clientele.  To me the most noticeable is the food and food choices.  For example, breakfast where one has lots of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. the other sliced deli meats, cheese, soft boiled eggs, etc.  Both are lovely, just different.  And at both ale cart can be ordered.  

One thing that I've noticed in the very little info I have found on Riverside is the bedding is more American.  Large King size bed with single king size comforter rather than the traditional German two comforters.  The bedding will for sure appeal to more of an international market. 

As for the language.  I would say that all Germans in the travel industry speak English, so I don't see that being an issue for international English-speaking travelers.   

I'm really excited to try this new brand and to report. 

The ship had bidets in the bathrooms.

 

The linens were nice. They also had a Nespresso in each room. I don't know if they still do or not.

[Canal archive]

Oh no not the bidet jokes please. My first school holiday to Europe in one go introduced myself and class mates to the bidet, the duvet, the stand on the two foot points and squat and several other anomalies that at that time separated our little island from mainland Europe. From that list you can now approximate my age. I’m still interested though does it make the bathroom a tad on the small side?

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Oh no not the bidet jokes please. My first school holiday to Europe in one go introduced myself and class mates to the bidet, the duvet, the stand on the two foot points and squat and several other anomalies that at that time separated our little island from mainland Europe. From that list you can now approximate my age. I’m still interested though does it make the bathroom a tad on the small side?

No. I had the cheapest cabin (window). Here are 2 pics (not of the bidet). The bathroom seemed spacious for me (for a ship).

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Coral

[iticlaudia]

Bidet jokes?!  I have one!  This was mine in a high-end hotel room in Rio De Janeiro!  😆

I did read that the Mozart has Toto toilets, no mention of a bidet.