Stewart Williams has been appointed Country Manager of Australia/New Zealand for Riverside. Here, he talks exclusively to Karryon about the brand’s major investment in the local market.
Riverside is a relative newcomer to the luxury river cruise sector in the local market, and Stewart Williams is excited about raising awareness of the brand in his new role as Australia/New Zealand Country Manager – and he’s well placed to do so.
During his 28 years with Avalon Waterways Australia, 20 of those as Managing Director, Williams successfully built distribution networks, strengthened trade relationships and helped drive the rapid growth of river cruising.
Williams’ role at Riverside includes increasing sales, building distribution and, most importantly, developing relationships with travel partners and looking at opportunities with partners who may not be in its current portfolio.
Get to know Riverside
Riverside Luxury Cruises was established in 2023, after German luxury hotel company Seaside Collection bought the former Crystal Cruises’ five ultra-luxe river ships.
Each already immaculate vessel was revitalised for Riverside, and the fleet comprises Riverside Mozart (twice the width of most European river ships, accommodating 162 guests and sailing only on the Danube) and four sister ships: the 110-guest, all-suite Riverside Bach, Riverside Ravel, Riverside Mahler and Riverside Debussy.
Bach and Mahler are currently chartered by Uniworld and will return to Riverside in 2027 and 2028. Ravel sails on France’s Rhône and Saône between Lyon and Avignon, and Debussy operates classic Rhine cruises between Amsterdam and Basel, and Budapest and Bucharest.
The Hamburg-based Seaside Collection is owned by the Gerlach family, who have been luxury hoteliers for decades. The collection’s 11 properties in Spain, Germany and the Maldives are renowned for their design and Michelin-inspired cuisine, which also feature on Riverside ships.
The Riverside difference
“The fundamental difference of Riverside’s ships is that they accommodate a maximum of 110 guests, rather than 150 or even 190 on other identically sized ships in Europe,” Williams says.
“The sheer volume of space, size of the suites and exceptionally high crew-to-guest ratio of 1:2 equate to a very relaxed atmosphere onboard.”
Personalised service is a hallmark of the Riverside experience. Every suite has a butler, who does everything from unpacking luggage to organising in-suite drinks and meals, suggesting places in port to visit independently and liaising with the concierge to book taxis or the onboard bikes and e-bikes.
Williams relays an anecdote from a client that reflects the attention to detail.
“This guest was left-handed and mentioned in passing that the coffee cups in her suite, unlike those in the restaurant, didn’t fit her hands. As soon as she returned to her suite, the coffee cups had been replaced. The crew-to-guest ratio allows time for the crew to make these tiny differences that guests always appreciate and remember.”
Each ship has an indoor pool, spa, fitness centre, beauty salon and guest laundry. They all have five dining venues – including pop-up gourmet barbecues on the top deck when weather permits – plus the spacious, light-filled Palm Court Lounge and Vista Bar.
“Michelin-inspired” dining is an essential ingredient in the Riverside offering, and open-seating means that dishes are cooked to order, rather than pre-prepared.
Galley space is much larger than on comparable river ships, and everything from croissants to jam is made onboard. Tables for two in the main restaurant, Waterside, are plentiful, and your butler can book these in advance when required.
The Vintage Room offers lunches and dinners for up to 10 guests, paired with select wines, for an extra fee. Served by the chefs, lunches are four courses, and dinners are six to seven courses. Guests can also book the room for private functions.
River cruise trends
Williams says clients are booking cruises 18 to 24 months ahead and Riverside is seeing more multi-generational groups onboard.
Guests are generally in the 60-plus age group, and while children from the age of three are welcome, the ships are not set up for childcare or family-oriented excursions.
The range of shore excursions is expanding to cover everything from culinary exploration to history, art, nature, and architecture and design. Riverside signature events include, for example, an evening at Belvedere Palace in Vienna for a private concert, and crowd-free viewing of the palace’s art collection featuring Gustav Klimt’s famous painting ‘The Kiss’.
Because most bookings are made well in advance, Williams says the current Gulf War crisis has not adversely affected Riverside clients.
“However, we will of course work with guests to move bookings or change flights if necessary. We are monitoring developments closely, and like everyone else, we can only hope the situation is resolved as soon as possible.”
Getting on board
“Flexibility” is a word that crops up frequently during our conversation.
Williams says the fare structure is designed to offer guests the opportunity to select a category that suits them.
“For example, not everyone wants shore excursions included in their fare – many of our guests have been to Europe several times and prefer to do their own thing ashore.”
Fares range from the base full board to premium all-inclusive and ultra options, including butler service, gratuities, Wi-Fi and dining.
- Full board includes meals, coffee, tea, water, butler service, Wi-Fi and gratuities. Beverages and excursions are not included.
- Premium all-inclusive includes everything covered in full board, plus all beverages (except premium brands), 24-hour room service and daily replenished minibar. Excursions are not included.
- Ultra includes everything in premium all-inclusive, plus shore excursions in every port.
Top-shelf wine, spirits, beers, cocktails and mocktails are available to order individually if guests choose not to book the package including beverages.
Itineraries are also built for maximum flexibility and choice. Some are as short as three nights; Williams says these suit corporate travellers who might have limited free time in Europe when there for business, or luxe travellers testing river cruising for the first time. Four-night cruises can be booked back-to-back, and Riverside Mozart’s itineraries on the Danube tend to be longer, 10 to 14 nights.
For more information, visit Riverside Luxury Cruises.
