Riverside Luxury Cruises Review: Modern River Cruising with a Fresh Twist
Riverside is the newest name in river cruising, and if you've been researching lines, you've probably noticed it showing up more and more. I recently spent time onboard one of their ships and sat down with Jennifer Halboth to talk about what Riverside is building — and I came away thinking this is genuinely a different approach to river cruising.
I want to be upfront: this was a ship visit, not a full sailing. Two hours onboard is enough to assess the design, the concept, and the energy of a brand. It's not enough to tell you how the service holds up on day five or whether the excursions deliver. I'll update this when I've done a full sailing. But what I saw was enough to form a clear opinion about who this line is for.
What makes Riverside different
Riverside describes their brand in three words: Exceptional. Exclusive. Amazing. That's fine as marketing. Here's how I'd actually describe it: flexible, wellness-forward, and modern.
The easiest comparison is Virgin Voyages. If you followed what Virgin did to ocean cruising — stripping out the stuffy traditions, building around younger travelers who want quality without rigidity — Riverside is doing something similar on rivers. It's not a carbon copy, but it's the same instinct: take a format that's been designed for one demographic for decades and rebuild it for a different one.
You feel it in the details. The gym actually feels like a gym — not a closet with a treadmill and an apologetic set of dumbbells, which is what you get on most river ships. The common spaces are clean and modern without being cold. And there's gelato you can grab and take outside to the top deck, which is a small thing that tells you a lot about how the brand thinks. They're not precious about where you eat or how you spend your time onboard. That matters.
The pricing model is the real differentiator
Most river cruise lines operate on some version of an all-inclusive model — excursions bundled in, drinks included or partially included, everything wrapped into one fare. Riverside goes a different direction. Their base fare is lighter, and you opt into what you actually want — excursions, premium dining, specific experiences — rather than paying for a package you might not fully use.
This is going to be polarizing, and it should be. If you're the traveler who wants to pay once and never think about money again for the rest of the trip, this model will feel like nickel-and-diming. That's not Riverside being cheap — it's a fundamentally different philosophy, and it's not for everyone.
But if you're the traveler who skips half the included excursions on other lines and would rather spend that money on a great dinner in port or a private wine tasting you found yourself — this model respects how you actually travel instead of making you subsidize experiences you don't want. For the right person, that flexibility is worth more than a longer inclusions list.
Who Riverside is built for
Travelers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who want a river cruise that doesn't feel like it was designed for their parents. People who care about wellness and modern design but aren't interested in paying for a hyper-curated, white-glove experience they didn't ask for. Couples who've done a few European trips and want the convenience of river cruising without the traditional energy that comes with most lines.
If you liked the idea of river cruising but something about the existing options felt slightly off — too formal, too programmed, too much "enrichment lecture in the lounge at 4pm" — Riverside is worth a serious look.
Who should look elsewhere
If this is your first river cruise and you're not sure what you want yet, a more established line with a proven track record and a bundled model is probably a safer entry point. Ama, Viking, and Tauck all have years of consistent client feedback behind them. Riverside is new — the product looks strong, but there's less history to draw from.
If you want the classic river cruise experience — structured days, everything included, a traditional onboard atmosphere — Riverside will feel like a mismatch. Not because it's worse, but because it's deliberately not that.
And if the unbundled pricing model makes you uneasy, trust that instinct. Some travelers thrive with flexibility. Others find it stressful. Know which one you are before you book.
Where I land
Riverside is doing something genuinely interesting, and I'm paying close attention. The design is sharp, the concept is clear, and the target traveler — younger, flexible, wellness-minded, independent — is a segment that hasn't had a river cruise line built specifically for them before.
Is it proven? Not yet. It's new, and new means there's less client data to point to. But what I saw onboard was promising enough that I'd recommend it to the right client — and specific enough that I can tell you pretty quickly whether you're that client or not.
This is one piece of how I think about river cruises. If you want the full picture — what to know before booking, how the major lines compare, and the stuff most people don't think about until it's too late. I put it all in one place HERE
Before you reach out to Riverside directly — picking the line is just the first decision. The timing, the river, the cabin, the pre and post cruise all matter too. I put together an honest guide to what's actually involved in planning a river cruise right.
👉 Read: You don't need a travel advisor to book your river cruise — but here's what most people wish they'd known first.
Still comparing river cruise lines?
Riverside is one of ten lines worth knowing about. My one-page cheat sheet compares the major lines side by side — what's included, who each one is best for, and where you get the most value. Free, straight to your inbox.