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Riverside Cruises (formerly Crystal) - Debussy


DOJO466
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Friends and I have just booked the Riverside Cruise Line newer ship the Debussy sailing Amsterdam-Basel 15 day in Apr 2025, Tulips and the Rhine. 7 days AMS-AMS then AMS to Basel.

 We are wondering if anyone has sailed the Debussy as she was just launched.  Hopefully you will fill us in.

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This is one of the river boats formerly sailing for Crystal Cruises before the old company went into bankruptcy. I sailed on the Crystal Bach which is identical to the Debussy. My understanding is the boat looks very similar to what it did under Crystal and Riverside is operating it to the same standards. The Bach was beautiful and the food was outstanding so you should be in for a treat.

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DOJO

 

  1. I have been looking at them as well - they look fabulous. 
  2. No postings about them...so I hope someone sees your thread and chimes in who have sailed on them.

Bob

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/21/2024 at 6:48 PM, DOJO466 said:

Friends and I have just booked the Riverside Cruise Line newer ship the Debussy sailing Amsterdam-Basel 15 day in Apr 2025, Tulips and the Rhine. 7 days AMS-AMS then AMS to Basel.

 We are wondering if anyone has sailed the Debussy as she was just launched.  Hopefully you will fill us in.

The ships seem wonderful based on videos I see on YouTube. Did you book through a travel agent or directly with Riverside? I have not seen a U.S travel agency which shows on their website that they book Riverside cruises. Just concerned about booking with a company that does not even have a U.S. phone number.

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3 hours ago, edgee said:

The ships seem wonderful based on videos I see on YouTube. Did you book through a travel agent or directly with Riverside? I have not seen a U.S travel agency which shows on their website that they book Riverside cruises. Just concerned about booking with a company that does not even have a U.S. phone number.

We booked with our US based travel agent, which of course I cannot name here but I think any reputable TA who books with Viking/Scenic/AMA etc are most certainly able to book with them..

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  • 1 month later...

We just finished our sailing with Riverside Debussy on the Rhine. We had an amazing experience. Our suite was beautifully appointed and the staff was first class. I asked for a fan on day one and they went off ship to purchase one for our room. We are now on the second leg of our European vacation and I will be happy to answer any questions as time permits.

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2 hours ago, IUBeth92 said:

We just finished our sailing with Riverside Debussy on the Rhine. We had an amazing experience. Our suite was beautifully appointed and the staff was first class. I asked for a fan on day one and they went off ship to purchase one for our room. We are now on the second leg of our European vacation and I will be happy to answer any questions as time permits.

Thanks for the offer!! How did you find the food? Did you have a BBQ up on the top deck? Without a beverage package is all that is provided is tap water, ice tea and plain coffee? I don't drink alcohol but trying to decided if I still need the beverage package. Did you have the excursion package ...if so how was that and was there one each day or ? Thanks again..there are 4 friends going together next spring!! 

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Hello. Sorry for the delay. We have been visiting our son who is studying abroad.

 

The food was excellent. They had a set menu for dinner and then a list of foods that were available at every meal. They always had snacks available as well. Be sure and try the bubble waffles! 

 

Yes, we enjoyed to cook outs on our voyage. One lunch and one dinner on different days. They had sausage, burgers, chicken, corn on the cob, etc. for lunch and at dinner they had steak, shrimp, lobster, baked potatoes, etc. for dinner. 

 

We booked the excursion package and selected two tours everyday. We walked so much I didn't feel guilty indulging. 

 

We did purchase the drink package (husband loves his beer) but I drank mostly sparkling water and Coke Zero. When you board the ship after an excursion they would have a welcome drink awaiting you. They were always alcoholic but I'm sure you could request a non-alcoholic beverage. Hope this helps. I'll be home in a couple days if you have any more questions.

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On 9/3/2024 at 3:10 AM, IUBeth92 said:

Hello. Sorry for the delay. We have been visiting our son who is studying abroad.

 

The food was excellent. They had a set menu for dinner and then a list of foods that were available at every meal. They always had snacks available as well. Be sure and try the bubble waffles! 

 

Yes, we enjoyed to cook outs on our voyage. One lunch and one dinner on different days. They had sausage, burgers, chicken, corn on the cob, etc. for lunch and at dinner they had steak, shrimp, lobster, baked potatoes, etc. for dinner. 

 

We booked the excursion package and selected two tours everyday. We walked so much I didn't feel guilty indulging. 

 

We did purchase the drink package (husband loves his beer) but I drank mostly sparkling water and Coke Zero. When you board the ship after an excursion they would have a welcome drink awaiting you. They were always alcoholic but I'm sure you could request a non-alcoholic beverage. Hope this helps. I'll be home in a couple days if you have any more questions.

The excursions aren't posted yet for our cruise. Were most of them walking tours? We are "four young at heart widows" and not great walkers!!! 🙂 

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Most of excursions we selected were indeed walking tours. We picked them so we could see much of the city in a short period of time. There were other choices other than walking tours. A couple that we signed up for were the Panoramic Tour & Canal Cruise Strausbourg. In Rüdesheim, there was a Mechanical Music Museum tour where you took a little train and then went to the museum. But to be honest, we did walk an average of 18k steps a day! We also opted to do morning and afternoon excursions to maximize our excursion package.

 

The streets are almost all cobblestone or brick so good walking shoes are imperative!

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Could you tell us a little more about the Premium Beverage package? It says premium wines; just curious if it's wine by the bottle or by the glass, especially at dinner? We don't usually purchase the beverage package but if it includes wine by the bottle at dinner that may make a difference.

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OK I thought of something else...

How did the included excursions work? We are looking at a fall 2025 cruise but I see the same cruise in 2024 so I can see excursions with pricing. If you book the excursion price what did you get included? Was it by price point? Thanks again!

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On 9/5/2024 at 1:18 AM, IUBeth92 said:

Most of excursions we selected were indeed walking tours. We picked them so we could see much of the city in a short period of time. There were other choices other than walking tours. A couple that we signed up for were the Panoramic Tour & Canal Cruise Strausbourg. In Rüdesheim, there was a Mechanical Music Museum tour where you took a little train and then went to the museum. But to be honest, we did walk an average of 18k steps a day! We also opted to do morning and afternoon excursions to maximize our excursion package.

 

The streets are almost all cobblestone or brick so good walking shoes are imperative!

I was thinking that if we aren't great walkers that we should maybe just not pay the extra $$ for the excursion package and just DIY went we got off the ship. Did you usually dock 'in town"? Any food tours? I'm thinking we could always just book individual tours as we wanted/needed and save some $$ that way. Since you had the beverage package you probably didn't notice the price of non alcoholic beverages...Coke, Diet Tonic...things like that? 

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There were no prices listed for beverages so I honestly do not know the cost if you ordered a la carte. 

 

I have no idea what exclusions would cost with independent vendors, but I've attached my excursion sheet with listed costs. Again, I did full board so we maximized by doing two excursions per day.

IMG_9447.heic IMG_9448.heic

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Sorry that I have replied out of order! It must be the jet lag!

 

I am not a drinker by choice because I like to chew my calories! 🙂 

 

I can tell you the sommelier does come to the table with her selections based on your dinner choice. She offered everyone at the table. I never saw anyone sign for their drink order so that led me to believe everyone had the premium drink package. 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, IUBeth92 said:

Sorry that I have replied out of order! It must be the jet lag!

 

I am not a drinker by choice because I like to chew my calories! 🙂 

 

I can tell you the sommelier does come to the table with her selections based on your dinner choice. She offered everyone at the table. I never saw anyone sign for their drink order so that led me to believe everyone had the premium drink package. 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for answering so many questions!! 🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just booked a Danube cruise on Mozart for next summer. Did it through my regular travel agent and it was handled very efficiently. From asking my agent o look at booking the cruise to getting an invoice took about an hour. The invoice included a link to my account where I could manage details immediately, including exploring shore excursions and completing our profiles. Impressive shoreside service, unlike many large established cruise lines. Good vibes so far. I hope they get the recognition that reviews so far indicate they deserve.

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On 9/8/2024 at 5:23 PM, IUBeth92 said:

You're very welcome. Just let me know if you think of anything else.

How full was your cruise? I have seen reports that they are sailing half full. Hope not as they seem to have their act together.

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53 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

I have just booked a Danube cruise on Mozart for next summer. Did it through my regular travel agent and it was handled very efficiently. From asking my agent o look at booking the cruise to getting an invoice took about an hour. The invoice included a link to my account where I could manage details immediately, including exploring shore excursions and completing our profiles. Impressive shoreside service, unlike many large established cruise lines. Good vibes so far. I hope they get the recognition that reviews so far indicate they deserve.

Thanks for this info...I'll go look at the excursions for next April then!! 

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