Size matters on one of Europe’s biggest river boats
This vessel has had numerous incarnations since launching 30 years ago, but it still feels like a luxury waterfront hotel.
It’s early morning in Austria’s bucolic Wachau Valley, and I’ve just woken to a scene of dazzling beauty. Sunlight freckles the River Danube. Forested hills and terraced vineyards are shadowed in the palest of blues, and directly across from me, willow trees dip to the water’s frilly edges. There’s no traffic noise. All I can hear is birdsong, the click of wheels from cyclists tracing the river path, and the gentle lap of water. What makes this wake-up view even more remarkable, however, is my immediate environment. I could easily be ensconced in a suite at a luxury waterfront hotel yet I’m on a boat.
At 120m long and 23m wide, Riverside Mozart is one of the largest river boats on the Danube. This results in an incredible sense of space throughout, with room to breathe, even when at its 162-passenger capacity. Uncluttered interiors give the vessel a fresh feel. Contemporary decor with Art Deco-style fittings comes in mushroom tones, riverine greys and deep blues. Unusual, too, for a river boat, is the sizeable gym, indoor pool, steam room, sauna and spa. Spacious staterooms (or suites, as they are called) feature extra-large bathrooms, swanky Natura Bisse toiletries, monsoon showers and remote-controlled Japanese Toto loos with heated seats and multiple functions.
Our four night round-trip from Vienna takes in walks and wine tours in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, and the Austrian towns of Durnstein, Melk and Krems. In the future, longer trips with additional stops at Budapest, Linz and Passau, will have a creative selection of excursions. You might fancy a private helicopter ride over the Wachau Valley (€1499/$2508 a person), for instance, or a chance to conduct the Vienna Supreme Concerts Orchestra (€879 a person); perhaps a dawn meander through Vienna’s hidden courtyards with breakfast at a coffee house and pre-crowd access to the renowned Kunsthistorisches Museum (€120).
Our voyage unfolds with morning or afternoon outings and plenty of time left to soak up river scenery from the sundeck. At Bratislava, we find a delightful 18th-century core of tree-lined cobbled streets. Soviet-era buildings mix with stucco-adorned pastel houses. The Slovak National Theatre on Hviezdoslavovo Square is particularly eye-catching; a Beaux Arts beauty that on this spring day is buzzing with excited chatter from students in graduation gowns. Behind them, fountains sparkle in the sunshine and blossoms festoon the trees.
Bratislava has an authentic charm. Trams clang along narrow streets carrying schoolchildren home for lunch. Food stores adjoin outdoor cafes and, yes, there are garish signs bidding you to enjoy tea in a bomb shelter, or stop by for a beer tasting, but the city has yet to be swamped by the overt tourism of Prague, Warsaw or Budapest.
As our voyage continues, so the Danube reveals exquisitely quiet towns. One morning, moored outside Durnstein, I wake to the swish of the river from passing rowing boats, the blue sky pulling its ruined castle into sharp relief. This is where Richard the Lionheart was incarcerated for three years after a prolonged row with the Duke of Austria. Not a bad place to end up, I think, as later I puff my way up to its summit and gaze down on the curvaceous river.
The view is a balm to the eyes. In the distance are the snow-etched Carpathian mountains; in the foreground, apricot orchards and neatly tended gruner veltliner vineyards. The lemony-tasting alpine wines of this region suffered enormously when the American-born phylloxera pest swept through. Apricots were planted as a substitute and thrived in the sandy, nutrient-rich soil. In Durnstein’s tiny streets, you can barely move for complimentary tots of apricot liqueur or tastings of apricot jam.
It was the Romans who taught local growers how to establish wine terraces on mountain slopes, and when later we enter the Wachau Valley, the lush landscape of forests and corduroy-neat vines seems as if lifted straight from a medieval sampler.
The edible-sounding towns of Melk and Krems top and tail the valley, and soon our voyage becomes a whizz through Baroque excess. At Melk, there’s the huge hilltop abbey crammed with gilded religious bling; its library houses important books dating back to the ninth century. In Krems, pleasure is found sitting in the sun with a cold beer beneath Baroque facades while enjoying Danube vistas.
Riverside Mozart looks new but began life more than 30 years ago under Peter Deilmann Cruises. In 2016, Crystal Cruises bought it as part of its new “sleek river yacht” collection. When the company became insolvent in 2022, German hotel group Seaside Collection acquired the riverboats. It has instigated an unusual pricing model, carried over from its traditional hotel structure. Guests can book a variety of meal plans or opt for the highest plan, which includes premium excursions. Choosing the entry-level option means you’re free to skip dinners (or pay €40 at the Bistro), avoid pricey alcoholic drinks and organise trips independently at each destination.
But aside from this bold pricing structure, little has changed since I travelled on Mozart in 2016. The suites, even at entry level, are as spacious, with well-stocked minibars and Nespresso machines and all have large picture windows with balconies. My penthouse suite has a separate dressing room and walk-in wardrobe, plus a bath as well as that power shower.
During cocktail hour at Cove Bar, with its impressive array of drinks, chirpy pianist Daniel plays a fun medley of hits from the 1960s and ’70s. Then it’s time for dinner at a choice of venues. The Bistro offers light tapas-style dishes (including a late-risers’ breakfast); Vista Grill on the sundeck hosts barbecues in fine weather; Waterside, where buffet breakfasts, lunches and a la carte dinners are served, is particularly gorgeous, with wraparound windows, banquettes and stuffed armchairs mixed with plenty of tables for two. At the stern, Blue Bar Grill is a top spot for lunch.
Despite the variety, however, most meals are lacklustre. It’s not so much the offerings. A dinner might feature imaginative starters such as onsen egg with Serrano ham, asparagus and lemon hollandaise, then move to Wiener schnitzel or river trout, but dishes are often served lukewarm or bizarrely paired with over-dominant spices. You can console yourself with a hefty hamburger, excellent cheese and ham toastie or bowl of pasta at Blue Bar Grill, an intimate venue where the porthole windows are a playful nod to all things nautical.
For cruisers transitioning from ocean sailings, Riverside Mozart is a relaxed way to jump ship, as it were. The sense of space is hard to beat, and with the Danube as a backdrop, you’re unlikely to feel blue.
IN THE KNOW
Riverside Luxury Cruises offers a four-night round trip from Vienna from $4722 a person, twin-share, inclusive of full board, excursions (some at extra cost), drinks, gratuities and transfers. Premium all-inclusive full-board package without excursions from $3519 a person, twin-share.
Louise Roddon was a guest of Riverside Luxury Cruises.
