Riverside Mozart

The 1987-built MS Riverside Mozart cruise ship (fka Crystal Mozart) was constructed at Deggendorfer Shipyard in Deggendorf Germany. The vessel was previously operated by two German cruisetour operators - Peter Deilmann and Detours. The boat was sold to Crystal River Cruises in late-2015, and acquired by Seaside Hotels in November 2022.

Since 2022, Crystal's entire river fleet is owned by Seaside Hotels and is under the management of Seaside's subsidiary and travel brand "Riverside Collection Cruises" (aka Riverside Luxury Cruises).

Until 2019, "MS Mozart" was Europe's largest river cruise ship ever constructed. Dubbed "Queen of the Danube", Mozart (sized 395x75 ft / 120x23 m) currently has only one rival in Europe - AmaWaterways' ship AmaMagna (sized 443x72 ft / 135x22 m). Still, the ever-largest are the USSR-Soviet Union's Russian passenger ships sailing the Volga River.

History - construction and ownership

Crystal Cruises Inc (1988-founded/USA-based) was a subsidiary of the Japanese NYK Line/Nippon Yusen Kaisha (one of world's largest container shipping companies). In 2015, NYK Line sold it to Genting Hong Kong (GHK). Following the acquisition, the company was renamed to Crystal Ltd. The company grouped the ultra-luxury brands Crystal Cruises (ocean-going ships), Crystal River Cruises (European riverboats), Crystal Yacht Cruises (superyachts), Crystal Luxury Air (aircraft) and Crystal AirCruises (fly-cruise tours).

In January 2022, GHK filed for bankruptcy and all its assets were put on sale. In June 2022, Crystal Ltd was acquired by A&K Travel Group Ltd (Abercrombie & Kent). In November 2022, GHK Crystal Cruises' liquidator sold Crystal Mozart to the Hamburg Germany-based company Seaside Collection GmbH & Co KG. The ship (renamed "Riverside Mozart") is now operated by the UK-based (October 2018-founded) subsidiary company Riverside Collection Ltd.

Seaside Collection's subsidiary/core company Seaside Hotels GmbH is a 1970-founded (as Gerlach Wohnungsbau GmbH) luxury hotel group owned and run by the Gerlach family. The group currently owns and manages premium hotels and resorts in Germany, Spain, the Canary Islands, and the Maldives.

Crystal River Cruises operated with fully all-inclusive deals. To start its operations, the company's owner GHK purchased and fully refurbished the riverboat MS Mozart (IMO 8643341, renamed "Crystal Mozart") and launched it in July 2016. GHK additionally ordered four new riverboats from the German shipbuilder Lloyd Werft.

In late-May 2019, Crystal announced that Mozart leaves the fleet in 2020-Q1. The boat was to be transferred to Genting Cruise Lines (sister-brand to Crystal, both subsidiaries of GHK-Genting Hong Kong). GHK's new river brand company's name was to be revealed at a later date.

Mozart's last voyage for Crystal was planned for December 2, 2019 (Vienna to Budapest). All bookings on previously scheduled Crystal Mozart 2020 voyages were updated with similar Danube itineraries on the fleetmates Ravel and Mahler.

However, the riverboat didn't leave Crystal's fleet and (after the Coronavirus pause) was scheduled to restart operations on March 28, 2022.

The vessel Riverside Mozart (ENI number 4805980) is currently Malta-flagged (MMSI 248309000) and registered in Valletta.

Decks and Cabins

Crystal Mozart staterooms (81 total) allow max passenger capacity 154. All cabins are marketed as "luxury suites" and in sizes ranging between 19-80 m2 (200-860 ft2). Cruise accommodations as sizes range from 215 ft2 / 20 m2 (Window and French Balcony staterooms) to 330 ft2 / 31 m2 (One-Bedroom Penthouse Suites) plus the two largest (885 ft2 / 82 m2) Two-Bedroom Suites. The latter are ranked the largest cabins found on river cruise ships.

The riverboat has 4 passenger decks, of which 2 are with cabins.

All staterooms are fitted with marble bathrooms, Nespresso coffee machines, King-sized luxury beds, premium brand bedding sets, modern furniture. 24-hour butler services are provided to all Suites. Penthouses and Suites feature walk-in closets and separate bathtubs/showers.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

The Mozart ship has four restaurants, a large spa/wellness complex (with 2x treatment rooms for massages, 2x sauna rooms, 2x steam rooms), an indoor swimming pool (infinity pool), Jacuzzi/whirlpool, top-deck garden. The list of onboard venues includes bar lounge (Crystal Cove) with a Bosendorfer grand piano, smoking lounge (Connoisseur Club), Library. The eateries are named Waterside (main dining room), Vintage Room (wine pairings), Blue (casual restaurant), Bistro Mozart (specialty coffee bar serving light fare) and The Pantry (self-service wine and beverage bar).

Following the acquisition by Seaside Collection (under Riverside Collection's management), Riverside Mozart was extensively refurbished. The wellness complex was upgraded by adding 2x saunas and 2x steam rooms, and also a wine cellar was installed in the Vintage Room.

Danube River cruise itineraries

Twice the width of the standard European riverboats, MS Crystal Mozart can operate cruises on Danube River only, with Itineraries (mostly roundtrips) from Vienna Austria. Only on this itinerary route Danube locks are large enough to accommodate this huge riverboat.

The 11-NIGHT itinerary (themed "COUNTRIES OF THE EASTERN DANUBE") visits AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, CROATIA, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA. The list of ports of calls includes Vienna, Esztergom, Budapest (city cruising), Mohacs, Vukovar, Iron Gate Gorge, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Mohacs, Kalocsa, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna (2 overnights).

The 13-NIGHT itinerary (holiday-themed "CHRISTMAS MARKETS" and "CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S EVE") visits AUSTRIA, GERMANY, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY. The ports of call include Vienna, Wachau Valley, Melk, Passau (overnight), Vilshofen an der Donau, Linz (overnight), Budapest (overnight), Esztergom, Bratislava, Vienna (overnight).

Starting March 28, 2022, the riverboat is scheduled to operate a 7-night "DANUBE DREAMS AND DISCOVERIES" itinerary. Voyages are roundtrips from Vienna and visit ports in Hungary (Budapest, Esztergom), Slovakia (Bratislava), Austria (Linz/bus tours to Salzburg), Germany (Durnstein and daylight cruising through Вахау-Wachau).

Crystal River cruise prices

Crystal Mozart's cruisetour prices ranged according to the cabin category and also by season (departure dates).

• Fares (indicative pricing in USD, per person) ranged between $3500 (S4 cabin), $3700 (S3 cabin), $4200 (S2 cabin), $4500 (S1 cabin), $7500 (Penthouse Suite) and $17700 (Crystal Suite).
• Fares were based on double occupancy (two full-fare passengers).
• Additional (not included in the fares) were taxes, fees and port charges (ranging between USD 125-400 pp / per person), which also vary by departure dates.
• 2-for-1 cruise deals were also offered as promotions (based on 50% off brochure prices).

Crystal Mozart's cruise deals were inclusive of two transfers - airport to the ship (embarkation day) and ship to airport (disembarkation day).

The all-inclusive Crystal river cruise deals (as cruise price inclusions) offered the following complimentary amenities and services:

• Gratuities for all the ship's staff, including housekeeping, bar, dining, butlers
• All meals (featuring 6-star gourmet cuisine and regional specialties)
• Unlimited soft drinks, premium beverages (including champagne, fine wines, spirits, beers, bottled water)
• 24-hour self-service pantry (specialty coffees, teas, wines, nonalcoholic drinks)
• 24-hour room service
• 24-hour Wi-Fi access, free Wi-Fi and satellite Internet usage (60 min pp per day)
• interactive TV (infotainment system) with movies on demand and music library
• Airport-to-ship group transfers - luxury coaches to transport passengers from the airport to the riverboat on embarkation day.
• Ship-to-airport group transfers (on disembarkation day).
• Onboard daily yoga and fitness classes, daily choice of digital international newspapers
• Onboard entertainment and enrichment programming (destination / itinerary-focused), including lectures, destination expert (on each cruise), local experts and tour guides.
• Self-service guest laundry
• Twice daily housekeeping services (evening turndown service)
• In-cabin dining (hors d'oeuvres)
• Butler service for each cabin
• Two complimentary "Crystal Adventures" shore excursions in every port (curated). Additional excursions are available for purchase.
• Complimentary culinary tours to renowned local establishments

Atlanta eBikes, Nordic walking poles and audio headphones on all "Crystal Adventures" were also provided complimentary on all shore excursions/land tours.