'True Luxury' with Crystal River Cruises

“True luxury” finally came to Europe’s rivers two years ago when the Crystal Mozart began sailing—that’s the viewpoint of Walter Littlejohn, vice president and managing director of Crystal River Cruises, the newish offshoot of Crystal Cruises.

“When it comes to the true definition of luxury, in European river cruising, it had been somewhat lacking,” he said. “For many, many years now, luxury travelers were making compromise decisions. They wanted to go on a river cruise, and you had to say, ‘the food may not be like what you’re used to on a Crystal ocean cruise,’ or ‘the butler service is not like the kind you’d find on a Crystal ocean cruise.’ Now, with Crystal in the marketplace, I can comfortably say our guests don’t have to make compromise decisions anymore.”

Littlejohn made those comments during Crystal Cruises’ annual gala for million-dollar producing travel agents, held aboard the Crystal Symphony in late April.

Crystal River Cruises launched in 2016 with the Crystal Mozart, a larger-than-normal vessel on the Danube. Measuring 395 feet long and 75 feet wide, the vessel is slightly shorter but twice as wide as most European river ships. It accommodates 158 guests, compared to 190 passengers on a Viking River Cruises Viking Longship, which measures 443 feet long and 37.5 feet wide.

Last year and this year, four all-suite, all-balcony identical river ships—Crystal Bach, Crystal Mahler, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel—entered service. They boast what Crystal says is the highest crew-to-guest ratio in the industry—the 106-guest ships are serviced by 68 crew—and are the only European river ships offering all accommodations above the waterline.

Crystal’s river ships offer Michelin-inspired cuisine, unlimited fine wines and premium spirits, butler service, all gratuities (shipboard and shoreside), daily fitness and yoga classes, unlimited Wi-Fi and use of electric bikes in select destinations. Ashore, a curated “Crystal Collection” of complimentary experiences offers cultural enrichment and active adventure.

Littlejohn said Crystal operates its own onboard hotel services, motorcoaches and restaurants. The onboard restaurants offer unregimented dining, with the doors open from 7 to 9 p.m. Guests choose to dine whenever and wherever they like, he said. Crystal vessels have up to four restaurants as well as room service.

“There are no mashed potatoes out of a box, no frozen breads that are warmed up, no pre-prepared soup and no pre-prepared desserts from a local supplier,” Littlejohn said.

“It’s à la minute presentation. When the chef de partie gets your order for carrots, he begins peeling those carrots. The only things we don’t source locally are fresh lobster and oysters, which are flown in once a week—lobster from Maine or Canada, oysters from France. That’s the caliber a luxury traveler wants to experience.”

Littlejohn also said the buffets on Crystal river ships are more than a typical buffet – they’re a “marketplace experience.” He added, “We’re not serving from large troughs. Everything is all freshly prepared, and a chef plates it for guests.”

The restaurants include Waterside, the main dining area with breakfast and lunch served marketplace-style and dinner serving locally inspired cuisine; Bistro, serving coffees, pastries and charcuterie by day, and wines and tapas in the evenings; The Pantry, a 24-hour self-service wine, snack and beverage bar; and The Vintage Room, which offers optional lunches and dinners with wine pairings at an additional cost. The Mozart also has Blue, a casual aft outdoor dining area serving small-plate “global comfort food.”

All ships feature an indoor pool, with those on Crystal Bach, Crystal Mahler, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel capped by a glass roof.

They also all have a Palm Court, reminiscent of that found on Crystal’s ocean ships, which is the main hub for dancing and live local entertainment, as well as casual cocktails and tea service.

Crystal River Cruises also offers 255 complimentary shoreside experiences in five categories—“Tantalizing Gastronomy,” “Exhilarating Adventures,” “Personal Connections,” “Cultural Discoveries” and “Design Your Time.”

Excursion group sizes are limited to no more than 15 guests. Inclusive adventures include hands-on culinary experiences in Rotterdam, an owner-hosted wine tasting in Cochem, to a string or opera performance in a historic Antwerp cathedral, and a behind-the-scenes tour of Amsterdam’s greenhouses, where tulips are cultivated.

Optional experiences at an additional cost are available, such as horseback riding through a forested national park in Serbia and a vintage photography adventure in Vukovar, Croatia.

Guests can also arrange for custom experiences—and have done so 1,400 times since November, the line said. The record so far: $20,000 for one shore excursion.

Each river itinerary also includes a Signature Event, which offers rare access and musical performances in iconic landmarks such as Vienna’s Belvedere Palace and Rüdesheim’s Monastery Eberbach.