Riverside Opens 2028 Bookings With 18% Early Booking Discount
Riverside is cutting sailing prices by 18 percent for any 2028 departure booked before June 30, 2027, across all suite categories and package types.
Riverside Luxury Cruises has opened bookings for its 2028 season, with Riverside Mahler scheduled to enter service for the line in May. The program spans early spring through late December, with voyages ranging from three to 23 nights.
Mahler’s addition will expand the line’s departures through the Main-Danube Canal, linking the Rhine and Danube, to 12 in 2028. That compares with four in 2026 and two in 2027.
Mahler expands the Rhine-Danube program
Mahler will spend the summer on routes connecting destinations in Germany, Austria and Hungary with Amsterdam and Basel. Its autumn schedule takes it to the Lower Danube in September and back to the Rhine in October, before Christmas sailings on the Danube conclude its first Riverside season.
The 114-passenger vessel originally sailed as Crystal Mahler and was built in 2017 by MV Werften in Wismar, Germany.
Riverside Debussy will also operate voyages connecting the Rhine and Danube. It will begin its season in March with tulip cruises in the Netherlands and Belgium, then travel to the Lower Danube.
In early summer, Debussy will introduce nine- and 10-night sailings between Amsterdam and Basel that include the Moselle. Its summer and autumn deployment also includes Dutch Waterways cruises and further Danube voyages, followed by Christmas market departures on the Rhine.
Riverside Mozart, the ship with which the line began operations in 2023, will retain its Upper and Lower Danube deployment. A new seven-night itinerary from Vienna to Budapest will include the Wachau Valley, while an additional Hungarian port will join the ship’s schedule. The announcement did not identify that port.
In France, Riverside Ravel will continue sailing the Rhone and Saone.
Expert-led departures join the schedule
Riverside is adding expert-led themed cruises to its 2028 program alongside the expanded routes. Its announcement did not specify the themes or identify the participating experts.
Expert-accompanied departures also feature in Smithsonian Journeys’ separately announced 2028 collection with AmaWaterways, which comprises 50 departures across 15 itineraries. Those cruises include excursions and opportunities to engage with Smithsonian Journeys Experts, with optional land programs before and after the voyages.
“Our 2028 collection introduces two enriching new itineraries while continuing to offer our most popular journeys throughout Europe and Southeast Asia,” said Walter Littlejohn, senior vice president of Smithsonian Journeys.
Riverside, meanwhile, is cutting the sailing price by 18 percent on any 2028 departure reserved before June 30, 2027. The offer applies to all suite categories and package types.
