Riverside Ravel Luxury River Cruise Ship Review

We were always big fans of Crystal River Cruises and were saddened when they disappeared around the time of the pandemic. We had sailed on Crystal Ravel on a 7 day Vienna Roundtrip and our experience was one of the best we have ever had on a River Cruise. We always said we would love to repeat the experience.

Enter Riverside Luxury Cruises, owned by a German luxury hotel company – the Seaside Collection, which took over Riverside Ravel in 2023, making a few changes along the way and hiring back many of the ex-Crystal staff. Join us as we experience a 7 day roundtrip Avignon voyage.

Riverside has been very straightforward in all our contacts. Our initial thoughts on the website were that it is a “work in progress,” but for a new cruise line, it does the job with no frills or fancy features. We would love to see a new website before too long.

The communication with Riverside Reservation was always responsive and worked well with all our travel documentation received by email, plus is available online in our Riverside account.

One day before our cruise, Riverside advised that due to the high water levels on the Rhone, we would depart from Arles instead of Avignon. This was not a huge problem, and all the transfers were adjusted accordingly.

An interesting fare structure is apparently designed for different demographic requirements. There are four fare levels, starting with an entry level fare called Full Board, which includes meals, Wi-Fi, water, coffee, and tea at meals plus all gratuities. For dinner in “The Bisto” a 40 Euro cover charge applies.

Full Board with Excursions includes all of the above and shore excursions in each port.

Next up is the Premium All-Inclusive, which includes the Full Board fare plus the Premium Drinks package and one evening meal experience in the Bistro.

At the upper level—Premium All-Inclusive Including Excursions—the fare includes all meals, a premium beverage package, a choice of excursions in each port, and personalised minibar items.

Other options are Premium All-Inclusive (basically all above except excursions in port) and Full Board Including Excursions (just meals and Wi-Fi, plus excursions).

Even with the most inclusive fare, there are some extras. The spa, for instance, offers massages and facials.

Related Article: All Inclusive Cruises versus Pay As You Go

The transfer from Marseille airport to Arles was seamless with a private transfer in a Telsla 3 Mk 2. On arrival at the ship in Arles, we were met by a team member shoreside who organised our luggage to be taken directly to our suite. A warm welcome and a glass of bubbles greeted us when we stepped aboard Riverside Ravel, and when ready, we were taken to our Melody Suite 229 on deck 2, where our check-in was conducted. Quick and easy and we were good to go.

Unforunately, due to the extreme weather and the high water levels on the Rhone, the French Authorities banned all shipping movements on the River for several days which meant we stayed moored up in Arles for several days.

Built in 2018 the Ravel was originally part of the Crystal River cruises fleet before they went into administration in 2021. We believe this is one of the most attractive and luxurious ships of the european rivers. Whilst the company name may be different, the whole onboard experience was as if we were still on Crystal. Many of the staff are ex Crystal and are trying to replicate the highest quaility of service, cuisine and customer service onboard. There are no solo cabins on Riverside Ravel, but solo traveller offers are available at certain times.

Riverside Ravel is a beautiful ship throughout and all the Public rooms are attractively decorated, with contemporary furnishings.

The indoor pool area at the back of the ship is an oasis of tranquility. Surrounded by loungers, the pool is big enough for a few friends to cool down, and the space also has bottled water and even a faux fireplace feature. You really wouldn’t come here to work out, however; there is a small gym on deck 1, with a few cardio machines, mats and weights. You will also find a guest laundry facility on deck 1.

Riverside Ravel has one of the best top sundecks in river cruising, thanks to a “pop up” bar. It makes the top deck a really special place to gather. There are shaded outdoor sofas, plush lounge chairs and tables. On our sailing the ship held an outdoor BBQ on the top deck, with a wonderful selection of fish, meats, vegetarian options and more.

Another feature of Riverside Ravel is that only decks 2 and 3 are used for passengers; there are no “aquarium class” rooms at water level (instead, this lower deck is used to house the crew). The laundry is also down on the first floor, along with a small spa for massages and facials.

An elevator runs between decks 2 and 3. Since the main spiral staircase between decks can be a somewhat busy at times and quite a few people chose to use it, rather than squeeze past others. This staircase can sometimes cause a bottleneck after or before excursions, when lots of people are coming and going, or before dinner when many people head down to the Waterside restaurant.

We were in a Melody Suite 229 on Seahorse Deck 2, the entry level accommodation on Riverside Ravel.

At 18 sq metres, it is a bijou space but very well designed and has a relaxing feel. It is what we would call cosy. It is not too contemporary with walnut/antique gold colour furniture, champagne shimmering curtains and a grey carpet with charcoal highlights. The suite features a lovely king-size bed with plenty of storage for suitcases and excess luggage.

There is a small dressing table with a mini under-counter fridge, a pull-out drawer for glasses, etc. The suite also has a Julius Meinl coffee pod machine and a Vox box charger for your audio devices. There are plenty of power outlets – we counted 6 European and US 2-pin outlets. A big plus is the 6 USB charging outlets in the suite. Two above each bedside table and two by the dressing table. A stylish dark green velour tub chair and a regular chair for sitting at the dressing table are seated beside the fold-down table.

There is a huge mirror behind the dressing table, plus a magnifying makeup mirror. Storage in the Suite is adequate for a short voyage, consisting of a double wardrobe with full-length mirrors. Inside is a spacious area with plenty of hangers and five shelves, one of which includes a personal safe for your valuables.

Whilst there is no balcony with the suite, nor any of the suites on Ravel, there are electronically controlled openable panoramic balcony windows, which afford a large floor-to-ceiling view of the river but do not take up space within the suite, unlike many other river cruise lines which have a balcony mechanism that impinges on the space within the suite.

Lighting in the suite is comprised of downlighters, softer bedside reading lights, and night-time floor level lights.

The ensuite shower room features a small vanity sink, and behind the glass screen/sliding door is a lovely, easily operated rain-head shower with flexible wand. Toiletries are by Natura Bisses of Barcelona, which includes Hand Wash, Bath and Shower gel, Shampoo and Conditioner, plus body lotion. The ensuite included a hair dryer, a small drawer for storage, an illuminated mirror and a magnifying mirror for shaving/make-up. It was quite a tight space, but no smaller than a Princess Grills class shower room on an Ocean ship which shall be nameless.

Technology in the suite includes a large 43 inch LG tv with access to tv channels and a wealth of on demand movies. Internet access is free throughout the ship and uses the Space X Starlink system where we averaged about a 20Mb/s download speed.

Each day there is a printed daily program delived to your suite with an excellent map of the local town or village where the ship is docked. Each suite comes with a butler who can help with information, book spa treatments etc.

The main dining room on Ravel is called the Waterside Restaurant and can easily seat all guests. It operates an anytime dining policy between the specified opening hours. Breakfast from 7:30 -9:30 am, lunch from 12:30 to 2:30 pm with dinner being served from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. Tables in the dining room are set up for couples and small groups, and you are never forced to sit with strangers.

Breakfast and lunch are normally buffet affairs where you choose your food from the kitchen area at the end of the restaurant. This is a much better arrangement than many other river cruise ships where you all mingle around a central serving station. Waiting staff serve water, bread plus teas and coffees if required after or with your meal. A sommelier is on hand to advise and serve from the comprehensive wine list.

We found the food to be of the highest standard and probably the best we have experienced on any river cruise line. The choice of wines was simply amazing for us as we do enjoy fine wines. We do like to drink the wines of the country in which we are sailing and were able to enjoy, Bordeaux, Paulliac, Chateau Neuf De Pape and Cote du Rhone wines in abundance. Some to the white wines were hard to beat with Chablis, and Condrieu as recommended by the Captain.

The second dining venue is the Bistro on Ravel which serves tapas style food, but due to the small number of passengers on this cruise did not open for evening dining. However the tapas menu was served one evening in the main dining room. The bistro was available throughout the day for lite bites, teas and coffees etc plus Bubble Waffles and Ice Cream.

On 2 of the days during our voyage, lunch was a barbecue on the Vista Sun Deck which again was simply superb.

On deck 3, next to the Bistro, is a private dining room called the Vintage Room, where on some evenings, the chefs create a memorable menu, with wines selected by the Head Sommelier. The unique dining experience seats up to 10 guests and costs $295 per person for a multi-course Extravaganza.

The Palm Court lounge on deck 3 is located towards the front of the ship and is the go-to place for the pre-dinner port talks and for that special cocktail or drink before/after dinner. A lovely contemporary space with soft, warm furnishings. This lounge is one of our favourites, and on Ravel, it has floor-to-ceiling windows that extend into a cleverly designed, intricate glass ceiling that lets light stream in.

A central, well-stocked bar commands the lounge, with comfortable sofas and tub seats for all the guests and tables of 2, 4, and 8. The colour scheme is soft and relaxing, with a soft aqua carpet with tobacco and cream tints. It is where pre- and after-dinner entertainment takes place, and there is a small dance floor in front of a grand piano. A pianist plays a selection of soft music throughout the evening.

During our voyage we experienced many port talks/next day activities given at 6.45 pm by Chabba the Shore Experience Manager, which were always informative and not too long.

Our Riverside experience was relaxed and without regimentation. There were no forced port talks in the lounge before dinner, for example.

On our voyage, most passengers were North Americans and were attracted by its all-inclusive offering, which most guests seem to have chosen. There were a handful of other nationalities onboard but surprisingly we were the only British guests.

The ship’s dress code was generally smart resort casual, with no formal nights. Few men wore jackets in the evening, so collared shorts and slacks for gentlemen and dresses or separates for ladies seemed appropriate.

The ship has onboard shore excursion staff to help navigate its shore offerings but you wont find a real “cruise director,” or organized entertainment like you find on other luxury river cruises. Instead, evenings consist of enjoying the amazing cusine and leisurely meals with a night cap at the Palm Court bar which was never crowded.

One afternoon Riverside arranged a Mixology Class for guests wanting to learn the art of cocktail making. A really popluar experience and good entertainment.

Whilst there were a number of shore excursions available, we didn’t think they were that exciting and seemed mostly to be walking tours of nearby towns or villages. Given that we were in one of France’s most famous wine regions on the Rhone River, it was somewhat surprising that there were no wine-based tours or tastings featuring Cotes Du Rhone wine, or any opportunity to visit the wineries of the Chateau Neuf Du Pape area.

Whilst we enjoyed our visit to Avignon and our tour of the Palais des Papes, it was surprising that none of the tours featured the famous bridge of Avignon. The Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont d’Avignon, was a medieval bridge across the Rhône in the town of Avignon, in southern France. Only four arches survive.

There is a chargeable laundry service available onboard and you request this through your butler, but there is a self-service laundry room down on deck one next to the gym that has a full array of washing machines, driers, ironing board and detergents.  We have not seen this brilliant setup on any other river cruise ship. One river cruise line explicitly told us that no river cruise ship has self-service laundries on board. Tosh.

We loved our trip on Riverside Ravel and were blown away by the quality of cuisine, the selection of wines and the attentive staff. If you are looking for a true Ultra Luxury River cruise experience, then you should consider this new cruise line.  It is impressive in almost all respects and the ship design is second to none.