Riverside Luxury Cruises, new to the European river cruise industry is jumping into the business at full strength, adding four more former Crystal River Cruise ships to the one it bought last year.
The four ships, Crystal Bach, Ravel, Mahler and Debussy, will join Riverside’s previously acquired Mozart, bought in November. The five ships will sail different itineraries on the Rhine and French rivers. Riverside is owned by a German company, Seaside Collection.
The Crystal brand disappeared from the market with the abrupt bankruptcy last year of its Hong Kong parent company, Genting. Its ocean cruise business was revived by a new operator who bought two ocean cruise liners and the name, while another operator bought the line’s third ship. Like the river cruise operation Crystal Cruises operated in the luxury end of the market.
