You could be forgiven for not knowing about Riverside Luxury Cruises. After all, the company is a newcomer, first mentioned on our site one year ago.

That was in November 2022, when Riverside acquired the double-width river cruiser Mozart. The ship had been operating for Crystal River Cruises, which went bankrupt. Riverside snapped up Mozart and has since added two more of the ex-Crystal ships. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s something very appealing about the archetypal family business. Croatia’s Katarina Line is a real family business, with a bio that is an inspiring success story.

The mom, Katica Hauptfeld, is the founder and chief. The son Daniel is director of marketing. The daughter Anamaria is director of the cruise division. Daniel’s wife helps with marketing and Anamaria’s husband helps with other projects. And, as with any family business, they all pitch in together to do whatever is required to propel the business. Read the rest of this entry »

Leaving home for the holidays can be hard. For some, it feels like you are leaving behind tradition, family and friends, all of which seems unthinkable. I was one of those people – until I did my first Christmas Markets cruise.

The year was 2010, and I was a mere 14 years old. I had done only one other river cruise, and that was on the Mekong. So not only was this my first Christmas Markets cruise, but also my first river cruise in Europe.

If someone had to take over the Crystal brand, travel industry insiders say, there’s no better candidate than A&K chairman Manfredi Lefebrvre d’Ovidio. But still, there’s a long road ahead before travel advisors and their customers are made whole.

The announcement last week that Heritage Group, owner of A&K Travel Group, will acquire Crystal Serenity, Crystal Symphony, and the rights to the Crystal brand—and last week’s news that it also is interested in Crystal Endeavor—was music to the ears of those who still hope to receive some commissions and sell the line again to its loyal customers.

Serenity and Symphony, purchased from Genting Hong Kong for a reported combined $128 million, are expected to resume service under the Crystal Cruises name next year after undergoing extensive refurbishment. And, on Thursday, Seatrade Cruise News quoted Lefebrvre d’Ovidio as saying, “The logical thing would be for us to have the ship [Crystal Endeavor]. Why take pieces out of it?” Read the rest of this entry »