In this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes Desirey Virgin, and returning guest Samantha Bailey. Together they explore what sets Riverside apart as a true luxury river cruise line: its all-suite ships, butler service, modern design, family-friendly connecting cabins, flexible itineraries, exceptional food, and immersive excursions. Listeners get practical insights on why river cruising feels like a floating boutique hotel and how Riverside works for first-timers, families, and luxury travelers alike.
What if your next vacation felt like a land tour with a luxury hotel that moves with you, complete with butler service, heated floors, and no need to unpack more than once?
In this episode of Luxury Cruising, host Dr. Krystal Sodaitis sits down with Desirey Virgin and Samantha Bailey to demystify one of Europe’s premier, and still relatively new river cruise lines. Desirey shares how Riverside defines comfortable luxury through seamless service, top-tier food and wine, and a crew that anticipates every need, while Samantha explains why she chose the line for her own upcoming family trip. They cover the immersive nature of river cruising versus ocean sailing, the current three-ship fleet with expansion planned for 2028, standout features like connecting cabins and no solo supplements, modern décor details, flexible itineraries from three to twenty-three nights, the exceptional à-la-minute cuisine, unique small-group excursions, and flexible booking packages. Whether you’re river-curious or already a fan of small-ship luxury, this episode is packed with practical advice and insider perspective on Riverside.
Episode Highlights:
About the Guests:
Desirey Virgin is Director of Sales for the Southeast region at Riverside Luxury Cruises. With a background in luxury hospitality (including brands such as The Ritz-Carlton), she helps advisors and travelers discover Riverside’s all-suite, butler-served river cruises on Europe’s most iconic waterways.
Samantha Bailey is the founder of Endeavor Travel Group. A repeat guest on the podcast, she specializes in customized journeys by land & sea and has chosen Riverside Luxury Cruises for her own upcoming family vacation.
Connect with the Guests:
Desirey / Riverside Luxury Cruises
Website: riverside-cruises.com
Sales inquiries (USA & Canada): us.sales@riverside-cruises.com
Samantha Bailey / Endeavor Travel Group
Website: endeavortravelgroup.com
Email: Samantha@endeavortravelgroup.com
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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👥 Want to be a guest? Fill out this form to connect.
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Speaker: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Crystal Sarditis, and I'm really excited because we have two amazing guests here with us. We've got one repeat, Samantha, who has previously been on the podcast, and we also have Desiree, who is coming to us from Riverside Luxury Cruises. You all know, you've heard me talk about Riverside.
It is one of the premier river cruise lines sailing in Europe right now. They're relatively new, but they were really fast in establishing themselves as luxury
and... Well, I will let Desiree introduce herself and tell you anything that she wants you to know about Riverside Luxury Cruising. Desiree, I'll have you go first.
Speaker 2: Awesome. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Um, my name is Desiree Burgin, and I am the director of sales of Riverside Luxury Cruises, overseeing the Southeast region.
So we have an amazing team of different [00:01:00] directors throughout the country. It's very small but almighty, but I'm definitely here to help and tell you all things Riverside.
Speaker: Amazing. And Samantha, who you may remember from the previous time she was on the podcast, I will definitely link that in the show notes, who I have to thank for connecting me with Desiree and Riverside.
Um, Samantha, please remind the audience anything you want them to know about you.
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely. So, I'm Samantha Bailey. I am the founder of Endeavor Travel Group, and I'm very proud to have Riverside Luxury Cruises as one of my top partners. Um, they're fabulous to work with, and of all the river cruise companies, I actually chose them for my own personal vacation this upcoming November which will be a very different experience from the last one I talked about on here, which was when we stayed in the ultimate family suite on Utopia of the Seas on Royal Caribbean.
Um, so we're gonna, get to talk about two really different experiences, both exciting and both good fits for different people. But I'm looking forward to everyone getting to [00:02:00] learn a little bit more about Riverside, one of my new favorite partners.
Speaker: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Excellent. Excellent. So I'm gonna start the podcast with a question that I usually reserve for the end.
And, Desiree, how do you define luxury?
Speaker 2: So luxury, especially with Riverside is comfortable. It's comfortable. We have, um, amazing touch points. So from the time that you land at the airport, we have black car service coming to pick you up. you don't have to touch your luggage. Your, people waiting outside, um, when you arrive to bring your luggage inside.
Um, just top tier food, top tier, uh, wines. The crew knows you. They love you. They fall in love with you. Just like the interior design is beautiful. So it's just comfortable. So you have more space. the amenities are amazing. So what it is, is luxury gives you a unique experience, um, that is just, upscale.
And so that's how we classify it. But we want it to feel [00:03:00] comfortable for you, so you're not having to make reservations. you're not having to think too much. You have your butler to be there by your side and just really just enjoy your space and your time effortlessly.
Speaker: Awesome. Samantha, what about you?
How did you define luxury?
Speaker 3: I just think it's a frictionless experience, right? where people get to understand you, your needs, and anticipate, like, what it is that you're gonna be looking for. Like, "I've noticed that your minibar is empty of Diet Coke at the end of every day. I'm gonna fully stock it with extra 'cause you're not touching the Fanta," right?
Like, I, want you to have everything that you need, however silly that little thing may seem. I'm seeing it, I'm picking up on it, and I'm making it happen for you without you asking.
Speaker: Beautiful. I love that. Yeah, Absolutely. So Desiree, for listeners who may not yet be familiar with Riverside, tell us how would you describe the Riverside experience?
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I always say [00:04:00] ocean cruises go to destinations and river cruises go through destinations. So it's completely immersive. It's almost Like a luxury hotel on the water that it's bringing you to multiple different countries and cities . Um, but you're completely immersed. So we land, um, well we will dock early in the daytime- Dock, right
about 9:00 a.m., and we won't leave until about 11:30 p.m. So we do offer a max of two excursions. It's up to you if that's something that you're interested in taking advantage of. Or you might just wanna take a midday nap and then walk out into the city center and watch the children get out of school, or watch people fish, or walk through the parks.
So it's completely immersive. You can really get lost into these cities without having to be, like, in man-made areas or like, uh, maybe cruise own spaces. So you're really in the middle of these city centers. And it's really, really, really nice all-encompassing and dynamic experience overall.
Speaker: Yeah. That's a really good point that you just brought up that I don't think I've ever [00:05:00] thought of before, is that when you are on an ocean cruise, many of the stops are manufactured by the cruise lines. They're a port that was built out and created simply so that a cruise ship has a place to dock, and there is something for people to do in sort of like the immediate area.
And we know that there are certain destinations that really- Their entire infrastructure relies on, cruise passengers and the tourist industry that comes from cruising. And so a lot of it has built up around the cruise industry. As opposed to when you're doing a river cruise, especially in Europe, these cities have existed for hundreds of years.
They are real, and that is something that is unique to river cruising. I love that. Samantha, what was it about Riverside [00:06:00] that made you, really wanna focus on them and certainly want to choose them for your family vacation?
Speaker 3: Yeah. Um, the Taittinger probably. No, I'm just kidding. So Taittinger is their house champagne.
It's their house bubbly, so... And I do love Taittinger . But actually one of the things that I really was excited about, and that is rare for river cruise companies, is they have connecting cabins. So if you have a family with multiple children, right? So most river cruises, where cabins are maxing out at two people unless you book a larger, much more expensive suite.
Um, so if you, like me, have a family of three, you don't have a lot of options. and my daughter's only five, right? We can't put her in her own cabin. Um, so we were able to book connecting rooms, which is incredibly rare and a really great opportunity for young families. And also, those entry-level cabins don't have any solo supplement.
So we were able to book one cabin without a solo supplement for one person, and then myself and my [00:07:00] daughter in another cabin that is connecting. Um, so that was really, really huge for us, having a young child. that and just also the ships are beautiful. and I'm really excited for the service that they offer.
Um, but where it really, really stands out for me is that cabin situation.
Speaker: Excellent. So that leads me to the next question. And Desiree, tell us about the fleet. What, how many ships are they and, maybe how do they differ? Let's start there.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So we are a, again, a very small yet mighty company.
So we currently have three ships in the fleet. spoiler alert, we will be bringing two more on in 2028. So this is a great time to be a part of our company because you'll be able to watch the expansion over the next few years. So we have three ships. The largest is gonna be the Mozart, and she is I would say double wide.
She's really large, and she sails down the Danube River. Um, she is 81 rooms, so still very small yet mighty. You don't really see a lot of ships that only have 81 rooms, and that's our largest ship. [00:08:00] The other two ships, they're completely identical, the Debussy and as well as the Ravel, but however, they're just on two different rivers.
So we have the Debussy, which is going to be on the Rhine, and then we have the Ravel, which is on the Rhône, which sails down south of France. Those are both 55 cabins, all suites across the board. So this is great for your solo travelers. Samantha did a really good job speaking about how we have the wave solo supplement so they don't have to pay double for a cabin.
They don't get lost in the ship. It's really easy to make friends and, you know, build relationships because we only have 55 cabins on the smaller ships and then 81 cabins on the larger ships. Now, on our ships, we have tons of options. Even though, um, river cruising, sometimes they don't have that many options in terms of restaurants.
We have tons of space. our sh-ships are made really nice to create a really cool social experience , um, where we have the rooftop deck, and then we have a few other restaurants as well as a cafe. And then we have indoor pools on all three of [00:09:00] our ships. And on our larger ship, we have indoor pool, sauna, steam room, and a hot tub.
Um, so it's really nice. Even for Christmas markets, you know, you're still able to take advantage of the indoor pool and then the hot tub, and the butler will come in and check on you and make you a hot tea. Um, it's really, really, really unique, but just very well-appointed ships. Oh, also, I can't forget there's gym as well, as we also have bikes.
both E-bikes and as well as your traditional non-electric bikes. And yeah. So that's it.
Speaker: That's amazing that you mention the pool. I was just talking to my family about river cruising last night, and I mentioned to my oldest daughter, who has the strongest resistance to river cruising- and I was talking about, and this has come up recently.
Listeners can tell. Like, there's been a little bit of a river cruise theme the last few weeks. And I was mentioning this idea that it's your floating hotel. Rather than thinking of it as [00:10:00] a traditional cruise, it's really a land vacation that, instead of having to switch hotels to go from city to city, this is your floating hotel and you still only have to unpack once.
And that piqued her interest a little bit, but then my husband asked, "Is there a pool?"
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker: And so it is really good to know that for Riverside, yes dear, there is a pool, and it's an indoor pool because he doesn't like his pools to be too cold either.
Speaker 2: Me too. We're on the same page.
Yeah.
Speaker: And what's the decor like? Is it more traditional, modern, somewhere in between?
Speaker 2: Um, definitely more modern. So it's very, very sexy decor. So the showers and bathrooms have, like, a marble tile, but then also just, very cool touches. So, like, heated floors or the heated bidets. So you don't wanna bring your cell phone in on the bidet.
You'll be scrolling forever. And then, uh, also, like, heated towel racks. So again, really great for, Christmas markets. And then just, like, in a lot of [00:11:00] the more communal spaces, you have your velvets and leathers and dark colors, like the greens and blues. Um, but it's still just a very bright ship.
It is a very sexy ship with just, like, you know, your chrome appliances. And it feels luxury, but it just feels, like, very modern.
Speaker: Yeah, I love it. I love the heated floors, heated towel racks. A heated floor in the bathroom, to me that is really luxury. Um, and even though I have a heated floor in my bathroom, but I don't make it warm.
I just heat it enough so that the toilet isn't freezing. But I've been other places with a heated floor, and you can really feel the heat through your feet. it's just so nice. So nice. Samantha, you've done a deep dive into Riverside over the, you know, the last weeks to months, I know. What is one thing that you feel that, especially [00:12:00] in North America, the listeners might be surprised to learn about Riverside?
Speaker 3: Well, I think already having mentioned the connecting cabins and how well it can work for multi-generational family, I think people assume, and what I've heard a lot from clients of mine, is that river cruises are for old people. And there's nothing wrong with that. Old people can do whatever they wanna do.
I love them. I'll send them wherever they wanna go. But I think traditionally you see a lot of advertising from other companies that is really geared towards someone who's a retiree, who's an empty nester. And it's created this idea in the US that river cruising is not for families, that it is not for young people, that it is not for people who want to experience cultural immersion in the destinations they're going to.
You know, and one of the things that I like about Riverside is that I can actually talk about my experience with families, that it works for multi-generational people, and that you really do get this [00:13:00] immersive experience in port that, you know, when you're dining on board, they're thinking about where you are and giving you a sense of place, um, that the excursions that they offer are, going to be authentic to the area that you're in.
And it's not going to have that kind of a generic, you know, ocean liner that's going to, Nassau and a private island back and forth all the time. Um, that's not the situation that you're going to experience on a river cruise, and especially not on Riverside.
Speaker: Yeah.
Absolutely not. What about you, Desiree? Is there anything else that you think the listeners might be surprised to learn, either about river cruising or Riverside in general?
Speaker 2: Yeah. So, um, one thing in terms of Riverside, especially for let's say your family who might be a little bit hesitant about committing to a river cruise.
Riverside offers sailing that are three to four nights. so you know, I always say like if you have a client or if you are a little bit maybe on the fence about committing to being on a ship [00:14:00] during your vacation, you could always fly into Paris and then have a few days and then pre, sailing, take a train over to, um, Lyon and then sail the south of France for three to four nights and then jump off.
And I guarantee you'll come back for a seven to eight day because you got a taste of it. Um, your butler is there. You make best friends with the crew. Our crew is multi-generational as well, so they're all ages. And they also hang out with you kind of like off of the ship or during the barbecue on the rooftop.
So it feels like a family environment, so I definitely can guarantee that you will want to come back. But that three to four-night sailing is a good way to kind of get started or just to maybe add some flair or autonomy to your vacation.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that because I think that is also another unique feature of Riverside is that you can choose a cruise of varying lengths.
what's the variable that doesn't sort of count as a back-to-back, let's say? What are the varying lengths of [00:15:00] cruises?
Speaker 2: oh, so we have, like, the three to four nights. We'll have like seven to nine nights, which is kind of like our sweet spot.
But then if you wanna sail literally, like, um, the entire Danube, always starting in Amsterdam and going all the way down to, like, Serbia we have up to 23 nights.
Speaker: Nice. That is really nice. Love it. So river cruising, in general, tends to be port-intensive. Are there any itineraries that, you know, you can think of, or in general that, where there might be a day of just scenic cruising?
Or are you really in port every single day?
Speaker 2: Um, we're pretty much in port almost every single day. Yeah, 'cause we wanna... Honestly, like, if you wanna stay on the ship, then by all means please stay on the ship. we're known for our cookouts on the Vista deck, and our big green egg, and making, large langoustines, like, huge shrimp the size of my hands.
but we really do focus on making sure that our guests do get to really [00:16:00] experience these different cities and these destinations. And these are destinations that, you don't really experience on your typical vacation. You're not like, "Hey, let me, you know, get off at this small city, outside of Budapest," you know?
So it's really important for us to be able to give that exposure and, you know, we'll say like, "Hey, go take a bike out." you don't have to take an excursion. It can just be a simple thing. I remember just going out and just literally taking a book and sitting in the park bench and just taking it in and just sitting behind a castle, but watching just, you know, students just live their lives, and families, walk their dogs, and just really being able to kinda see the difference in cultures, and I just thought that was amazing.
Speaker: Yeah, I agree. I mean, as someone who has spent a lot of time in Europe, there is, again, a luxurious aspect to being able to sit in a café and have coffee and maybe a, cookie. Like, that is pretty- Mm-hmm. Yeah ... consistent in Europe is when they bring you your latte or cappuccino or [00:17:00] whatever, they bring you, like, a little teeny, tiny biscuit next to it- Mm-hmm
to dunk.
but yeah, like, especially, you know, in the States where we have very much a coffee to-go kind of a culture. I don't even walk into whatever, the Starbucks, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, I don't even walk in to order.
Like, if I can't order it on my app , I'm upset. To be able to sit in a cafe in Europe and just enjoy your coffee or your tea or whatever and watch the world go by, it is very nice. It does sound- Mm-hmm ... really nice.
Speaker 2: Yeah. You don't feel rushed. you're really able to do things, you know, at your own pace.
And that's another reason why we don't take reservations in any of our restaurants because we just want you to be able to just enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself, explore, and then come back for dinner. And then we're here for dinner. Um, but like, just go get lost, well, don't get lost.
we'll come find you.
Speaker: Yeah. Samantha, which river are you sailing in November? And is there a port in particular that you're looking forward [00:18:00] to?
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm kind of looking forward to it in general 'cause we're stopping at two very small towns in Austria. So, I'm coming into Munich and I'm gonna spend a couple of days there.
Um, and then go over to Passau where we will then sail down to Vienna. So I am doing a shorter one with a lot of land mixed in 'cause we're doing Vienna and Salzburg afterwards. and it's just these two really cute looking small towns that I've never been to. Um, I've been in the region before.
I used to live in Germany. and it's just something a little bit different and new for me that I'm looking forward to seeing.
Speaker: Awesome, awesome. What about sticking to the onboard experience, or going back to the onboard experience, what sorts of things are there to do on the ship in between ports?
Is there any entertainment or a library? We already talked about the gym and the pool, but anything else?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so on the Mozart and this is, probably really a cool feature when the World Cup games were taking place, but we do have a cigar bar for like [00:19:00] any of the guys who wanna bro out or the ladies.
And they have like... two different spaces where there's two different TVs, and so you can find your own space and then do that. We do offer things from cooking classes to cocktail making courses. We offer tours around the ship as well. So I know that the people love the galley tour.
They're just completely just like, blown away I'm sure we'll speak about our food, but they're just blown away about how, you know, there's like very minimal. There's one little microwave, that they may need. And then there's just not like we don't freeze anything, and everything is just so clean.
So we do that as well. We have a lot of entertainment. We do tons of entertainment, And we have local entertainment, so we will invite local guests to come on. And they'll be able to sail a few days. So a lot of our guests do make friends with a lot of the local entertainers, and I still follow so many of them on Instagram, where I'm like, "I wonder if I'll ever see you again."
We do I mean, tons of eating. eating eating. And they're like calling you up, "Hey, so [00:20:00] we have some-" Schnitzel up here. Come, you know, meet with us and eat schnitzel. We do our cookouts on the rooftop as well. Love- And the spa .
Speaker: Yes, the spa. Absolutely critical. Yeah, Let's compare the food for a And you had mentioned, you know, multiple restaurants, which is amazing. Do the chefs locally source the food, and do they alter the menu based on what might be, you know, available or in season? Tell us about that.
Speaker 2: Yes. So the menu changes every day. And it is based off a lot of the local cuisine. So we do
have like one standard menu that's always on the back that you will always be able to get your steak , salad, a traditional soup that are a little bit maybe more Western-focused. Cheeseburgers, twin, you know, and pasta. And then you have like our dinner menu is like pages long, and it's five courses, and you just order whatever you would like, and it changes every day, and I get so excited.
Like, [00:21:00] "Okay, what's the soup of the day? What's the salad of the day?" And, you know, it's just so many different options. And while I say, like we are comfortable luxury. and although you don't have a reservation, you go in and you order. We have two, um, sommeliers on each ship, and they come and they will talk to you about the local wines that they have or that they're serving.
And then you might have a preference. You might say like, "Hey, I kind of like something more on the sweeter side." And they'll remember that. And then every single day they're like, "Hey, these are the wines of the day. Do you just wanna try it? But if not, this is also what I have for you." Um, and then when you order, something from every single of like the five or six courses that they have, um, it's served synchronized service.
So, you know, all of the, servers come out and they all drop plates at the same exact time. But the food is just, it's vibrant and it smells good. And one thing that actually sticks out to me, and it's not really like a major selling point, but because a lot of the food is made what we call a la minute.
so that means, like, for breakfast you go in and they're actually like pulling the bacon off the stove and they're serving it like right [00:22:00] there in front of you. Is that like the buffets or the items that are sitting out, it's just that hotness. It's just not like food that's just sitting out.
And then I don't know if you guys ever go in like towards the end of like the breakfast time and you're like, "Is all of this food gonna go in the trash?" Like it's almost sad to see. And you know, we avoid that and that's because a lot of the food is made at the time of service.
And it's a lot of open kitchen concept. So you're watching, you're speaking... This is how relationships are built too with the crew is that you're speaking to, um, the kitchen staff as they're making things for you. They're making the eggs, they're stirring the grits and, like plating it for you.
Although, a lot of the, breakfast and lunch are kind of self-serve. it almost feels like a family reunion. You know, like you go and it's just like, everybody is just cooking and it just smells good. The food is just amazing. And I just did a webinar yesterday with an advisor who came and she experienced it for herself.
And I hear this all the time, and as much as I wanna say it, like I don't wanna feel like the sales-y person, but there, we always get [00:23:00] feedback that we have the best food. Like the best food in Europe, I've heard that. eh, we just take so much pride in, one, sourcing locally and just keeping everything fresh and healthy.
and then also if you do have any dietary restrictions, um, we already have a lot of gluten-friendly items. And so we already have our breads available and things like that. So even if you do have like any gluten intolerance, it's not really a heavy lift for us.
We're already prepared. And any other dietary restrictions, um, we definitely make sure we have, eyes on that. And then take it to another level, we are implementing some excursions that you are able to actually go visit some of the local purveyors with the chef as they get the food. So it doesn't get any more hands-on and immersive than that.
Speaker: Yes. And that is a great segue to my next question. And that is how does Riverside sort of tailor their excursions and maybe carry that, experience that you are creating on the ship? How do [00:24:00] they bring that out into port in their excursions?
Speaker 2: Oh, well, our excursions, we have a lot of unique excursions.
And a- again, I've had travel advisors tell me, like, "This is the best excursion of my life." So just recently, just yesterday, my travel advisor that just came back, she said that they did, um, horseback riding. And they sailed to south of France and they horseback rode through a lot of the vineyards.
And then once they got it was just like, I guess, a really long ride. And when they were done they had a beautiful picnic, and it was just, like, a table set up outside and it was just so beautiful. I love that for her. Um, but we have a wide variety of excursions, and a lot of them are just so extremely unique.
and some of, like, the cultural excursions, so, you know, the Anne Frank museums, um, going to... Like, they'll bring you to Mozart's actual apartment of where he grew up. I've been to places where the Beauty and the Beast was inspired. It's literally, like, you go to some of these cultural places and things I'm not, like, a big history buff. So some of those things, like, I'm more of, [00:25:00] like, a active person. Like, let's go kayaking or something like that. But every time I'm like, "Let me just go and, let me experience this," I feel like I come back to United States and my IQ went up a few points . Like, I've learned so many different things.
I've been to, um, the Godiva chocolate factory, and it's literally like the, Wonka chocolate factory of just them making wafers, and you're watching the chocolate go everywhere. I've been to, like, businesses and toy workshops, and they're making toys. So cool. But then on the other side of it, I've been hosted by host families.
Um, in Slovakia there was a family that took about six of us. And then we just, like, at first we were like, "Okay, this is kinda weird. Are we gonna be okay?" And by the end of it, we ended up telling the car, like, to go without us and, somebody from the ship stayed with us, and we just drank some of their wines that the father made.
And then the adult kids came by and oh, the mother made desserts. And then, like, the kids brought some of their local, like, things that they just grew out of their garden. and neighbors started to come by. And we were like, it doesn't get any more immersive than this."
It was just so much fun. [00:26:00] So we have our traditional walking tours that we do offer, where you go into the city center. And we do have a guide. But you can veer off from the guide. A lot of us have ADHD, so standing there and listening to the guide, you know, talk about the castle, sometimes you're like, "Okay, let me go walk off over to get this Vienna sausage.
It smells great around the corner." So we definitely allow that. And it's just a really great variety of activities from, you know, hiking and then you also have, like, a lot of the cultural museums
Speaker: and things like that. And my guess too is since you offer a variety of excursions and the ship's, capacity is in the hundred-ish that the excursion groups are pretty small
Speaker 2: Yes.
It is very,
Speaker: very- Which just makes it easier to personalize ... yes,
Speaker 2: very, very small. The groups are small. So I think at a max group you might have maybe 15 guests. And it's always cool. And, Riverside does a really good job [00:27:00] at being able... 'Cause what happens, and it happens all the time, it happens with me when I sail, well, I will go on and I have, like, probably way too many, like, wine tasting experiences.
And I'm like, "I can't drink any more wine." And then I meet, like, a group of people and they're like, "Hey, we're actually gonna do the chocolate tasting experience. Would you like to come?" And I'm like, "Actually, I would love to come with you guys." And then, you know, like, I change it up. Or I cycled 50 miles on accident and during the earlier excursion I come back for lunch and then, you know, people are like, "Hey, we're gonna take it easy and we're gonna actually just walk into town, would you like to do that?"
And so it's just, like, it cre- we do a really good job of being able to kind of, like, make it very versatile and being able to customize while you're on the ship. One other thing I would like to point out that we do offer is a signature event on every single ship on every single itinerary. And the signature event is really, really nice because it basically brings the entire ship together.
It's usually, like, the day before you, um, you disembark off of the ship and it brings everybody [00:28:00] together and it's just a very intimate experience. And that's when you are there with the entire, 100 people. And it's really nice because honestly it's like anybody that you may have, seen walking down the hallway or, like, your neighbor that you haven't spoken to, you're able to, like, say, "Hey, so I've been seeing you all of the time, like, who are you?
Where are you from?" and then the people that you have made really great relationships with and you haven't really just, like, said, "Hey, so can we follow each other on Facebook? I hope we can keep in contact." it's like that one last big hurrah that brings everybody together, that everybody absolutely loves.
So-
Speaker: ... it's a
Speaker 2: really cool experience .
Speaker: That sounds awesome. Samantha, have you eyed any excursions yet for your trip? It's a little early, but-
Speaker 3: Not yet. Yeah. It's a little early. I'm still figuring out all the other pieces. But while we're talking actually about all of these excursions, I think it's also a good opportunity to point out some of the flexibility Riverside offers with pricing.
Um, so for some people, all these excursions sound amazing and they're gonna do them all. Other people like to be very independent and they don't wanna sign up for any excursions. [00:29:00] Like, when you book, you have the option to book a package that includes the excursions or not. Um, also, if you're someone who doesn't drink, you have the opportunity to book the full board package without adding on, um, the alcohol piece.
So there's four, different options when you book upfront, so then you get exactly what you want. And then when you get on board, you're not being advertised to, to buy additional packages the whole time leading up to and on the boat, right?
You make a decision when you book that best suits you and your needs and then you don't pay for the extra things that don't apply to you.
Speaker: Yeah, and but a la carte is available if you decide, "You know what? I will try that wine," or, "I do wanna go on that. This is the excursion- Yeah ... that looks appealing to me."
You could just pay right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely. Yep.
Speaker: I love it. Amazing. This has been just so much fun. One last question, especially for Desiree. Do you have a dream cruise?
Speaker 2: I absolutely love sailing France. I love it. it's a, destination that when you're cruising [00:30:00] through it, like traditionally if you were just to fly out to France, a lot of destinations that you wouldn't traditionally actually see.
And then I just love the pre and the post. You know, like leaving out of Marseille. I flew out of there. I just remember being in castles and just drinking wine, and It just was so whimsical. That's what it is. It just felt whimsical. So I really, really do love that sailing.
Speaker: Awesome. Samantha, do you remember what you said your dream cruise was? Or maybe you've changed it or you remember it?
Speaker 3: I don't remember what I said my dream cruise was, but I have so many on my list. You know, for Riverside, other than my Christmas market cruise, I'd love to, um, spend more time on the Rhine and see some of the castles from that viewpoint.
I think that would be really neat. and then future me has, my eyes on, a Lindblad National Geographic Antarctica- cruise. But I have to wait till my daughter is a little bit older. Although they're very inclusive for children. You know, kind of the sweet spot is 8 to 12, and we're only 5 years old right now.
So, you know, catch me in a couple of years.
Speaker: Yeah. holding out for that one. Thank you [00:31:00] both for being here and for sharing all about Riverside Luxury Cruising. It's been such a joy. I really appreciate it. And all the listeners, thank you again for being here. And until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.