For me, the best part of river cruising is waking up in a new destination each morning without ever touching a suitcase. That’s what keeps drawing me back to the rivers of Europe.
This time, that pull brought me back to the Rhine and Moselle — steep vineyard slopes tumbling down to the water, half-timbered villages tucked into every bend, and centuries-old castles perched on nearly every hilltop.
Add in the wine, the pastry, and the easy rhythm of river travel, and it’s easy to see why these two rivers keep pulling me back to Germany again and again.
River Cruise on the Rhine and Moselle with Riviera Travel
It was my first time sailing with Riviera Travel — and, as it turned out, one of the first opportunities to sail its newest ship.
My husband Ben and I were in Cologne to join the line’s eight-day Rhine and Moselle cruise aboard the brand-new Riviera Resplendence, on just its third voyage.
Although fluctuating water levels have caused headaches for river cruisers across Europe this summer, our sailing ran its full itinerary as planned, without a single missed port.
The ship had launched a few weeks earlier, sailing out of Cologne, and there was still a new-ship shine to everything — the rich gold accents, the warm wood tones and vibrant wall coverings.
Designed by the line’s longtime shipbuilding partner, Scylla, the Resplendence is the third ship in Riviera’s Radiance Class, and it shows in the split-level layout: brighter public spaces, more glass, panoramic views from nearly everywhere you sit. With 89 cabins and suites and room for up to 178 guests, it’s spacious without ever feeling impersonal.
A Closer Look at the Riviera Resplendence
The Resplendence is the sister ship to Riviera Radiance, and together they represent Riviera’s aim to modernize its fleet without losing the coziness that river cruising is known for. A crew of 44 looks after the ship’s 178 guests, a ratio that showed in how quickly the staff learned our names and our drink orders.
Our cabin, on the Diamond Deck, had floor-to-ceiling sliding doors opening onto a Juliet balcony, which is standard on all middle and upper deck cabins in the fleet, plus a hotel-style bed with crisp linens, individually controlled air conditioning, a well-stocked tea and coffee station, and reliably fast Wi-Fi, which is not always a given on a river cruise.
Up top, the sun deck had loungers, a putting green, and a small splash pool, and there was a proper wellness area below with a sauna, steam room, and fitness equipment if you wanted to counterbalance all that cake.
The Resplendence will sail 18 different itineraries on the Danube and Rhine, from the Budapest to the Black Sea River Cruise to festive holiday sailings and dedicated solo departures. Riviera has two more ships in the same Radiance Class, Riviera Reflection and Riviera Rhapsody, scheduled to join the fleet over the next two years.
Setting Sail from Cologne
After an easy transfer to the ship, we settled into our cabin. Our luggage was already there waiting, courtesy of the crew.
That evening, over our first dinner onboard, our Cruise Director, Andre, introduced himself — and by the end of the week, his running commentary on the castles and legends along the Rhine Gorge would become one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. He had a way of making history feel like gossip.
Cochem: Vineyards, Timbered Houses, and Delicious Cake
Cochem was our first stop, and it set the tone for the whole cruise. The Old Town is lined with timbered houses in yellow and rust red along the riverfront, with Reichsburg Castle keeping watch from the hills above. Vineyards climb the slopes behind town in every direction you look.
After our included guided walking tour, Ben and I ducked into a café for a slice of poppy seed cake — my personal weakness whenever I’m in Germany. It was a relaxed afternoon, exactly the pace I want on a river cruise.
Trier, Bernkastel, and the Vineyard Villages
From Cochem, we cruised upstream past steep, vineyard-draped valley walls, had lunch onboard, and continued to Trier — Germany’s oldest city — for a guided tour through its layered Roman and medieval history. We spent that night moored in Bernkastel, giving us the option of wandering the town after dark.
The next morning, the ship moored downstream in Treis-Karden, and we took a short coach transfer into Bernkastel for a walking tour of its medieval market square and town gate, with an optional wine tasting at a local winery. Wine country like this is exactly why I love cruising the Moselle. The vines seem to climb every hillside right down to the water’s edge.
Koblenz and Boppard
The next morning, we docked in Koblenz for a guided walking tour of the historic center. Riviera offers excursions at every port, plus optional paid experiences.
Then we continued our river cruise to Boppard, a small Rhine town that turned out to be one of the trip’s unexpected highlights.
I’d read that a café called Café Baldeau was worth a stop, and we quickly found it along the river. I went in and asked the owner, in my rusty German, if he had any poppy seed pastries, my favorite kind. He found a slice of poppy seed cake for me and a hazelnut cake for Ben, and then stood and talked with us.
He asked where we were from. Then he told us a little history about the small town. It’s these fun, unplanned conversations that stick with me longer than any scheduled excursion.
View my Instagram video of Boppard here.
The Rhine Gorge and Rüdesheim
The next morning was one I’d been looking forward to since booking the cruise: sailing through the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its density of medieval castles and fortresses. I spent most of the morning up on the sun deck as we passed the Loreley Rock, with Andre narrating the legends behind each ruin we floated past.
We arrived in Rüdesheim am Rhein around lunchtime. I’d visited once before at Christmas, when the town’s market is one of the prettiest in Germany, but seeing it in summer was a completely different experience, with wine gardens, café patios spilling onto the cobblestones, and the scent of fermenting grapes drifting on the breeze near the vineyards.
Ben and I wandered through the little town, stopping for a drink and browsing some of the little shops. Then we couldn’t resist a ride on the town’s cable car above the vineyards, and the views over the Rhine Valley from up there were some of the best of the whole trip.
Rüdesheim sits in one of Germany’s top 10 wine regions, and while there are roughly 400 vintners here, most work an average of just eight hectares. The slopes get intense sun, amplified by reflection off the river, creating a microclimate over slate- and quartz-rich soil that’s ideal for Riesling, the region’s signature grape.
It’s no wonder Rüdesheim draws about two million visitors a year despite a population of under 10,000. If you’re tempted to stay longer, the Hotel Lindenwirt has rooms built inside repurposed wine barrels, a novelty worth a blog post of its own.
That evening back onboard, the ship’s chefs hosted a special Chef’s Dinner, and several passengers took the opportunity to dress up for the occasion.
Cologne: Cathedrals, Chocolate, and a Farewell
Our final full day brought us back to Cologne for a walking tour that ended at the cathedral, the world’s tallest twin-spired church. Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most visited landmark, and the area around it was bustling with life.
Cologne has a long Roman history (you can still see remnants of the old Roman wall in parts of the city) and today it’s also a hub for German television and film production.
If you have time, the Ludwig Museum is worth a visit for its extensive modern art collection, and the Fish Market square is a lovely spot to sit outside with a drink and watch the city go by.
Cologne is also famous for its beer. Kölsch is served in small glasses, and etiquette says you place your coaster on top of the glass when you’re finished, or your server will simply keep bringing more.
That night, we capped off the cruise with a presentation and tasting from a Lindt chocolate specialist who came aboard, a sweet way to end a week that had already spoiled us on the food front.
Onboard Life
Between ports, the Resplendence gave us plenty of ways to enjoy our time. There are three dining venues onboard: the Mosaic Restaurant, a quieter option for lunch and dinner with a menu inspired by the regions we sailed through; the Riverview, which serves what might be the best burger I’ve had on a river cruise; and Riverside, the main dining room with a breakfast and lunch buffet plus à la carte options.
You can order every dish as a half or double portion, and vegan and vegetarian choices were available at every meal, something I always notice and appreciate. Drinks are included (Riviera offers free All-Inclusive Drinks on 2026 and 2027 sailings), covering house wines, draft beer, spirits, and a rotating cocktail and mocktail of the day.
Getting to Know Riviera Travel
If you’re not already familiar with Riviera Travel, here’s the short version: the company has been in the ultra-premium river cruise, ocean yacht, and land-touring business for more than 40 years, and it now operates a fleet of 15 custom-designed ships across some of Europe’s most scenic waterways — the Danube, Rhine, Moselle, Main, Douro, Rhône, Seine, and Dutch waterways, plus a new Mekong itinerary through Vietnam and Cambodia launching in 2027.
Riviera includes excursions, meals, most drinks, and Wi-Fi in the fare. It also runs more dedicated solo departures with no single supplement (over 30 a year) than any other river cruise line.
That’s about to expand further: in 2027, Riviera will launch the MS George Eliot, the world’s first river cruise ship built exclusively for solo travelers, carrying just 68 guests on Rhine, Danube, and Moselle itineraries.
Read More: Best River Cruises for Solo Travelers
Riviera also leans into themed sailings for travelers with a specific passion. There are eight-day cruises built around art and music, gastronomy, or history and design, including a Gastronomy of the Rhine and Moselle itinerary that would pair nicely with the route Ben and I just sailed.
And for those who want more time on land, its Grand Tours combine a week of hotel-based touring with a river cruise, including itineraries pairing Italy with Portugal’s Douro Valley, the Italian Lakes with a Rhine cruise to Switzerland, and Provence with the Seine.
Riviera opened bookings for 2028 river cruises to the North American market in mid-July. Five itineraries are currently available, including the Rhine Cruise to Switzerland and The Blue Danube, at discounted early-booking rates. Prices and availability are subject to change, so it’s worth checking current rates directly at rivieratravel.com/deals/2028-river-cruises rather than relying on any figure quoted here.
A Note on Fluctuating Water Levels
If you’re researching a Rhine or Moselle river cruise, there’s one topic worth understanding before you book: water levels. Europe’s rivers depend on snowmelt and rainfall, and both the Rhine and the Danube have seen unusually low water in recent summers, which can force cruise lines to adjust itineraries, swap ships, add coach transfers, or in some cases cancel sailings outright.
Riviera Travel maintains a River Cruise Update Center on its website, where the company posts near-daily updates on conditions across the Rhine and Danube, including which departures are operating as planned, which are running with revised itineraries, and which are still under review.
If there is a low-water situation, Riviera’s public commitments include prioritizing the onboard experience over rigidly sticking to a route, not replacing long stretches of river travel with repeated coach transfers, contacting affected guests personally at 14 days, 7 days, and within 72 hours of departure, and offering a choice of rebooking, transferring to another cruise, or a full refund with a future-travel discount if a sailing is significantly affected.
One important tip: Don’t cancel a booking on your own based on a forecast — standard travel insurance typically won’t cover a voluntary cancellation over water-level worries, and river conditions months out simply can’t be predicted from today’s readings.
If you’re set on seeing the Rhine Gorge or the Moselle wine villages the way we did, spring cruises (thanks to snowmelt) and early summer departures tend to carry the least water-level risk.
Water levels aside, this trip reminded me all over again why I keep coming back to the Rhine and Moselle. Between the castle-topped hills, the wine-soaked afternoons, and a chat over cake with a stranger in Boppard, it was the kind of week that makes you start planning your next river cruise before you’ve even unpacked from this one.
If You Go
Getting there: Most Riviera Rhine and Moselle sailings embark and disembark in Cologne, which has its own international airport (CGN) with connections through major European hubs.
When to go: Spring and early summer generally offer the most reliable water levels, thanks to snowmelt feeding the rivers, though late summer and early fall bring the region’s grape harvest and wine festivals if you’re willing to accept more water-level risk. Rüdesheim’s Christmas markets are also worth a special trip if you can time a winter sailing.
What to pack: Comfortable walking shoes are essential — most days include a guided walking tour plus free time to explore on foot. Bring a layer for breezy mornings on the sun deck, and something a bit dressier for the ship’s Chef’s Dinner. Riviera asks guests to keep sportswear out of the restaurants at dinner.
Book it: Riviera Travel’s Rhine and Moselle itineraries, including sailings aboard the Riviera Resplendence, are available at rivieratravel.com.
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