Eating and drinking my way through Riverside Luxury Cruises' culinary program
I just spent a week aboard the Riverside Debussy, sailing the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel, where Riverside Luxury Cruises' culinary program was front and center.
This was my first time sailing with Riverside, but after enjoying lunch on its ship the Mozart at the ASTA River Cruise Expo, I already knew that its food and beverage program shined.
I had been hearing buzz during the expo about the delicious meals advisors enjoyed on the Mozart. And from the moment I stepped onto the 110-passenger Debussy, when I was handed a glass of bubbling champagne, until I departed, I couldn't stop myself from indulging.
At practically all hours of the day, food is available: Heaps of meats and cheese are on display, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, assortments of pastries and freshly baked cookies. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style with classic dishes like scrambled eggs and avocado toast, and more indulgent options like foie gras and a crab sandwich wrap topped with caviar.
Food can be a hit or miss, as I learned when I ate my way through at least six ships at the River Expo. And to be sure, on the Debussy an occasional side dish may have needed some extra salt, or a citrus dessert may have needed extra sugar to balance the tartness. But I was impressed that Riverside's quality consistently hit the mark.
Executive Chef Simeon Petkov, who worked on the ship when it was owned by Crystal Cruises, told me that under Riverside's management he could better flex his creativity in the kitchen, especially for those dining in the ship's Vintage Room.
A standout dish, and perhaps the best bite I had on the cruise, was a perfectly cooked venison filet served with a jus made of dark chocolate and a truffle potato foam. Though that is closely followed by a comfort meal of spaetzle, loaded with cheese and topped with fresh chives, and a slice of fried duck paired with a cherry sauce.
The dark chocolate jus was an unexpected twist on an otherwise classic dish, and not the first time I was surprised by one of the kitchen's creations. Our first night, I ordered beef carpaccio as an appetizer because of the description: It included mustard ice cream. It felt odd to eat an ice cream that wasn't sweet, but the cold tanginess worked well. Plus, the unusual pairing leveled up the fun.
Ilija Marojevic, the hotel manager, led a wine tasting one afternoon as we sailed down the Rhine, passing wild horses drinking from the river. The theme was New World wine vs. Old World, and Marojevic pitted two European and two Californian wines against each other.
Prior to this tasting experience, the only thing I could tell you about wine is that I like to drink it. But by the end of the hour, I was left with a better understanding of the differences between wines grown in France than California. I even grew to appreciate white wines, thanks to an excursion to a winery in France where I drank what I would now describe as my ideal glass of white: a Pinot Gris from Alsace.
Until the next time I'm able to sail with Riverside, I'll be dreaming about that spaetzle.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
25 Passengers Hospitalized Following Severe Turbulence On Delta Flight
Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam found themselves unexpectedly landing in Minneapolis on Wednesday night after severe turbulence forced the pilot to divert the flight and make an emergency landing. And the turbulence was so severe that 25 of those passengers were taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries, the Associated Press reports. Once again, those who weren't wearing their seatbelts reportedly took the brunt of it, including the cabin crew. According to Fox 13 Utah, the plane had been in the air for about 90 minutes when it encountered the turbulence, with one unnamed passenger telling the news channel the Airbus A330-900 dropped suddenly while the flight crew was in the middle of drink service. "Every one of them flew and hit the ceiling, the beverage carts also flew into the air," the passenger told Fox 13. "Any items that were loose in the cabin got thrown everywhere. [The] plane is a mess, covered in liquids and service items." Joseph Carbone, another passenger on the flight, told Fox 13 that the turbulence came in a series of three waves, with each one worse than the last. According to Carbone, the pilot later told him the plane dropped at least 1,000 feet, although Delta has yet to officially confirm that claim. The Independent reports that data from Flightradar24, a flight-tracking website, shows the flight dropped from 38,000 feet to 35,775 feet over the course of about 90 seconds. "I just saw everything fly through the air," Carbone told the news channel. "...I've never experienced anything like that, but from now on, when I'm not up, going to the bathroom or doing something, I'll be in my seat with my seatbelt on. You learn that lesson real fast." Read more: These Are Your Favorite Factory Exhaust Designs Turbulence Is Getting Worse Currently, there isn't much information on the extent of the injuries suffered by those on the flight, which took off carrying 275 passengers and 13 crew members. Hopefully, no one is too banged up, and everyone recovers quickly. If it feels like turbulence has been getting a lot worse lately, that's because it is. And it's not just that flights are encountering turbulence more frequently, either. The turbulence itself is getting worse. As we reported last year: For example, there's a 2023 paper by University of Reading researcher Mark C. Prosser studied trends in clear-air turbulence, a type of turbulence that occurs without clouds or thunderstorms present, and the results don't paint a pretty picture. While light-or-greater CAT only increased 17 percent over the North Atlantic between 1979 and 2020, moderate-or-greater CAT increased by 37 percent, and severe-or-greater CAT jumped a whopping 55 percent. So it's not just that turbulence is happening more frequently. We're also seeing more severe turbulence. Unfortunately for those who prefer to bury their heads in the sand and pretend this isn't the result of human-caused climate change, the available evidence says that it is. As Dr. John A. Knox, an aviation turbulence researcher at the University of Georgia, put it at the time: Warmer ocean water and warmer surface temperatures lead to warmer air with more water vapor in it, and that's the fuel for thunderstorms. So it is entirely plausible that in the future the thunderstorms that we have will be more vigorous than they are now, and it's already been demonstrated that we're getting shorter, heavier bursts of rain than we used to in parts of the United States. So if that's already happening, it seems like a slam dunk for the future. And so if you're flying around more vigorous thunderstorms or trying to fly above them, it is very plausible that you would have more turbulence related to convection. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Kristine W feared for life on turbulent Delta Air Lines flight
EDM star Kristine W feared for her life when violent turbulence rocked her Amsterdam-bound Delta Air Lines flight Wednesday, sending 25 passengers to hospital. Now, the 'The Boss' songstress believes she has a concussion after she was sent flying into the overhead compartment aboard the rattling Airbus A330-900, a model of aircraft her lawyers allege has a history of malfunctions and shouldn't have been cleared to fly. 'It was absolutely horrifying … I've been performing for 40 years and I've been on airplanes all over the world, and I've never experienced anything like that. I thought, 'We were not going to make it on this one,'' the singer, whose real name is Kristine Elizabeth Weitz, told The Post in an exclusive interview. 5 Singer Kristine W suffered injuries aboard the turbulent Delta Air Lines flight that made an emergency landing this week. Getty Images for iHeartRadio 'I'm a leukemia survivor, and the last time I felt that kind of terror and hopelessness was when I was diagnosed with leukemia 25 years ago.' Weitz was aboard the fated plane out of Salt Lake City to perform at a festival in Amsterdam — posting a joyful picture of herself and her daughter at the gate shortly before takeoff. They were just about an hour into the flight when the attendants were serving drinks and the plane, which can seat more than 250 people, began rattling violently. Passengers were thrown around with food carts and other belongings flying through the cabin. The turbulence came out of nowhere, so the seatbelt light was still off, Weitz recalled. 5 Weitz and her daughter seen smiling at the gate before the flight. Kristine W /Instagram The 17-time Billboard chart topper was wearing the restraint loosely anyway, but it wasn't enough to hold her down or keep her from smashing into the plastic overhang of her window seat. 'I had broken the plastic up in the roof above my head,' said Weitz, adding that the force was so great that she also has bruises on her hips from her seatbelt. Her daughter, Elizabeth, who was sitting elsewhere in the plane, remained in her seat, but suffered whiplash and back pain. One of the flight attendant carts tipped over her during the turbulence and covered her in food and liquids, she said. 5 Weitz suffered bruising from her seatbelt, seen her over an existing surgery scar. Courtesy of Evan Oshan The pair watched other passengers suffer more violent injuries, including one man who was fully lifted out of his seat. The aircraft made an emergency landing Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where 25 people were carted away to hospitals. Weitz claims she was not seen by emergency services because the responders only paid attention to those who were 'bleeding.' 'They didn't seem ready to handle an incident like that at all. That was the most terrifying part, was watching the disarray,' the singer said. 'We're told they're trained to know what to do with emergencies like this and, wow … that was not the case.' 5 The ceiling sustained damage after some passengers were thrown into the air. Courtesy of Evan Oshan The dance music superstar fears that the incident will have lasting effects both physically and mentally — she's awaiting doctors to confirm her fears that she suffered a concussion, but is more concerned that her anxiety will prevent her from boarding planes in the future. Weitz is currently in Amsterdam for a festival, but says she only made it overseas because of contract obligations: 'I'm not sure, cognitively, if I can remember my lyrics.' Now, her legal team is calling for Delta to ground all Airbus A330-900 aircraft so a federal probe can investigate a string of malfunctions associated with the fleet. 'We believe this was a predictable and preventable occurrence,' said Evan Oshan of Oshan and Associates, who is working with Daily Jones Law Group as co-counsel. 5 Carts carrying food and drink spilled across the cabin, including some items that drenched Weitz's daughter. Facebook / Ricardo Hoogesteger Lawyers filed a formal complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration Friday, alleging that the fleet has a history of critical flight system malfunctions, a pattern of emergency landings and go-arounds, and more. 'They have to find out what was wrong with that plane and what happened, because no one should experience anything like this,' said Weitz. The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation was too preliminary to determine whether the aircraft had pre-existing defects. Delta Air Lines would not provide new information, and the FAA did not respond to request for comment.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Travel Like A Local, Not A Tourist: The Good Life Abroad Makes It Easy
Many tourists want to live like locals. getty Overtourism has sparked a vocal backlash among residents in cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Venice, and more. Ironically, many veteran travelers also have frustrations about European travel. They are weary of the crowds and hectic pace of their trips, and they yearn for slower, more authentic, and more meaningful experiences. The Good Life Abroad (TGLA), founded by Andrew Motiwalla, is an innovative travel company that aims to fill the niche between escorted tours and independent travel. The tour agency enables adults over the age of 55 to book one- to three-month-long apartment stays at a single destination with a small group of kindred travelers. This slow style of immersive travel allows them to live among locals and get to know a city more intimately and deeply than most tourists. Seeking: The Slow Travel Experience 'One of our daughters traveled extensively during college via study abroad opportunities,' says Diane Cook, 64, of Louisville, Kentucky. 'We often commented how fortunate she was to be able to spend time in a country like she did.' Diane, a retired marketing executive, and her husband, Bob, had gone on a number of Seabourn cruises that offered guided excursions to exotic international locations. They had rented a house in the south of France for several weeks and had booked personalized tours through luxury travel companies like Abercrombie and Kent, and Andrew Harper. When they learned about The Good Life Abroad on social media (the company advertises on Google and Facebook), they were seeking a travel experience that was slower and would offer opportunities for connections. They booked a month-long stay in Palermo, Sicily. Seeking: A Sense of Community Linda Scena, 71, is single and lives in Manhattan. Since she retired from a global software technology firm three years ago, she has been involved in volunteer work and is a museum docent in the city. Also well-traveled, she was planning a solo trip but was intrigued by the sense of community offered by TGLA. Linda booked a one-month stay in Paris, France, intrigued because the program offered the possibility of alone time as well as opportunities for support and companionship, should she wish to partake inof them. Seeking: Hassle-Free Travel Sharon Grandinette, 67, of Redondo Beach, California, is a legal consultant focusing on traumatic brain injury in children. She still works remotely; her husband Paul is a retired corporate trainer who has lived abroad. After their marriage, the two traveled extensively throughout Europe, returning to Sweden and Italy multiple times. 'I hate planning trips, and I hate wasting time trying to figure out what to do,' says Sharon. 'I thought it might be nice to live in one place for a while to get to know it, and to share travel with a community of people,' she says. Sharon and Paul booked a month-long trip to Lisbon, Portugal, with TGLA, and extended it for another week, traveling themselves to Porto by train. What The Good Life Abroad Provides The TGLA provides a package with furnished apartments with equipped kitchens, weekly housekeeping, and high-speed internet connection. Andrew explains that while these aren't high-end, luxury apartments, they are modern, clean and relatively new. Participants can opt for one or two-bedroom units. One essential component of the program is a group's Community Manager, a local tour guide who knows the ins and outs of the area. That individual plans weekly community meals, happy hours, and other activities to bring people together. 'They are like an 'in-country concierge' who can help you plan local transportation, recommend activities, restaurants, and not-to-be-missed sites,' says Diane. 'They help educate you and demystify the culture and geography.' Everyone in the group has access to the Community Manager via WhatsApp, who also troubleshoots any problems that might arise. Participants love that they learn about activities, events, places and foods that they may never have discovered on their own. 'Our farewell dinner was on a boat anchored in the Seine," says Linda. 'She [the community manager] also planned visits to Montmartre, Versailles Gardens, the St. Denis suburb, a walk with an architect around the Marais, an exploration of the passageways around Paris, and a cooking class.' Linda notes that the community manager also reached out to the group every day with suggestions of things they could do on their own. Another reassuring inclusion, especially for older travelers: The TGLA program provides travel medical insurance, evacuation insurance and facilitates access to a global network of medical providers in case of an emergency. Participants are responsible for booking and paying for their flights, with everyone arriving on the same day, and are responsible for all meals except those sponsored by TGLA. The Genesis of The Good Life Abroad Founder Andrew Motiwalla is a seasoned entrepreneur and 30-year veteran of the travel industry. His overseas travel experience began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. After that, he founded several successful programs, including Terra Education, all of which can be described as 'meaningful travel' or 'travel with a purpose.' One such effort, Discover Corps, organizes group tours to allow travelers to connect with local people through volunteer work. Andrew's vast experience underpins the design of The Good Life Abroad. 'Even savvy travelers discover that planning an independent trip isn't as easy as it might seem,' he says. 'Accommodations aren't like the photos they saw online; they may not speak the language, and they can feel isolated and lonely.' He describes TGLA as independent, community-based travel. The term 'community' embraces both the locals in the neighborhood where clients reside, as well as the friendships formed with other travelers in the group who live in the same building or adjacent ones. The Chance To Live Like A Local Participants expressed that some of the most satisfying experiences were derived from simple day-to-day pleasures. 'Most mornings, my husband would walk through the neighborhood discovering coffee shops and bakeries,' says Diane. 'In no time, he knew what time his favorite baker's pastries would come out of the oven and where he could purchase the best fresh roasted coffee beans for the coffeemaker in our apartment.' Then the couple would head out to explore museums, markets and historical sites. 'We became known to the local shop merchants (bakery, fruit store, grocery store, etc) and felt like it was our home,' says Sharon. 'As someone who is used to city walking and public transportation, I felt comfortable getting around Paris much the same way as I get around NYC,' she says. Besides planned group activities, Linda used her time to explore the arrondissements of Paris, and visit department stores, food markets, cafes and restaurants. A friend from London even popped over to visit for one weekend during her stay.. The Good Life Abroad: Forming Connections Each group typically includes 10-20 people, usually a mix of couples and solo travelers. 'Because we were all in the same building in Palermo, we had lots of opportunities to plan meals or activities with other members of the group,' says Diane. 'We became friends with others from the group with whom we still remain in contact,' says Sharon. Linda explains that there were just enough activities planned so that the group could get to know each other. Then it was up to them to reach out if they wanted more than that. 'We wanted something a little different than a tourist experience,' says Diane. Since its inception in 2023, The Good Life Abroad has facilitated some 2,000 bookings, many from repeat customers, demonstrating its success in attracting travelers seeking a distinctive experience. It also provides an excellent opportunity for those considering international relocation to see what living abroad might be like. Destinations currently offered include Barcelona, Florence, Lisbon, Palermo, Paris, Valencia, Vienna, Prague, Seville, Amsterdam, London, Cagliari, Split, and Rome. Pricing varies by dates and destinations. For additional information, see the booking page of The Good Life Abroad.
