This Australian ship takes European river cruising to a new level

1 day ago 4

Anthony Dennis

September 13, 2025 — 12:21am

THE SHIP: APT OSTARA

Commissioned 2025
Suites 77
Passengers 154
Crew 60
Decks Four
Length 135 metres
The cruise Highlights of the Rhine and Main, Germany and the Netherlands, seven nights and eight days

Along with its identical sister-ship, APT Solara, launched earlier this year, the APT Ostara is the second of two new Dutch-built luxury vessels from Australia’s APT Luxury Travel to grace the grand rivers of Europe. Little expense appears to have been spared on these new additions by APT, which dissolved its longstanding partnership with AmaWaterways last year. The Australian brand’s keen-eyed, co-owner siblings, Rob McGeary and Lou Tandy, have sought to blend “European elegance with unpretentious Australian ease”. To bring that dream to reality, the pair enlisted renowned Melbourne-based interior design studio Hecker Guthrie to inject some landlubber luxury hotel panache, and yes, some luxury ocean-liner pizzazz, too, into these new ships.

Boarding

One advantage of river cruising, along with smaller ships and passenger numbers, is the ease of embarkation, and, for that matter, disembarkation. This cruise aboard APT Ostara begins at the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, a pleasant hour or so by train from Munich, the nearest major airport entry point, with alternative road transfers of one and three-quarter hours by autobahn able to be arranged for passengers. The Australian cruise line’s sparkling new river ship awaits its passengers on the outskirts of Nuremberg – a city famed for holding the eponymous World War II Nazi criminal trials – with Ostara a dark blue diamond in the semi-industrial rough if ever there was one.

The design

Quality design influenced by luxury international hotel trends has been playing an increasingly important role in the creation of ocean cruise ships, and more latterly their river-going counterparts. While almost comically elongated European river ships like Ostara appear to rival the length of small-sized ocean vessels, they’re considerably narrower; design considerations that allow them to fit inside the 70 or so river locks between Budapest and Amsterdam. So making the best use of available space is a priority. While Ostara and Solara represent Hecker Guthrie’s first foray into cruise-ship interiors, and perhaps not its last, there’s no shortage of confidence evident with an encompassing design inspired by the colours of Europe’s distinct four seasons, a palette leading all the way to the carpets in the guest rooms.

The spaces

Space will always be a challenge aboard a river cruise ship, but here, the ship’s designers clearly refused to be defeated on that basis. Onboard, the passenger is struck by the contrast between the ship’s dark, full French navy paint job, and its airy light-coloured and light-filled marbled atrium central reception space. There are a few nautical nods, too, including an imposing, specially-commissioned rope installation by Australian sculptor Sarah Parkes that’s suspended in the atrium staircase. Elsewhere, in the restaurant and guest rooms, there are modern-day takes on classic ship lanterns.

The stateroom

My owner’s suite, one of eight, is spacious for a river passenger vessel and comes with luxurious features including a small private balcony, electric retractable curtains, a separate sitting area (with a slightly too bulky though comfortable designer armchair), generous storage space and inclusive perks such as a spa treatment and laundry service. Complimentary in-suite dining is available, though seemingly not actively encouraged. There’s a gratis stocked minibar, tea and coffee amenities, luxury bedding and en suite toiletries by Amsterdam-based Marie-Stella-Maris. The walls of each suite and room are adorned by the artful photography of Australian Nicholas Wilkins celebrating the grand architecture from the Ostara and Solara’s 15-day Magnificent Europe itinerary between Amsterdam and Budapest.

The food

The superior design nous applied to the ship’s public and private spaces is perhaps most evident in the ship’s six– yes, six - separate dining venues serving uniformly excellent mainly contemporary European cuisine. A successful effort has been made to integrate, rather than squeeze, the maximum number of dining venues in the ship’s limited space, with the most novel being the nifty Gruner Bar & Dining. This more casual space can be hydraulically lowered below rooftop deck level when sailing along Europe’s low bridge-studded waterways and then raised for maximum panoramic viewing when the ship is stationary in port.

Elsewhere, The Owner’s Cellar, 1927 (the year a reference to when APT was founded), is an elegant timber-clad, French-cafe curtain-lined affair that sits right in the middle of the stylish breakfast, lunch and dinner-serving Bistro Saison. Seating 16 guests, its set, degustation-style menus, feature courses matched with fine wines selected by the adjacent private cellar. At the other end of the dining scale is a true crowd-pleaser in the form of the rooftop Daystar Deck where flamed-grilled meats, seafood and vegetables are served al fresco. It’s near to the so-called half-moon Conversation Pit at the bow, which is at its most spectacular at dusk when lit by massed lanterns.

Wellness

In all the excitement of this relatively brief Germanic cruise, the highlight of which is perhaps the 65 kilometre-long World Heritage-listed Rhine Gorge with its 40-odd, neck craning castles, I didn’t make it to the shipboard spa, let alone the gym or, for that matter, to the saddle of one of the e-bikes for use on shore. However, as if river cruising isn’t meditative enough, I did manage to inadvertently crash the well-attended, early morning meditation class that took over most of the third-deck restaurant.

Entertainment

No river ship, not even this one, can match the array of entertainment choices aboard even a small-sized ocean-going liner. But, then again, few ocean liners spend so much time alongside visible, and frequently captivating shorelines as a river ship like Ostara does. If the passing panorama of German sights and scenes isn’t sufficient, there are plenty of onboard activities offered by Ostara’s versatile all-singing, all-dancing English entertainment officer and her partner.

The crew

The warm, welcoming and clearly well-tutored crew, drawn mainly from South and South-East Asia and Eastern Europe, manage to combine European efficiency with Antipodean bonhomie. In fact, this multinational team, more chilled and assured than a fine German riesling, is one of the best your reviewer has encountered on water, whether it be ocean or river.

The verdict

There’s so much attention to detail aboard this ship that it’s nigh impossible to devote full attention to all of its details. While water levels can be at times problematic along Europe’s waterways in this age of climate change, APT, almost a century-old hand at international and domestic travel, has unquestionably raised the level and quality of design and amenity for river ships with its launch of Ostara and Solara.

The details

APT’s seven night, eight day Highlights of the Rhine and Main from $3895 a person, with savings of up to $3400 a couple. The cruise includes visits to the German cities and town of Nuremberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Rudesheim am Rhien. See aptouring.com or call 1300 336 932

Our rating out of five

★★★★★

The writer travelled as a guest of APT Luxury Travel.

Swell

Imported Vegemite is available (from a proper jar, not from those tiny pesky sachets) for breakfasting Australian passengers (the Poms, and others, get their own Marmite).