- It is one of the most highly anticipated launches in the river cruise industry, and we take a first look inside the new APT Solara.
- APT Solara has some never-seen-before features like a levitating deck area.
- Sailings start from $3895 per person.
Just when you thought you’d seen everything possible on a river ship, along comes APT with a luxurious new vessel with lots to amaze and delight in equal measure.
Solara entered service at the end of April, holds 154 passengers and is not only the company’s first wholly APT-branded river ship in Europe, but also the first vessel on the world’s waterways with a restaurant that literally moves from one deck to another.
When the ship is sailing, the Gruner Bar and Dining is accessed from the back of deck three; when it’s in port, crew press a button and the entire venue, seating, galley, bar and all, lifts hydraulically up to the sundeck. Once there, it doubles as a walk-up bar where passengers catching a few rays or enjoying the views from the sundeck can refuel with their favourite tipple (included in the price with APT).
It’s an incredible feat of engineering with the added wow that diners can be inside the restaurant as it lifts up.
Unique is one of the most misused words in the English language. When talking about the Gruner Bar, and indeed the rest of Solara, it’s spot on. The atrium, for instance, is a large, bright, uncluttered space with the reception in one corner and the cruise director’s desk in the other.
Unlike other river ships, there is no main dining room that seats everyone at once; instead there are six different places to eat, plus the option of room service, all with their own look and feel (APT calls them dining experiences) so guests can chop and change between venues as the mood takes them.
“Guests will love it. It gives them a different experience every night,” said APT CEO David Cox. He reckons the Gruner Bar, which seats 28 and serves conventional starters and mains for lunch, and sharing plates in the evening, will be the most popular restaurant, but it has fierce competition.
Bistro Saison has a charming French style and a mix of buffet and served dishes, while the Owner’s Cellar is a wine-themed Chef’s Table restaurant with a six-course menu featuring local food and wine that seats just 16 people at a time. Everyone is guaranteed one visit; treat yourself to an Owner’s Suite and you can dine there twice.
Annie’s Table, at the front of the lounge (APT calls it the Salon), offers a more casual dining experience with tables or comfy sofas and a mix of buffet and served dishes. Passengers can alternatively eat in the Salon and, weather permitting, there’ll be BBQs on the Daystar Deck, which is APT speak for the sundeck.
There’s also a small pool up there, along with a so-called ‘conversation zone’ with a large semi-circular sofa where guests can gather over a wine or cocktail to put the world to rights or just catch up about their day. At night the zone is lit by solar-powered lanterns (there is electric power for those days the sun doesn’t shine).
Solara’s interior look and feel was the work of Hecker Guthrie, a Melbourne-based design firm that had never before worked with a cruise company. The result is something very different on the rivers, neatly blending clean lines with a light, bright yet cosy vibe and nautical touches here and there.
“Sometimes you need to take a step back to see what you are dealing with and that’s what we have done,” said the company’s co-founder Paul Hecker. “We looked at Europe in a way Europeans don’t. It’s Europe from an Australian perspective, a light, bright, calm sanctuary that guests can return to after a day ashore.
“We also wanted to acknowledge that it is a boat, not a hotel, so we have added subtle – and sometimes not-so-subtle-nautical touches.” He is referring to the framed wood paneling in the cabins and around the public areas that imitate what you’d find on a sailing ship as well as rope artworks, timber-slatted chairs and bedside lights in the suites that are a contemporary take on ships’ lanterns.
All rooms on Solara are suites and come in three categories, all featuring original artwork depicting places passengers will visit as they cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest on APT’s Magnificent Europe voyages.
Most suites are decked out in a stylish white, grey and cream colour palette, have floor-to-ceiling walls of glass that open from the top at the touch of a button, creating an inside balcony, and bathrooms with chunky marble sinks and glass-enclosed showers.
For those who want more space, eight Owner’s Suites are bigger, have an outside balcony and come with perks including a free laundry and pressing service, and complimentary spa treatment. These rooms are individually named after famous landmarks such as the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Gellert Spa in Budapest and Benedictine Abbey in Melk. In a thoughtful touch, the artwork inside reflects the name of the suite.
Twin window suites on deck one are very different, with teak-like paneling that creates the look and feel of a ship’s cabin of old. Instead of curtains, the windows (which don’t open as these rooms are on the lower deck) have beautiful slatted wood-effect blinds that are raised and lowered at the touch of a button.
APT co-founder and director Lou Tandy and David Cox agree there is nothing they’d change about Solara, other than to go back in time and build it sooner. That was not possible under a long-standing agreement between APT and US river cruise line AmaWaterways but that ended in 2024, freeing their hands and allowing their ambitions to flourish.
Solara is the first of two sister ships launching this year (the other, Ostara, enters service in July) and they are just the start as Cox is already eyeing more ships.
APT certainly needs them. Solara and Ostara are pretty much full for 2025 – Australians account for 90% of bookings – and 2026 is sold beyond levels the company has ever seen, also to Australians. Ideally Cox said he would like two more vessels in the next three years but for now all he can promise is ‘there will be more’.
Solara and Ostara are both sailing APT’s two-week Magnificent Europe cruises. Prices start from $3895 per person for an 8-day Highlights of the Rhine and Main voyage, including drinks, all dining, tips, excursions, including exclusive signature experiences, and WiFi.
