Scylla Cruises
History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News
Scylla Cruises (Riviera Travel, Tauck Travel, Thurgau Travel) Coronavirus update
Scylla Cruises is a shipowner that charters its riverboats to major river cruise operators (travel agencies), including Riviera Travel UK, Tauck Travel USA, Thurgau Travel Switzerland.
Scylla's main boat charterer - Riviera Travel UK - suspended fleetwide its passenger shipping operations by cancelling all voyages (river cruises and tours) in the period March 15 through August 24, 2020. Operations are planned to resume on August 25. All affected bookings received a full refund in FCC (future cruise credit / Refund Credit Notes), including on prepurchased through the company packages and services. The cruise rebooking must be made before December 31, 2020.
Tauck Travel cancelled all river cruises and tours departures through August 31. Thurgau Travel suspended operations through July 31.
Scylla Cruises fleet
MS Lord Tennyson
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2021 new ship Passengers 176 Homeports Cologne MS Geoffrey Chaucer
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2020 / Age : 1 Passengers 176 Homeports Cologne Amsterdam MS George Eliot
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2019 / Age : 2 Passengers 148 Homeports Frankfurt am Main Cologne Amsterdam MS William Wordsworth
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2019 / Age : 2 Passengers 176 Homeports Budapest MS Robert Burns
Current cruise: N/AVIVA CruisesYear built 2018 / Age : 3 Passengers 176 Homeports Budapest MS Emily Bronte
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2017 / Age : 4 Passengers 176 Homeports Cologne MS Oscar Wilde
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2017 / Age : 4 Passengers 176 Homeports Cologne Budapest MS Thomas Hardy
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2016 / Age : 5 Passengers 176 Homeports Budapest Vienna MS Jane Austen
Current cruise: N/ARiviera Travel UKYear built 2015 / Age : 6 Passengers 148 Homeports Paris
Review of Scylla Cruises
Scylla Cruises is a shipowner that charters its riverboats to major river cruise operators (travel agencies), including Riviera Travel UK, Tauck Travel USA, Thurgau Travel Switzerland.
Scylla Cruises (website) is a brand and subsidiary of the Basel Switzerland-headquartered passenger shipping company SCYLLA AG. Scylla was established in 1974. Its cruise brand enjoys a large number of repeat customers and constantly expands its fleet.
As river cruise line, Scylla started shipping operations with MS Scylla (riverboat) on Rhine River. Curiously enough, the first cruise ship deployed on itineraries transiting Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was a Scylla boat. The same goes with the first ship on Po River (Italy). Currently, Scylla Tours Holding AG is owned by the brothers Arno and Robert Reitsma. SCYLLA AG is managed by two directors - Robbert Verbeek (CFO-chief financial officer) and Andreas Wandinger (CCO-chief commercial officer). Scylla's current CEO is Arno Reitsma.
VIVA Cruises (Scylla Ocean)
On January 15, 2019, was announced that Scylla AG purchased the ocean liner "MS Bremen" from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises - subsidiary of Hapag-Lloyd AG (German-Chilean shipping company, one of the world's oldest). The vessel will be officially delivered to the new shipowner in May 2021. Bremen ship's sale price was not disclosed. As of 2019, Scylla owns 31 riverboats, most of which are chartered to different European cruisetour companies.
In November 2019, Scylla announced the launch of its new (ocean cruising) brand "VIVA Cruises Expeditions". The new brand starts operations in May 2021 with MS SeaVenture (fka MS Seascape / ex Bremen). VIVA will operate in the regions of Northern Europe, Arctic (Europe and Canada) and Antarctica. For season 2021-2022 (starting in November 2021) SeaVenture will be chartered to Polar Latitudes for cruises to Antarctica. SeaVenture officially starts operations for VIVA on May 15, 2021, with a 7-day maiden voyage from Amsterdam to Hamburg (homeport).
As of 2019, Scylla's fleet included 32 fully-owned passenger ships, the latest being Anna Katharina (2019new -built and chartered to Phoenix Reisen). Fleet's smallest vessel is Swiss Ruby (88-pax) while the largest are the sisterships Alina and Amelia (220-pax each).
VIVA Cruises COO is Andrea Kruse.
Scylla river cruise ship charters
A unique offer is the Scylla AG's river cruise ship charterers marked by absolute flexibility. Other companies can charter a Scylla boat for a period ranging from 1-night to a week, a month and even for a whole season. The company also provides the English-speaking crew, the hotel staff, gourmet cuisine options, specifically-tailored tours and excursions ashore. Individual requirements are also met.
Private ship charters also offer customized cruise itinerary (route and ports of call) and all the cruise arrangements, including food and beverage provision (and with port authorities - boat registration and berth reservations (moorings). Scylla also will organize the charter's shore excursion program to fit its exact needs.
The onboard dining options include cold and hot buffet breakfast, dinner menus with several courses, lunch and dinner buffets, the Captain’s Gala Dinner event. On chartered cruises, the company provides customized menus according to particular preferences, including vegetarian, Asian cuisine, kosher food, themed buffets.
Scylla ships can also be chartered as a floating hotel in many big European river ports, like Basel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hannover. This way the boat may become a location for special events and celebrations, corporate meeting, exhibitions, employee training session, annual events, team building, and incentive programs. The boats also can be individually furnished and with the customer's own branding.
Itinerary of Scylla Cruises
The line's current fleet includes the impressive number of 23 beautiful, spacious and modern-designed river cruise ships (including "Suite Ships") sailing exclusively on the European waterways. All Scylla ships are Swiss-flagged.
The Scylla cruise line company owns and operates the following riverboats:
- MS Alina
- MS Amelia
- MS Anesha
- MS Aurelia
- MS Edelweiss
- MS Esprit
- MS Grace
- MS Inspire
- MS Jane Austen
- MS Lord Byron
- MS Savor
- MS Saxonia
- MS Swiss Corona
- MS Swiss Crown
- MS Swiss Crystal
- MS Swiss Diamond
- MS Swiss Emerald
- MS Swiss Gloria
- MS Swiss Jewel
- MS Swiss Pearl
- MS Swiss Ruby
- MS Swiss Sapphire
- MS Swiss Tiara
- MS Treasures
Some Scylla ships are often chartered by travel companies like Tauck (USA) and Phoenix Reisen (Germany).
To Riviera Travel (UK cruisetour company/agency) are exclusively chartered the Scylla-owned newbuild riverboats:
- Lord Byron (2012)
- William Shakespeare (2014)
- Charles Dickens (2015)
- Jane Austen (2015)
- Thomas Hardy (2016)
- Emily Bronte (2017)
- Oscar Wilde (2017)
- Robert Burns (2018)
- George Eliot (2019)
- William Wordsworth (2019)
- Geoffrey Chaucer (2020)
- Lord Tennyson (2021)
Scylla Cruises related cruise news
- Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises in 2021 charters 3 Scylla-owned riverboats (Treasures, Inspire, Moments)
Despite travel restrictions and lockdowns, the German (Scylla AG-owned) river cruise company VIVA Cruises announced that for season 2021 it will have...
February 21, 2021 - Cruise Industry
Riviera River Cruises launches new Wave Season incentives
UK-based company Riviera River Cruises - Scylla's main boat charterer- launches its Wave Season promo deals on January 1, 2021, with new incentives...
December 26, 2020 - Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises launches North and Baltic Seas cruises on MS Seaventure
The river cruisetour brand Viva Cruises announced it is launching 4 new itineraries on the North Sea and Baltic Sea onboard the company’s first...
November 21, 2020 - Cruise Industry
60 passengers on MS Swiss Crystal test positive for COVID-19
MS Swiss Crystal (riverboat owned by Scylla AG) completed a 7-night cruise from Passau to Frankfurt am Main along the rivers Danube and Main on...
October 28, 2020 - Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises expands cruise offerings for 2021
Following a successful restart of its European itineraries after the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, the river cruise company VIVA Cruises announced...
September 23, 2020 - Cruise Industry
VIDEO: Hanseatic Spirit launched at VARD Tulcea
The Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' adults-only ship Hanseatic Spirit was floated out from drydock at the VARD shipyard in Tulcea Romania (the so-called "hull...
July 15, 2020 - Cruise Industry
River cruise company Scylla resumes operations with 34 boats in Europe
The Basel Switzerland-headquartered river cruise shipping company Scylla Cruises announced the sailing of 34 vessels on Europe’s waterways...
May 22, 2020 - Cruise Industry
Polar Latitude Charters MS Bremen from May 2021
The Swiss company Scylla AG announced that MS Bremen will be chartered by Polar Latitude line from May 2021 to offer journeys through the Arctic...
May 17, 2019 - Cruise Industry
Tauck to Build New Ship
The travel company Tauck (tauck.co.uk) announced that it will offer its first-ever Douro cruise (in Portugal) in 2020. Company's 3 new itineraries...
January 25, 2019 - Cruise Industry
Scylla Acquires MS Bremen
The expedition ship MS Bremen is due to leave the fleet of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The company officially announced the sale of the ship for the end of...
January 16, 2019 - show more news