Scylla Cruises
History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News
Scylla Cruises fleet
MS Geoffrey Chaucer
Current cruise: 7 days, round-trip Rhine and Moselle River Cruise - MS Geoffrey ChaucerRiviera Travel UKYear built 2021 / Age : 1 Passengers 176 MS George Eliot
Current cruise: 7 days, one-way from Frankfurt am Main to NurembergRiviera Travel UKYear built 2019 / Age : 3 Passengers 148 MS William Wordsworth
Current cruise: 7 days, round-trip The Blue Danube River Cruise - MS William WordsworthRiviera Travel UKYear built 2019 / Age : 3 Passengers 176 MS Emily Bronte
Current cruise: 7 days, one-way from Cologne to Paris CityRiviera Travel UKYear built 2017 / Age : 5 Passengers 176 MS Oscar Wilde
Current cruise: 14 days, one-way from Cologne to BudapestRiviera Travel UKYear built 2017 / Age : 5 Passengers 176 MS Thomas Hardy
Current cruise: 7 days, round-trip The Blue Danube River Cruise - MS Thomas HardyRiviera Travel UKYear built 2016 / Age : 6 Passengers 176 MS Jane Austen
Current cruise: 7 days, round-trip The Seine, Paris and Normandy River Cruise - MS Jane AustenRiviera Travel UKYear built 2015 / Age : 7 Passengers 148
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 (scylla.ch/en) 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 boats can also be chartered as "hotel ships" docked 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 meetings, exhibitions, employee training sessions, annual events, team building, and incentive programs. The boats also can be individually furnished and with the customer's own branding.
(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021
Scylla's main boat charterer - Riviera Travel UK - suspended fleetwide its passenger shipping operations between March 15, 2020, and early-July 2021. Tauck Travel canceled all river cruises and tours with departures through August 31, Thurgau Travel - through July 31.
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.
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' first new build ship VIVA ONE begins Rhine and Moselle sailings
After her May christening, VIVA Cruises’ first newbuild riverboat - MS VIVA ONE, started itineraries on the Moselle and Rhine rivers. To...
May 8, 2022 - Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises' first new build ship VIVA ONE christened in Dusseldorf (Germany)
The new river travel brand VIVA Cruises (fleet) welcomed its first newbuild to the family. MS VIVA One was officially christened in her homeport of...
April 9, 2022 - Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises becomes the only river line operating with no winter break
VIVA Cruises/fleet (travel brand owned by Scylla) started its 2022 season with two Rhine River voyages, which returned to homeport Dusseldorf...
January 30, 2022 - Cruise Industry
Riviera River Cruises UK restarts in additional European destinations
The UK-based tour agency/brand Riviera Travel (fleet, Scylla's main riverboat charterer) announced that itineraries in additional European...
September 17, 2021 - Cruise Industry
Godmothers announced for Tauck’s new ms Andorinha riverboat
A couple of Tauck’s top executives, each with 20+ years in the company, are expected to serve as co-godmothers when the line’s new MS...
July 9, 2021 - Cruise Industry
Phoenix Reisen christens 2 new riverboats
Phoenix Reisen (Bonn Germany) christened a pair of new river cruise ships on July 5th. On the banks of the Rhine (in Cologne/Koln Germany...
July 9, 2021 - Cruise Industry
VIVA Cruises announces 2022 programme of its first expedition ship MS Seaventure
VIVA Cruises (fleet, 2019-established brand and subsidiary of Scylla AG), announced the 2022 program of its first-ever expedition ship Seaventure...
June 2, 2021 - Cruise Industry
Scylla AG becomes the first river cruise operator in Europe to resume sailings
Scylla AG (Switzerland-based river cruise shipowner) restarted passenger shipping operations with a voyage on Portugal’s Douro River on May 22...
May 30, 2021 - Cruise Industry
Riviera River Cruises requires full COVID-19 vaccination or negative test
UK-based company Riviera River Cruises - Scylla's main riverboat charterer - announced that all passengers boarding its ships when European river...
April 8, 2021 - 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 - show more news