Scylla Cruises

Scylla Cruises (a travel brand owned by Scylla AG) is a shipowner that charters its riverboats to major river cruise operators (travel agencies), including Riviera Travel UK, Tauck Travel USA, and Thurgau Travel Switzerland.

Scylla Cruises (scylla.ch/en) is a brand and subsidiary of the Basel, Switzerland-headquartered passenger shipping company SCYLLA AG, which was established in 1973. The brand enjoys a large number of loyal, repeat customers and continuously expands its fleet.

As a river cruise line, Scylla began operations with MS Scylla (riverboat) on the Rhine River. Curiously, the industry's first vessel deployed on itineraries transiting the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was a Scylla boat. The same holds true for the first ship deployed year-round in Italy, on the Po River.

Currently, Scylla Tours Holding AG is owned by 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). The current CEO of Scylla is Arno Reitsma.

In February 2024, Scylla AG signed a strategic partnership with Neste Oyj (Finland-based oil refining and marketing company) and Slurink BV (Holland-based wholesale distributor of petroleum and petroleum products). The deal was for the supply of Neste MY Renewable Diesel for all Scylla-owned riverboats. OK Slurink BV (bunkering services) provides Neste MY Renewable Diesel (HVO/Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) to Scylla's fleet of 40 riverboats. Using Neste MY Renewable Diesel results in a 75-95% reduction in GHG emissions compared to fossil diesel.

VIVA Cruises

Scylla's subsidiary and luxury river travel brand "VIVA Cruises" was established in 2018 and inaugurated in 2019.

The COO (Chief Operating Officer) of VIVA Cruises is Andrea Kruse.

Scylla Ocean (2021-2024) VIVA Cruises Expeditions

On January 15, 2019, it was announced that Scylla AG purchased the ocean liner "MS Bremen" from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, a subsidiary of Hapag-Lloyd AG (a German-Chilean shipping company, one of the world's oldest). The vessel was officially delivered to the new shipowner in May 2021. The sale price of the Bremen ship was not disclosed. As of 2023, Scylla owned approximately 40 riverboats, most of which are chartered to various European cruisetour companies.

In November 2019, Scylla announced the launch of its new ocean cruising brand "VIVA Cruises Expeditions." The brand began operations in May 2021 with MS SeaVenture (formerly MS Seascape / MS Bremen). VIVA Expeditions operates in Northern Europe, the Arctic (Europe and Canada), and Antarctica. For the 2021-2022 season (starting in November 2021), SeaVenture was chartered to Polar Latitudes for voyages to Antarctica. SeaVenture officially began operations for VIVA Expeditions on May 15, 2021, with a 7-day maiden voyage from Amsterdam to Hamburg (homeport).

In May 2024, Scylla AG sold its only ocean vessel, the Seaventure.

VIVA Cruises (riverboats)

As of 2019, Scylla's fleet included 32 fully-owned passenger ships, the latest being Anna Katharina (2019 new-build, chartered to Phoenix Reisen).

The smallest vessel in Scylla's fleet is Swiss Ruby (88 pax), while the largest are the sisterships Alina and Amelia (220 pax each).

Scylla's fleet's newest riverboats are the sisterships VIVA One (2022), VIVA Two (2023), and VIVA Enjoy (2024).

VIVA's 2024 European river cruise brochure lists a diverse collection of 85 different itineraries and 280+ voyages across its fleet of 8 boats.

In May 2024, Scylla AG announced plans to expand its river fleet by 12 new boats over the next 4 years, with all to be delivered and operational by 2028.

Scylla river cruise ship charters

A unique feature of Scylla AG's river cruise ship charters is their absolute flexibility. Other companies can charter a Scylla boat for a period ranging from 1 night to a week, a month, or even for an entire season. The company also provides the English-speaking crew, hotel staff, gourmet cuisine options, and specifically tailored tours and excursions ashore. Individual requirements are also met.

Private ship charters offer customized cruise itineraries (route and ports of call) and all the necessary cruise arrangements, including food and beverage services (as well as port authority coordination - boat registration and berth reservations). Scylla will also organize the charter's shore excursion program to fit its specific needs.

The onboard dining options include cold and hot buffet breakfasts, multi-course dinner menus, lunch and dinner buffets, and the Captain's Gala Dinner event. For chartered cruises, the company provides customized menus according to specific preferences, including vegetarian, Asian cuisine, kosher food, and themed buffets.

Scylla boats can also be chartered as "hotel ships" docked in major European river ports like Basel, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Hannover. This allows the boat to serve as a location for special events and celebrations, corporate meetings, exhibitions, employee training sessions, annual events, team-building activities, and incentive programs. The boats can also be individually furnished with the customer's own branding.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Scylla's primary boat charterer, Riviera Travel UK, suspended fleetwide passenger shipping operations between March 15, 2020, and early July 2021. Tauck Travel canceled all river cruises and tours with departures through August 31, and Thurgau Travel canceled through July 31.

All affected bookings received a full refund in FCC (Future Cruise Credit) or Refund Credit Notes, including for pre-purchased packages and services. Cruise rebooking had to be made before December 31, 2020.

The line's current fleet consists of 23 beautiful, spacious, and modern-designed river cruise ships, including the "Suite Ships," all of which sail exclusively on European waterways. All Scylla ships are Swiss-flagged.

At the following links, you can view the list of Scylla-owned riverboats operated under charter by the travel brands VIVA Cruises, Riviera Travel UK, Tauck Travel USA, and some boats are also chartered to Phoenix Reisen Germany.

The fleet's newest vessels are the sisterships VIVA One (2022), VIVA Two (2023), and VIVA Enjoy (2024).

Riviera Travel (UK cruise brand/tour operator) exclusively charters the following Scylla-owned ships: Lord Byron (2012), William Shakespeare (2014), Charles Dickens (2015), Jane Austen (2015), Thomas Hardy (2016), Emily Bronte (2017), Oscar Wilde (2017), George Eliot (2019), William Wordsworth (2019), Geoffrey Chaucer (2020), and Lord Tennyson (2021).