MS Emily Bronte

The 2017-built MS Emily Bronte cruise ship is operated under charter by the UK cruisetour company Riviera Travel, offering itineraries along the Rhine, Danube, and Moselle rivers.

Sisterships include Thomas Hardy (2016), Oscar Wilde (2017), Robert Burns (2018), William Wordsworth (2019), and Geoffrey Chaucer (2020).

The riverboat (ENI number 07002052) is Switzerland-flagged (MMSI 269057584) and owned by the Swiss company Scylla Cruises.

Shipboard dining and entertainment options

The riverboat features an elegant Lobby (entrance hall on Diamond / Upper Deck) with a 24-hour Reception Desk offering guest assistance, information, and purser services, as well as a Travel Desk providing tour details and onboard cruise bookings. The Foyer area also includes a Boutique Shop. From the entrance hall, guests enter a stylish Bar Lounge located forward, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, comfortable seating, and a full-service bar.

Aft on the Diamond Deck is the Bistro – Lido Restaurant, an alternative dining venue to the main Dining Room Restaurant. The Bistro has its own bar and also serves as the ship’s Library. It includes an outdoor terrace and an open kitchen, where guests can enjoy early breakfast, light lunch, or dinner. In good weather, the large glass doors open fully onto the terrace for al fresco dining. Bistro dining is complimentary, though dinner reservations are required due to limited capacity (10 tables seating 2 or 4 guests). The ship’s main Dining Room Restaurant (on Ruby / Middle Deck) offers single-seating service with buffet breakfast and waiter-served lunch and dinner.

On the Emerald / Lower Deck, the ship’s Wellness Centre includes a Beauty Salon (hairdresser, barber, and nail studio), Fitness Room (gym), and Spa (treatment room for massages). All cabin decks are fully air-conditioned and accessible via a passenger elevator and wrought-iron staircase.

The Sun Deck features a Giant Chess Set, Mini-Golf Putting Green, retractable awnings for shaded seating, an aft Pool Deck with Splash Pool, Jacuzzi, and sunbathing area furnished with loungers and deckchairs, along with full bar service. The forward-located Navigation Bridge (known as the “Wheelhouse” on riverboats) is passenger-accessible and telescopic, allowing it to be lowered for passing under low bridges.

Cabins

Like her sisterships, Emily Bronte staterooms (88 total) are designed for 169 passengers, with a maximum capacity of 176 when including single-occupancy cabins. Most cabins feature wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening to a French Balcony. Only Emerald Deck cabins have one fixed, non-opening quarter-height window located near the ceiling.

• All staterooms feature hotel-style twin beds (convertible to double), en-suite bathrooms (WC, shower, single-sink vanity, towels, bath toiletries, large mirror), 40-inch flat HDTV (satellite reception, infotainment system, and real-time bow camera view), mini-bar, tea/coffee-making facilities, glass-top round table with two armchairs, mirrored dressing table with pouf chair, wardrobe, electronic safe, hairdryer, telephone, individually controlled air-conditioning, and evening turndown service.
• All bathrooms have marble countertops, glass showers with large rain showerheads, and branded bath amenities by Crabtree & Evelyn.
• Selected staterooms are available for single occupancy without a single supplement (subject to availability).
• Deluxe Balcony Suites (on Diamond Deck) offer additional interior space, a step-out balcony furnished with a table and two chairs for al fresco dining, and premium cotton bathrobes and slippers.

Riviera Travel river cruise fares include all onboard meals, stateroom accommodation, 24-hour coffee station with light snacks, onboard entertainment and enrichment programs, return train travel (optional flights), luxury motorcoach transfers, guided walking tours, and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the ship, including cabins and public areas.

The ship is named after Emily Bronte (1818–1848), the English poet and novelist best known for her only novel, “Wuthering Heights” (written in 1845–46 and published in 1847), which challenged the Victorian era’s views on religion, morality, and gender inequality. The vessel is powered by two Caterpillar Cat-3508 marine diesel engines—V8, 4-stroke units, each weighing 4309 kg, with a lube oil capacity of 227 liters and a power output of 574 kW (combined total 1.15 MW). Propulsion is provided by two fixed-pitch stern propellers and one azimuthing bow thruster (azipod).

The vessel’s construction (hull and superstructure, ENI number 07002052) was carried out at the Vahali Shipyard in Zasavica (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia). The 1923-founded Dutch shipbuilding company Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek Vahali BV owns and operates shipyards in Serbia (Belgrade and Zasavica) and in the Netherlands (Gendt). Vahali Shipyard Zasavica officially opened in 2013. After the hull construction in Serbia, the cruise ship was towed to the Netherlands for final outfitting at Scheepswerf Vahali in Gendt.

Note: You can find CruiseMapper’s complete list of river cruise ships and riverboats in the “Itinerary” section of our River Cruises hub, which includes all companies and their fleets.