MS Geoffrey Chaucer

The 2020-built/2021-inaugurated MS Geoffrey Chaucer cruise ship is one of Scylla's newest vessels. Riverboat's sisterships are the fleetmates Thomas Hardy (2016), Emily Bronte (2017), Oscar Wilde (2017), Robert Burns (2018), William Wordsworth (2019), Lord Tennyson (2021).

The Geoffrey Chaucer ship is owned by the Swiss company Scylla Cruises and exclusively chartered to the UK cruisetour company Riviera Travel on itineraries along Danube, Rhine and Moselle Rivers, as well as on the Dutch waterways. Riverboat's primary departure ports/homeports are Amsterdam (Holland) and Budapest (Hungary).

For season 2021 Fall, the boats Chaucer and Wordsworth were time-chartered by Phoenix Reisen (Bonn-based German cruisetour company).

The vessel (ENI number 07002119) is currently Switzerland-flagged (MMSI 269057715) and registered in Basel).

Shipboard dining and entertainment options

The riverboat features an elegant Lobby (entrance hall on Diamond / Upper Deck) with Reception Desk (24-hour assistance, information, purser services), Travel Desk (tours and excursions information, onboard cruise booking) and Boutique Shop. From the entrance hall, passengers walk into a stylish Bar Lounge with bow location, floor-ceiling windows, comfortable seating, and full-service Bar.

Aft on Diamond Deck is the Bistro - Lido Restaurant, an alternative to the Dining Room Restaurant. The Bistro is served by its own Bar and also doubles as Library. It has an outdoor terrace and open kitchen. Here are served early Breakfast, light Lunch and Dinner. In good weather, the floor-ceiling window doors are fully opened onto the terrace for al fresco dining. Bistro's dining is complimentary, but dinners require reservations due to the restaurant's small capacity (10 tables with 2 or 4 seats). Ship's Dining Room Restaurant (on Ruby / Middle Deck) provides single-seating capacity buffet Breakfast and waiter-served Lunch and Dinner.

On Emerald / Lower Deck is the ship's Wellness Centre consisting of Beauty Salon (hairdresser and barber services, nail studio), Fitness (Gym Room) and Spa (treatment room for massages). All cabin decks are fully air-conditioned and accessed via lift (passenger elevator) and wrought-iron staircase.

Sun Deck provides Giant Chess Set, Mini Golf (Putting Green), Retractable Awnings (shaded seating area), aft Pool Deck (Splash Pool, Jacuzzi, sunbathing area with loungers and deckchairs), full bar service. The fore-located Navigation Bridge (called "Wheelhouse" on riverboats) is passenger accessible and telescopic (can be lowered for passing under low bridges).

Cabins

Like the sisterships, Geoffrey Chaucer staterooms (a total of 88) are designed for 169 passengers (regarding single-occupancy cabins, max capacity is 176). Most cabins are with wall-to-wall and floor-ceiling glass doors opening to a railing (French Balcony). Only exceptions are Emerald Deck cabins, which are with one fixed window (non-opening, quarter-height) located close to the ceiling.

• All passenger staterooms as standard amenities offer hotel twin beds (convertible to double), en-suite bathroom (WC, shower, single-sink vanity, towels, bath toiletries, large mirror), 40-inch flat HDTV (satellite reception, infotainment system, bow camera real-time views), mini-bar, tea-coffee making facility, glass-top round table with 2 armchairs, mirrored dressing table with pouf chair, wardrobe, electronic safe box, hairdryer, phone, individual air-conditioning, evening turndown service.
• All cabin bathrooms are with marble tops, glass showers (large rain shower heads) and brand bath cosmetics (by Crabtree and Evelyn).
• Some staterooms are available for single occupancy booking (without a single supplement, subject to availability).
• Deluxe Balcony Suites (on Diamond Deck) additionally offer (as bonus amenities) larger interior space, step-out balcony (furnished with table and 2 chairs, can be used for al fresco dining), premium cotton bathrobes and slippers.

Itineraries

For Riviera Travel, Geoffrey Chaucer cruises on the rivers Rhine, Main, Danube, also in Holland (Dutch inland waterways) and Danube Delta (Black Sea). On this ship, Riviera Travel offers the following cruisetour itineraries:

• 5-day "Amsterdam, Kinderdijk and the Dutch Bulbfields" is roundtrip from Amsterdam to Enkhuizen, Rotterdam, Kinderdijk, Keukenhof, Amsterdam. Prices start from ~GBP 750 per person (double occupancy porthole cabin rates). A 4-day drink package is offered for purchase on the ship, with prices from GBP 70 pp.
• 8-day "Bruges, Medieval Flanders, Amsterdam and The Dutch Bulbfields" is roundtrip from Amsterdam to Hoorn, Arnhem, Antwerp, Ghent, Ypres, Bruges, Keukenhof, Amsterdam. Prices start from ~GBP 1200 pp.
• 11-day "The Blue Danube with Budapest Extension" (7-day Danube River cruising) is roundtrip Budapest to Esztergom, Bratislava, Durnstein, Melk, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Visegrad, Szentendre, Budapest, plus the tour extension Godollo and Puszta. Prices start from ~GBP 1550 pp. A 7-day drink package is offered for purchase on the ship, with prices from GBP 110 pp.
• 15-day "Budapest to the Black Sea - Gems of Eastern Europe" is roundtrip from Budapest to Kalocsa, Pecs, Belgrade, Iron Gates, Pleven, Bucharest, Constanta, Veliko Tarnovo, Arbanassi, Ivanovo, Belogradchik, Iron Gates, Lepenski Vir, Novi Sad, Osijek, Vukovar, Budapest. Prices start from ~GBP 2300 pp.

Riviera Travel river cruise deals are inclusive of all onboard meals, stateroom, 24-hour Coffee Station (with light snacks), onboard entertainment and enrichment programming, return train travel (optional flights), luxury bus transfers, walking tours, shipboard Wi-Fi (throughout/in cabins and all public spaces).

The cruise ship is named after Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) - philosopher, astronomer, very popular English poet (considered the greatest of the Middle Ages / 5th-15th centuries AD) best-known for his magnum opus "Tales of Canterbury". This 24-stories collection was written in the period 1387-1400 when he was appointed Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace. These stories are critical descriptions of iconic characters of the British society (particularly the Church).

The vessel's construction (hull and superstructure, ENI number 7002119) was done at the Vahali Shipyard in Zasavica (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia). The 1923-founded Dutch shipbuilding company (Scheepswerf En Machinefabriek Vahali BV) owns and operates yards in Serbia (Belgrade, and Zasavica) and in Holland (Gendt). Vahali Shipyard Zasavica was officially opened in 2013. Following the construction in Serbia, the ship was towed to Holland for final outfitting at Scheepswerf Vahali (Gendt).

Note: You can see CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.