MS Jane Austen

The 2015-built MS Jane Austen cruise ship offers cruises mostly on Moselle River (in Holland) and on Europe's largest rivers - Danube and Rhine. The riverboat is owned by the Swiss company Scylla Cruises and between 2015-2020 exclusively chartered by the UK cruisetour company Riviera Travel. Since 2020, the vessel is also operated under charter by VIVA Cruises (Scylla-owned subsidiary and travel brand).

Shipboard facilities and amenities

The riverboat Jane Austen 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 (lobby area) passengers walk into Panorama Lounge (Bar Lounge) with floor-ceiling windows, comfortable seating, full-service Bar) and bow-located Lido Terrace (with small outdoor seating).

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-style 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 stairs (forward, midship and aft), including a grand staircase in the Atrium.

On Sun Deck are located deckgames area (Giant Chess Set, Mini-Golf Putting Green), shaded seating areas (covered by retractable awnings and surrounded by Walking Track), aft Pool Deck (Splash Pool, Jacuzzi Whirlpool, sunbathing area with loungers and deckchairs), fore-located Alfresco Lounge (with full bar service from Panorama Lounge on Upper Deck)). The fore-located Navigation Bridge (called "Wheelhouse" on riverboats) is passenger accessible and telescopic (lowered when the ship passes under low bridges).

Cabins

MS Jane Austen has a total of 74 staterooms for up to 148 passengers. 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 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 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.

The vessel's construction (hull and superstructure, ENI number 07002009) 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 cruise 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.