UK-based company Riviera River Cruises - Scylla's main riverboat charterer - announced that all passengers boarding its ships when European river cruises restart will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID or will have to present a negative test before travel.
Travellers who are not fully vaccinated will be offered a complimentary test to allow them to depart on the cruise. The requirements also apply to the crew, who will have additional daily temperature checks along with ongoing health screenings.
Under the new policy, passengers will be required to have had all doses of a COVID vaccine, with the final dose a minimum of 7 days prior to departure. Those who test positive before their voyage will be allowed to transfer the departure to another date for free.
Riviera River Cruises previously announced flexible customer care policies including free changes to new bookings, COVID Cancellation Protection, as well as a happiness guarantee in which travellers who are not satisfied by the second day of the cruise will be brought home with a refund for the trip and any change fees or fare increases from the original airline ticket paid by the company.
Additional health and safety protocols aboard Riviera ships include passenger health screening and luggage sanitization, social distancing in public areas, daily temperature checks, continuous cleaning of public areas and touch points, deep cleaning and ventilation between voyages, full waiter service in restaurants and lounges, quarantine periods and medical checks for all new crew. Masks/face coverings may also be required while moving around ships or on shore excursions.
Riviera River Cruises offers twenty itineraries on ten rivers and waterways, of which dedicated departures for solo travellers with no single supplement.