This ship does not exist yet
Say it right away. The ms Reverie enters service in 2027. She is not
delivered, she does not sail, and no photograph of the finished hull is in
circulation. Our inventory nonetheless carries forty-five departures in her
name, all in 2027.
That does not make booking illegitimate: a river cruise is commonly sold two
years ahead, and the ship is announced by the operator as the sister of a hull
already in service since March 2026. It does mean that what you book rests on a
plan, not on a visit.
What is announced, and what is not
Announced: the Seine as her ground, 124 travellers, a hull twinned with the
one christened in Paris in the spring of 2026. Not published: the building
yard, the exact dimensions, the number of decks, the number of cabins and the
European hull number.
One specialist source announces this ship for 2026. That is wrong. Two
concurring sources, including the operator itself, give 2027. An announcement
date is not an entry-into-service date, and the difference is counted in
seasons.
A useful caution: until delivery, have the entry-into-service date confirmed
in writing before committing to a non-refundable flight.
The other ships in the fleet
The ms Serene is her sister ship, already in service on the Seine. The ms Sapphire holds the
same river on an older hull. The ms Lumière is the 2026 newbuild on the Rhone. The ms Saudade
also enters service in 2027, on the Douro.
Who owns this ship
Not the tour operator. Tauck owns no hull in Europe: the fourteen ships we
sell under its colours belong to Scylla AG, a Swiss shipowner based in Basel,
and are chartered to it exclusively.
This is not an accounting detail. In 2026 the shipowner took one of these
hulls back for its own cruise brand. The ship changed name and company, and
the operator could do nothing about it. A charter is renewed; it is not
owned.
What is included and what is not
This operator goes further than most. Gratuities to the ship's staff, to
local guides and to the cruise director are included in the fare. So are the
shore excursions, all of them, and none is sold as an option aboard.
Transfers and luggage handling follow.
On board the ship, house wine, beer and standard spirits are included all
day. Ashore, in a hotel or an outside restaurant, the rule does not
necessarily follow.
The international flight to the starting point is not included, nor the air
taxes that go with it. Internet access is provided in a basic form, where
available: that is the operator's own wording and it deserves to be read as
written.
Accessibility: read this before booking
The operator writes in plain terms that its European river itineraries
cannot accommodate wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Narrow hallways,
unavoidable stairs, difficult ground on excursions. This is not a stylistic
caution, it is a refusal.
It adds that it provides no walking assistance and no help at meals, and
that anyone needing such help must travel with an able companion. It also
reserves the right to require a doctor's certificate of fitness. Mobility
scooters are barred from every one of its trips, river or not.
No number of adapted cabins is published, for any ship of this fleet,
neither by the operator nor by the shipowner. We can therefore promise
nothing, and we will not.
Booking this trip from Quebec
This operator's contract designates the law of the State of Connecticut and
the courts of that state. It provides for no arbitration, but it has you waive
class action and punitive damages. The only registration it publishes is
Californian. Nothing establishes that it holds a Quebec licence.
Your protection therefore comes from here. Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence
from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, your payments move
through a trust account, and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel
Agents covers your file as the law provides.
