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Ship comparison

Sapphire vs Viking Beyla

Tauck River Cruises

Sapphire

Cruises
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The verdict

Which should you choose?

Sapphire is an intimate Tauck River Cruises ship carrying 98 passengers, in service since 2008. Viking Beyla is an intimate Viking River Cruises ship carrying 98 passengers, in service since 2015.

Choose Sapphire if you want a more romantic trip, more culture or better-rated dining: it outscores Viking Beyla for romantic (9.0 vs 6.0), cultural (9.5 vs 7.0) and dining (8.5 vs 7.0) in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores.

Choose Viking Beyla if you want more space per passenger, a better-rated spa and gym or a newer ship: it outscores Sapphire for spa & fitness (5.0 vs 3.5) in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores, it has 40.8 gross tons per passenger (vs 20.4) and its maiden voyage was in 2015 (vs 2008).

Side by side

Specifications

marks the better figure where more, or less, is plainly better.

SapphireViking Beyla
Cruise line Tauck River Cruises Viking River Cruises
Ship size Intimate Intimate
Maiden voyagenewer highlighted 2008 2015 (better)
Last refurbishedmore recent highlighted 2017 —
Gross tonnage 2,000 4,000
Passengers 98 98
Crew 36 28
Passengers per crew memberfewer is better 2.7 (better) 3.5
Space per passengergross tons per passenger; more is roomier 20.4 40.8 (better)
Decks 4 2
Length 361 ft 361 ft
Beam 37 ft 36 ft
Speed — 17 mph
Cruiseable ratingout of 10 9 / 10 9 / 10
Cruises on sale — 4
Upcoming sailings — 101
Cruise lengths — 9 nights
Fares fromlower highlighted — $3,499

Bliss scores

How they rate, out of 10

Cruiseable rates ships out of 10 on ten parts of a cruise holiday. Sapphire leads on 5 of the ten, Viking Beyla on 2, with 3 level.

  • Active Sapphire: 7.0 Viking Beyla: 7.0
  • Adventure & nature Sapphire: 5.0 Viking Beyla: 5.0
  • Cultural Sapphire: 9.5 Viking Beyla: 7.0
  • Dining Sapphire: 8.5 Viking Beyla: 7.0
  • Entertainment Sapphire: 4.5 Viking Beyla: 5.0
  • Family friendly Sapphire: 4.0 Viking Beyla: 3.0
  • Party Sapphire: 3.0 Viking Beyla: 3.0
  • Romantic Sapphire: 9.0 Viking Beyla: 6.0
  • Spa & fitness Sapphire: 3.5 Viking Beyla: 5.0
  • Staterooms Sapphire: 8.0 Viking Beyla: 7.0

Tauck River Cruises

Sapphire

The river cruise ship ms Sapphire from Tauck glitters along the waters of the River Seine as it explores France's from its rural villages to Normandy’s beaches and Monet’s Giverny.

Questions

Sapphire or Viking Beyla?

Which is bigger, Sapphire or Viking Beyla?

Viking Beyla is bigger at 4,000 gross tons, against 2,000 gross tons for Sapphire. Sapphire carries 98 passengers and Viking Beyla carries 98.

Which ship is newer, Sapphire or Viking Beyla?

Viking Beyla is newer, with a maiden voyage in 2015 against 2008 for Sapphire.

Which has more space per passenger?

Viking Beyla, with 40.8 gross tons per passenger against 20.4 on Sapphire. The higher the figure, the more ship there is for each guest.

Which has more crew per passenger?

Sapphire, with one crew member for every 2.7 passengers against one for every 3.5 on Viking Beyla.

Which is better for families?

Sapphire scores higher for family friendliness in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores: 4.0 out of 10, against 3.0 for Viking Beyla.

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