TashiChino

The cynic in me thinks that the entire reason for the no compensation if you leave, is so they can say that the passengers made their choice about what they wanted to do, and we compensated in line with the our stated policy. The way the deal was offered I doubt many if any would have made the decision to just leave. Bottom line makes it much harder for anyone to sue them. Considering that a well run land tour in that area would run about $200-300 per person per day, you have lost out considerably on the value equation.

RDC1 we think alike.

From my perspective the worst part of your entire experience was "we were told by the cruise director that if we left and travelled under our own steam we would receive nothing from Scenic".

 

I cannot imagine a cruise line not willing to give you a refund for the unused days and then just allow you to do your own thing at own expense. After all they were refunding those days for the people being taken to Munich and then being flown home.

RDC1 that, and that we were only being informed at 7pm the night before each change was invoked. For instance our first night in Nuremburg they could (would?) not tell us which town we would be staying in 2 nights later. That uncertainty certainly removed pleasure from the trip, as well as feeling as though a lot of information was being withheld from us. Hence our enquiries to leave at that point.

taxare: we have now been advised we are eligible for 5 days insurance through the River Cruising Guarantee x $300 pp due to 'guest feedback' on a cruise that cost over $800 pp per day.

TashiChino,

 

I would appreciate clarification regarding the Scenic guarantee as I'm going next week. The guarantee says if they are unable to sail and they can't deliver on the excursions except by way of coach rides 3 hours each way or if they transfer you but your itinerary is delayed by more than 24 hours you are compensated. I am not sure I understand why you only received one day of guarantee? Thank you!

We are still waiting for an explanation from Scenic as well. If we receive one I'll post it. At this stage we haven't submitted the claim through Chubb as we are refusing to accept only one day.

Just like to give a heads up given our experience with Scenic earlier this month.

1. In my opinion there is probably no incentive for Scenic to cancel any cruises before embarkation because they would need to offer a refund. Once you've embarked the River Cruising Guarantee kicks in and so Scenic's only obligation is to provide a letter stating how many days you are eligible to claim under this insurance scheme.

2. In our case, once the boat could go no further, we were given 2 hours notice to decide if we were going to leave the cruise, stay on the moored boat for 4 nights and then transfer to another boat downstream somewhere, or the default option was to take buses and hotels. We were told the first night would be Nuremburg but were given no further information.

3. Those who elected to leave the cruise were taken to the nearest airport and flown home. This obviosly did not work for those with end of cruise plans. It was the option we would have preferred (second to outright notification at the start with a refund and option to rebook).

4. Those who stayed on the stationary boat were told they would get meals but no excursions. In fact the 6 couples got Portabellos and got the Degustation meal everyone else missed out on. They also got to use the e-bikes but after 4 nights had an 8 hour coach ride to join the rest of us.

5. Those who continued on coach and hotel had lengthy coach tours each day. We were fed. At lunch there was a set meal (usually potato salad and a meat, but on the 4th day we got mac and cheese). The hotels were big named hotels but the cheapest rooms. Felt for those who had booked suites on the boat and ended up in rooms where they had to pull the double bed out from the wall to get in. Before we left the boat, as a group we tried to ascertain what happens to the all inclusive on land. We were told they were working on it. We received one drink at lunch and at the first hotel were told that if we had anything from the mini-bar or bar it was at our own expense. If you didn't join the daily excursion lunch was at your own expense as well.

6. Under the River Cruising Guarantee we have been offered 1 day of interruption. Some people in other countries on our tour have received 5 days interruption.

The thing that stopped us from leaving the tour was being told that we would be flown home from Munich whereas we needed to get to the destination port. We wanted to use our return flights as they were but we were told by the cruise director that if we left and travelled under our own steam we would receive nothing from Scenic. We understood that to mean the River Cruising Guarantee as well. We are still attempting to clarify with Scenic if we were given the correct information.

We understand the tours with 2 nights off the boat have gone well. For whatever reason, there was no boat available for us to move to.

My only purpose for revealing all of this detail is so that people can insist on the answers we didn't get and be fully informed. We did want to see it as an adventure but I don't think anyone had the stamina for that at the end of the first day on a hot crowded bus when we were all a bit dehydrated.

Don't let this turn you off Scenic - many people have had good experiences. We just didnt.

If you notice in

 

 

RDC1 That was our concern. Although we are wondering which day they hae decided we missed out on activities. Obviously you are better off electing to leave the cruise, or stay on the moored boat where you get the all inclusive but no activities. If you took the default option of bus and hotel but chose not to go on the daily excursion you were responsible for your own meals at your own cost. All lunches and some dinners we were provided with off the boat were a single selection and barely edible - photos were sent to Scenic Australia while we were still on tour as evidence.

djh1959 I understand your concern and hesitation. I have no previous experience with the European rivers but hopefully others here could advise you what they are generally like in October, or perhaps somewhere you can access data to river heights and seeif if there is a correlation between July/August and the October of each year. Small peace of mind for you but the buses did have a toilet but I understand still uncomfortable.

TashiChino, that is a terrible offer. From my reading of the river cruise guarantee, you should be compensated for each day.

 

This is a cut and paste from the first page of their guarantee:

 

"Depending on the level of Your Scenic Tour, You will be paid up to a maximum of $1,000 for each full 24 hour period from the start of the delay or cancellation up to a maximum of $7,000 (or seven (7) consecutive 24 hour periods) or the originally scheduled end date of Your Scenic Tour, whichever is the lesser."

This clearly states that the payment is for each 24 hour period up to 7 days.

And the following is a cut and paste from the Terms and Conditions:

Amounts payable if You have been offered to terminate Your cruise and You decide to leave the ship: Deck Max Limit per day, amount payableJewel $400Sapphire $500Diamond $600Junior & Royal Suites $800Amounts payable if You have been offered to terminate Your cruise and You decide to remain on theship or if the incident is not likely to be protracted:Deck Max Limit per day, amount payableJewel $200Sapphire $250Diamond $300Junior & Royal Suites $400

 

Your $300 is correct for Diamond Deck but it definitely states per day.

 

These documents apparently apply to Australian residents. Are you from Australia? If not, I suppose that there may be different rules, but it would be totally unfair if it was much different to this.

 

Hopefully we will shortly be hearing from you stating that Scenic have been a little more generous.

Thanks djh1959, we are Australian, and those Australians we have been in contact with who elected to join the buses have also only been offered one day also. We are all feeling very let down by this. We have heard from someone from another country that they have received an offer of 5 days so are seeking clarification from Scenic in the hope there has been an error against us. We would hate to see others lose their 5 days though.

Whilst this all occurred on day 7 of our 15 day cruise, those who elected to leave have only been offered 6 days.

TashiChino I hope you won't mind posting the compensation once Scenic lets you know.

 

We are booked for next year and I have read the River Cruise Guarantee. It obviously has different compensation levels depending on deck and cabin choice. I can't work out whether the amounts referred to in the guarantee are per cabin or per person. Hopefully per person, or everyone would still be very out of pocket.

I am completely bamboozled by the River Guarantee now. For the 5 days/4 nights off the boat we have been offered 1 days interruption which comes to $300 pp in our cabin, on the Diamond Deck. I believe people in more expensive cabins will receive marginally more.

Notamermaid, that was the catch for most people. We were told that if we elected to leave the cruise we would be taken to the nearest airport and flown home which would disrupt those with future travel plans. At this point Scenic do not appear to be attempting to nurture future relationships and build a customer base.

We were due to board Scenic Ruby in late July in Budapest but were advised we would be joining the Scenic Pearl instead. Wondering if anyone can confirm the whereabouts of the Ruby in late July/early August. Heard she was stuck in low water near Regensburg.

TAshiChino, did Scenic offer any compensation for riding 5 days on a bus instead of cruising? What types of motels were used? THanks. We leave next month for the Amsterdam to Budapest route and now having some concerns how we will be treated if low water conditions continue.

No. No compensation has been offered yet. They do however have their cruise guarantee policy which is an insurance policy which pays a set amount per day of interruption for continuing on a bus, or staying on the moored boat with meals but no planned excursions, or a set amount for leaving the cruise early. Neither option provides full compensation for the interruption and there was no option for negotiation prior to deciding which way we were going to go. Our cruise was given 2 hours notification to decide whether to stay on the stationary boat, continue by bus or leave the cruise.

We, along with many guests were very disappointed in the conditions off the boat. Hoping that the feedback we, and others, are giving to Scenic will improve the experience for others in the future.

Hopefully the season will turn and there will be water in the river for your trip...if not, insist on frank answers to your questions.

Have just returned from a Scenic cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. We were meant to be on the Scenic Ruby but this was changed to the Scenic Pearl. We weren't told why but are presuming Ruby was either stuck in a low level of river or there was a mechanical problem. If anyone has further information we would appreciate it. We left Budapest on 31 July and made it to just South of Passau where we were informed that we couldn't get any further. We spent 5 days/4 nights on buses and in motels before joining the Scenic Jade in Andernach for our final 3 nights to Amsterdam.