donnasworld

I am glad I am not the only one having problems with Scenic.

On December 11, 2020 I booked the cruise "Fire & Ocean: Russia’s Kamchatka & The Kurils" which is scheduled to depart July 13, 2023. On May 21, 2021, they sent me an email stating that there had been an "operational" change to my cruise. Four of the ports had been eliminated with three substitutions. I didn't think too much of it at the time because of other priorities.

On April 22, 2022 I contacted them to cancel the cruise due to the change in the itinerary. 

Here is where it gets interesting. I called the phone number for the Scenic USA customer service. It was a 30 minute wait. After explaining the situation I was advised that in order to request a refund I had to email "cancellations_us@scenicusa.com" and provide them with the cruise details and refund request. I did so stating that I was cancelling due to the revised itinerary.  I was told it would take 7-10 days to hear from them.

I did not get a response to my email from the cancellations department so I called Scenic customer service on June 1, 2022. After another 30 minute wait the customer service representative had me on hold while she tried to reach the department that handles the cancellations. After about another 30 minute wait I was provided with the email address of a person from the cancellations department and I requested my refund again. 

A few hours later I received an email from the cancellations department letting me know that I would be receiving a future cruise credit that would be good through the end of 2024. I immediately emailed Scenic back reiterating my request for a refund not the credit. I explained how the reason I was cancelling was due to the significant alteration of the itinerary. I also provided them with my phone number so that they could call me if they had any questions regarding my request.

I have not heard anything since. I do understand that under normal situations Scenic does not refund deposits. However, since they made significant changes to the itinerary I had booked I believe I am entitled to a full refund of my deposit. 

I have no interest in sailing with Scenic again. My next step will be to contact my credit card company although I am not sure if I have any recourse with them due to the time limitations.

I hope my experience with Scenic will be useful to those of you who might be considering them for future cruises.

Northern Aurora: The Bayview Pub had caught my interest from what I read on TripAdvisor. We most likely will check it out.

Kristy Misty 14: The Spruce Tip Ale was what originally caught my eye when hearing about the SBC. I am glad to see that you endorse this beer and will definitely try it while visiting Skagway.

Masterdrago: Thank you for your suggestions for Juneau and Ketchikan. The Timberline in particular looks like a good option.

Disneyochem: I am not very fond of Thai food but I appreciate your suggestion.

The Second Sister: Salt is on my short list in Juneau. I had seen the menu and the ginger salmon was the selection that most interested me. 

jb008: Yet another vote for Spruce Tip beer! Thank you for suggesting a restaurant in Anchorage I will check into it. We will not be spending a lot of time in Anchorage and some of that time is already reserved for visiting the Moose's Tooth Pizza which in case some of you are not acquainted with is a truly epic and one of a kind pizza.

I am very grateful to all of you for being so generous with your time and helping us out. We are off to Australia tomorrow so thank you in advance for anyone who continues to expand this thread.

Ava79: Thank you. I would never have thought about crepes in Alaska.

Suzanne123: That sounds like a good place for lunch after our hiking excursion. I think I will have the butternut squash wrap.

Martincath: We will be arriving in Vancouver late in the evening and one of the Japadog locations is only a three minute walk from our hotel. The problem with eating there may be choosing which hotdog to select. They have so many choices!

Eaglecw: The Hangar on the Wharf has a good menu and the prices are very reasonable for Alaska. The view seems very nice as well.

Northern Aurora: The Skagway restaurant is on our list for their beer but not sure about eating there. I believe they also have a BBQ restaurant. Since my wife is from the south and loves BBQ there is a good chance we will eat there.

I appreciate all of your recommendations and will be visiting some of the restaurants mentioned.

I know it wasn't in my original post but we will be in Sitka for a couple of days after our cruise ends before flying home. Any suggestions for dining in Sitka?

Thank you Super Crew Bear. I appreciate the suggestion but we will not be visiting Victoria. We sail out of Vancouver.

Kristy Misty 14: I will certainly consider your recommendation. Some of the best dining we have had have been on the more simple side as far as appearance goes.

Paula_ MacFan: I had looked at the Fish House and was considering it.

We are on a 14 day Alaska cruise on Oceania that will have late stays in several ports. My wife and I enjoy trying restaurants that offer a nice ambiance and good food while on a cruise. A good view would be a plus. It does not have to be a fancy restaurant. Since we have excursions during the day we are looking at evening dining options.  The ports where we will have late departures are Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway.

I looked for alternatives to  Air Luggage and found a company called Valizo that seems to offer the same service. The company is mentioned in the Visit Copenhagen web site. I am interested in having my luggage transferred from the cruise port to the airport.

I have read a lot of positive reviews about Air Luggage but none about Valizo. Is anyone familiar with this company?

A serious one, which I hope your company will pay attention to, as it may involve the health of Oceania guests and most certainly your employees.

I am currently sailing on the Sirena circumnavigating Australia. For the most part, the cruise has been wonderful with the exception of some logistical issues, but those are petty compared to the ones I would like to bring to your attention.

On the first day of our cruise, I worked out at the fitness center. I was on the treadmill when I started to choke on the cigarette smoke coming in from the smoking area, which for reasons unknown to the crew that I spoke with, is located less than 20 feet from the entrance to the fitness center. As I went through my workout I had no choice but to breathe cigarette smoke for the remaining 30 minutes of my workout. Afterwards, I spoke with the General Manager, who apologized profusely but informed me that the decision regarding allowing smoking on the ship was made by the management at Oceania headquarters. He said that regardless of his opinion or that of any Oceania employee on board, including the Captain, he was powerless to address my concerns. I likewise voiced my concerns to the Cruise Director, but she also told me there was nothing she could do.

I have now been on board the ship for three weeks with a just under two weeks to go on this cruise and these are my observations. There is a door at the entrance to the deck right by the smokers section that is supposed to stay closed but sometimes is left open, which was the case when I worked out the first time. The fitness center is thankfully free of cigarette smoke most of the time; however I have to breathe in the smoke almost every single time that I either go in or come out of the fitness center. Since I work out most days that is a lot of smoke that I am breathing in. Additionally, many times when we are exiting the ship for an excursion I smell cigarette smoke on the 4th floor. I do not know where this is coming from, but I have spoken with Oceania guests on the 4th floor, and they confirmed that they also smell cigarette smoke and that it may be coming from the doors marked crew. If this is cigarette smoke, then these passengers are even more susceptible to breathing second-hand smoke during our cruise.

Since I am not an expert on the perils of second-hand smoke, I cannot say for sure exactly how much of the smoke you have to breathe in before it damages the lungs, but I would imagine that the more you’re exposed, the worse it is for your health. This is not good news for some of your best passengers who have sailed 20, 30, or more times on Oceania. I can only say that I never want to smell cigarette smoke and in the general course of living my life, I try my best to avoid any contact with second-hand smoke.

Working in a smoke-filled workplace is obviously less than ideal working conditions for your crew members, who have no choice but to endure whatever environmental workplace Oceania management deems acceptable. I realize some of them are smokers, but I can only assume that some of them likely share my concerns for having to breathe in second-hand smoke as a daily part of their on board activities.

While on the subject of smoking, I have little knowledge about what constitutes safety at sea. However, I believe the probability of fire damage is increased by allowing cigarette smoking. Perhaps the risk is infinitesimally small with your current smoking policy, but wouldn’t it be even smaller if smoking were prohibited?

Before closing, there is one additional health concern that Iwould like to bring to your attention. As I am sure your management team knows, several ports on our Australia circumnavigation cruise have high instances of mosquitoes carrying a variety of diseases. Dengue Fever for example is highly prevalent in some of the ports on this cruise. I asked the Cruise Director why there were not more specific announcements made to warn passengers about these risks, and was told that she had not been instructed to make those statements. Fair enough. She is an employee of your company and is required to stick to whatever Oceania management decides should be disclosed to its guests. While I certainly agree that all passengers should be responsible for ensuringtheir own safety, I don’t see the harm in reminding passengers of the possibility of being exposed to potentially dangerous diseases such as DengueFever. In fairness, and to provide full disclosure, three years ago I was a passenger on Oceania sailing from Tahiti to New Zealand. When I arrived in Auckland I became sick and was diagnosed with Dengue Fever. According to the doctor that treated me, based on the typical incubation period for Dengue, I was likely bitten by a Dengue-carrying mosquito while our ship was in New Caledonia. I do not recall any mention of the risk of Dengue or any other disease while sailing on this cruise.

I certainly hope my concerns are brought to your attention. My spouse and I really enjoy being on your ships. We would just enjoy them more if the well-being of the passengers and crew were more highly prioritized then they currently appear to be. I sent customer relations an email noting my smoking concerns the last time I was on Oceania and received a brief reply that my concerns were noted and would be reviewed by management. Two years have gone by and nothing has changed. One passenger on this cruise, who has sailed on Oceania many more times than I have, suggested that I address my concerns directly to your attention.

I look forward to your response and hope that my concerns will receive proper attention. We really like Oceania and hope to sail with your company again soon. Hopefully, the next time we do sail, the air will be a lot cleaner.

We were scheduled to go on our first river cruise last month. We have previously been on several ocean cruises. The cruise was from Budapest to Bonn on Vantage although for this discussion, the cruise line itself is not relevant. As I started looking at the planned individual port itineraries they did not match what I was looking for, particularly the time in port. We like to research unique and off the beaten track places to visit on our travels as this is where we have had our most memorable experiences. On this itinerary, it was pretty much the highlights, which is certainly fine, but not what we were looking for. We also very much enjoy spending our evenings relaxing in quiet pubs or restaurants, preferably with nice views. This would not have been possible on this (or I guess any) cruise.

I then started to look at the costs of the cruise and compared it to what it would cost to do it on our own including adding visiting other nearby places that were not part of the cruise itinerary. I took into consideration that when we cruise we normally spend a few days before and after the cruise exploring the areas around the embarkation and disembarkation ports. Since this was a special occasion cruise (retirement) we had the luxury of having more time than we normally have when we travel.

I will not go into all the details but we decided to go for broke and spent six weeks in Europe. We stayed in nice places, mostly apartments but some hotels and spent about 3-4 days in each place including visiting almost all of the ports on our original itinerary plus adding places like Krakow (wonderful city!) and Munich. We travelled by train in some areas but also rented a car for about three weeks. We enjoyed late mornings in our apartment and late evenings in places like Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, and many more. We saw a lot and took our time doing it. We were able to do this for what it would have cost us to do the original two week cruise we had booked. Probably less because if we had gone on the cruise we would still have eaten out half of the time.

To be fair, this worked for us because of the type of activities we planned on doing and the fact that we were able to do them on our own. Sometimes this is not possible. As an example, we just booked a cruise on Oceania that will circumnavigate Australia. There is no way we could replicate this on our own and we are very excited about this cruise. We also have a cruise planned in Myanmar next year because we feel it would be much more complicated to do it on our own. Another factor is age and health. We are in our early sixties and in good health. I have no doubt that as we age or if health becomes an issue, a cruise like the one we had originally planned will be very attractive. However at this point in our lives and with all due respect for other points of view, for us, I believe there are much better options at least in Europe, than exploring by cruise ship.

Donna,

 

If you'd like, I'll include you on the Vantage 2014-2015 roll call listing. If you want me to add you, just respond with the name of the cruise you're taking and I'll add you to the list.

 

FuelScience

Thank you for asking. We are on the August 30, 2015 Majestic Rivers of Europe: Castles, Cathedrals & Fairytales.

I do believe it is dishonest advertising to include the overnight flight from the States as Day 1 and/or embarking the ship at 3:00 and remaining at dock overnight as Day 1 or 2. This being followed up by the final cruise day being having breakfast and departing the boat by 9. :mad:

I agree. We booked our first river cruise (Vantage) for August 30, 2015. Had I not inquired I would have assumed that we would be boarding the ship on August 30th but when I called I was told that they consider August 30th a travel day. We will be boarding the ship on August 31st. I guess that makes sense for customers who book their air with the cruise company but we are flying independently and traveling independently for a week prior to our cruise.

I guess experienced cruisers know better but for novice cruisers like us I wish it would have been spelled out clearly. I am not ready to call them dishonest but I do think they and other cruise lines could do a better job of presenting their itinerary more accurately.

I booked the Vantage Budapest to Bonn cruise late last year for August 30, 2015 (this cruise stops in Passau)and asked if Cesky would still be an option. I was reassured at the time of booking that it would be. I found out later by reading the 2015 Vantage catalogue that beginning in 2015 Cesky is no longer an option. The Passau walking tour is the only option. I suspect this is a cost cutting measure but I suppose it could have been due to lack of demand. In any case, we are still excited about the cruise and will visit Cesky at some other point.

I got a very nice response from Gustavo and booked the Humanitarian excursion while visiting Santo Tomas on January 21st. I believe the price was $99 with a 50% deposit payable by check or money order and submitted to an address in Georgia. There are no discounts for having a larger group but Gustavo indicated that he provides 35% of the proceeds as a donation to the community we will be visiting. That sounds wonderful to me.[/quote

So, how was your excursion? Would you recommend Gus? thanks!

 

Cinder Again,

 

Sorry for not responding earlier. Very busy with work. I looked at my post and understand your confusion. I should have made it clear that the excursion is booked for 2015.

We are on the August 31 2015 sailing which starts in Budapest. This will be our first trip with Vantage and first river cruise. Considered the pre and post cruise options but decided to do some independent travel. We are flying into Krakow for a few days then taking the night train to Budapest where we will stay for a few days before starting the cruise.

When we get to Bonn we plan on renting a car and exploring the Mosel River area and perhaps other nearby places. We had considered the pre-trip extension to Prague but decided against it partially because in researching we found that Prague can be very crowded in the summer. Also looked at the post trip extension to Amsterdam and decided that we like the idea of driving around in southern Germany more than a package tour to Amsterdam. We hope to visit Prague in the coming years but probably in the Spring or late Fall in order to avoid the crowds.

Bob,

I appreciate you reaffirming my suspicion that I should include Luang Prabang. By the way, we are on the Myanmar cruise that departs February 23, 2016.

The more I have looked into this itinerary, including the cruise, the more I am feeling that Vietnam and Cambodia is better suited for independent travel. This is true for Hanoi, where two days is not nearly enough and especially for Siem Reap. Many of the posts on Trip Advisor do not seem to recommend the Mekong area as much as they do other sites in the Viet Nam/Laos/Cambodia area. I realize this is very subjective but what my research has done is made me more comfortable about an area that I previously just assumed was not an easy one to navigate for first time travelers.

I also realize that if I decide to skip the cruise I miss out on the cruise experience but in this case, the tradeoff might be worth the effort. In any case, that is where I am. I plan on doing a comparison of how I would spend my 16 days versus the land/cruise itinerary, including looking at the costs involved which include the fact that I would be out a portion of my deposit, and then decide. If anyone is interested in my analysis please feel free to ask.

Thank you Bob. We are looking at spending about six weeks in this area visiting Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Possibly a taste of Laos as well based on what our research turns up. We love the idea of back to back (sort of) AMA cruises in Vietnam/Cambodia and Myanmar which will certainly be one of the highlights of this journey but believe we can enhance our experience with some additional independent travel. We will visit Thailand during the gap between the completion of our first cruise and the beginning of the second one during which we will have 6 nights. We realize this is ambitious and normally do not travel this way but in this case, we feel we will see a lot without being overly rushed.

We have booked the AMA Vietnam/Cambodia cruise for February 2016. After considering the land portion, we decided that we would do the land portion on our own because we did not feel sufficient time was allocated for Hanoi and Siem Reap (2 days each) both of which are must sees for us. We are not interested in visiting Halong Bay.

Our plan is to travel independently to Hanoi and spend 4 nights there then four nights in Siem Reap where we would meet the AmaLotus and start the 7 night cruise.

I should add that this is our first trip to south east Asia and more than likely, due to the age factor and the fact that there are so many other places we want to visit, chances are we will not return. As a matter of fact, we are doing a back to back with this cruise and the AMA cruise that visits Myanmar, thereby visiting most of the major areas in south east Asia that are of interest to us.

In researching this trip I have been quite impressed by what I have read about Luang Prabang in Laos. It seems to have many of the characteristics we have enjoyed in places we have visited during our travels. Would it be worth the logistical effort to sandwich a 4 night visit to Luang Prabang between our stays in Hanoi and Siem Reap?

I emailed Gus last week but did not receive any response. I am looking for options for doing the Humanitarian excursion in Santo Tomas. Since he is not being responsive does anyone have any recommendations for another guide?

I got a very nice response from Gustavo and booked the Humanitarian excursion while visiting Santo Tomas on January 21st. I believe the price was $99 with a 50% deposit payable by check or money order and submitted to an address in Georgia. There are no discounts for having a larger group but Gustavo indicated that he provides 35% of the proceeds as a donation to the community we will be visiting. That sounds wonderful to me.

We "tried" to use Gus in Puerto Quetzal, but my reservation somehow got lost. I e-mailed Gus and set up the tour to Antigua. He confirmed my reservation and I sent my deposit in a few weeks in advance. When we arrived--the people at his stand didn't have me listed that day.

 

I had my e-mail confirmation, but confusion ensued. They ended up putting my group of four with a taxi driver and sending us on our way. I was nervous given everything I had read about the traffic and crime in Guatemala. However, it turned out great. Our taxi/guide Hugo was great, and it was nice to have a small group.

 

Hugo drove us to a coffee plantation for a quick intro to coffee, then we had a more in depth tour at a macadamia nut farm (with samples and mac nut oil massages). Then we stopped in Santiago for Mayan crafts on our way to Antigua. Hugo gave a lot of history and information along the way and in Antigua. We had a great lunch too.

 

And traffic was not an issue at all. I meant to get Hugo's contact info, but didn't. However, I do highly recommend him if you can track him down through Gus or otherwise.

 

Otherwise, recommend you confirm your trip with Gus just before you travel to make sure you're on the list. Although we had a great tour, I felt we had paid a premium for Gus and didn't get what we paid for. So a little disappointed.

I emailed Gus last week but did not receive any response. I am looking for options for doing the Humanitarian excursion in Santo Tomas. Since he is not being responsive does anyone have any recommendations for another guide?

My wife and I are looking for some quiet activities. We do not drink alcohol and are not into all you can eat options. I like the idea of a quiet beach day and perhaps a walk around town although I was raised in a border town so that's not overly enticing. We have spent some time in Akumal and visited, and enjoyed Tulum so that is not an option. We do enjoy nature, cultural, and historical activities. If we were in port for a shorter period of time we would just pick a quiet resort but the fact that we are in port 15 hours makes this a dilemma. Any suggestions? I should add that we are not into water activities such as snorkeling, swimming, sailing, etc. We would consider a boat trip to a quiet beach location. For us a beach day is lounging around reading hearing the waves.

Stan,

Thanks for the additional information. It is very useful and will help us make our decision. If we drive to Krueger National Park from Cape Town how long would it take? We wouldn't be in any hurry and would prefer taking in the sights along the way. Would it be possible, or worth the effort, to make a loop and come back to Cape Town using a different route than the one that got us there?

Just a quick tip.

When you submit a post to a thread, there will be an edit button visible at the bottom of your post for about 15 ~ 20 minutes, so you could always edit the post to remove content, and could replace it with something like "Deleted content - wrong thread."

Thank you. New at this and still learning.

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my concern regarding my wife's migraines. It is very much appreciated. My wife has decided that she wants to go so we are looking at 2016 since we already have plans through the end of next year. The AMA cruise seems to have a lot of positives but we are considering other options such as doing a land tour or possibly flying to South Africa and doing a self-drive to an area like Krueger National Park. We won't see as much of Africa with the third option but I if I do the driving I can control, to a certain extent, the smoothness of the drive.

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my concern regarding my wife's migraines. It is very much appreciated. My wife has decided that she wants to go so we are looking at 2016 since we already have plans through the end of next year. The AMA cruise seems to have a lot of positives but we are considering other options such as doing a land tour or possibly flying to South Africa and doing a self-drive to an area like Krueger National Park. We won't see as much of Africa with the third option but I if I do the driving I can control, to a certain extent, the smoothness of the drive.

Sorry. I posted this in the wrong thread. I will repost. My apologies.

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my concern regarding my wife's migraines. It is very much appreciated. My wife has decided that she wants to go so we are looking at 2016 since we already have plans through the end of next year. The AMA cruise seems to have a lot of positives but we are considering other options such as doing a land tour or possibly flying to South Africa and doing a self-drive to an area like Krueger National Park. We won't see as much of Africa with the third option but I if I do the driving I can control, to a certain extent, the smoothness of the drive.

Very interested in this land/cruise journey to Africa but I have a question regarding the quality of the roads we will be riding on. My wife suffers from occasional migraines and a jolty ride might cause a migraine. Will you please elaborate on how rough the ride will be during the game drives?