Scenic Eclipse. Any Seabournites interested?

Some bad news received from my TA today.

The launch of Eclipse has been delayed from August 31st 2018, to ‘late January 2019’.

Disappointment for some i’m sure.

A while back my TA urged caution regarding Encore - I am glad I listened.

Some bad news received from my TA today.

 

The launch of Eclipse has been delayed from August 31st 2018, to ‘late January 2019’.

 

Disappointment for some i’m sure.

 

A while back my TA urged caution regarding Encore - I am glad I listened.

Oh wow, that would be incredibly disappointing if one already had a booking on this ship!

What was the caution that your TA mentioned regarding Encore?

Fortunately, the sailing I have booked on Scenic will not be affected by the delay. Fingers crossed there's not another one.

Unlike Wripro, my sailing has been affected by the Scenic Eclipse delay. My cruise is cancelled and I am in the process of getting refunds for the cruise and business class airfares. Extremely disappointing but these things happen. The shipyard has been in trouble for a long time and given the problems at the start of the year, it would have been a miracle for the ship to be ready.

Unfortunately Scenic has failed to grasp that cruises are not just a "business" but they represent guests dreams. Many of us have been booked for well over a year, with all of the anticipation and investment (financial and otherwise) that goes with lengthy planning. The compensation offered, 25% off a future cruise, is completely inadequate given that many off us booked at "early bird" rates and now are faced with re-booking at full fares in most cases.

I get that things happen beyond the control of cruise companies and I am sure this isn't a fun time for Scenic management. How they choose to manage customer recovery is completely within their control though, and hope Scenic quickly gets a handle on that.

I get that things happen beyond the control of cruise companies and I am sure this isn't a fun time for Scenic management. How they choose to manage customer recovery is completely within their control though, and hope Scenic quickly gets a handle on that.

Like you, my Scenic Eclipse cruise (Cuba circumnavigation - October) was also canceled. What a big bummer, after booking well over a year ago. We have yet to get the full details from our TA. A 5-month delay seems really unusual, as they 'launched' the ship into the water a while ago. We had such hopes for this cruise/yacht.

Like you, my Scenic Eclipse cruise (Cuba circumnavigation - October) was also canceled. What a big bummer, after booking well over a year ago. We have yet to get the full details from our TA. A 5-month delay seems really unusual, as they 'launched' the ship into the water a while ago. We had such hopes for this cruise/yacht.

Not sure if you are aware there is a specific thread for the Scenic Eclipse. It is under "Other Cruise Lines" and Scenic have been responding to various posts. You might find it of some interest. I agree that a 5 month delay is unusual, and given that long delay, advice of cancellation of the first cruise with just 2 month's notice is very bad. They must have known about the strong likelihood of a delay well before now. The absence of updates on their website since January was a "red flag".

Not sure if you are aware there is a specific thread for the Scenic Eclipse. It is under "Other Cruise Lines" and Scenic have been responding to various posts. You might find it of some interest. I agree that a 5 month delay is unusual, and given that long delay, advice of cancellation of the first cruise with just 2 month's notice is very bad. They must have known about the strong likelihood of a delay well before now. The absence of updates on their website since January was a "red flag".

The "red flag" to me was that at least in the U.S. last year and early this year, the website for a supposed luxury line that deals with mostly affluent people whose time is valuable, was chaotic and inefficient for coherent back and forth searches on various devices I have, and did not get any better as months went by. I thought it would be exciting to be on a ship the first year it launched, and was considering making some compromises (like not having a bathtub in a base suite). ButI worried that customer service, if something went wrong, would be as bad as the website, and that they hadn't made it classier because they were understaffed, or perhaps had enough business with Aussie pax and thus did not bother with the U.S. much.

My TA had also previously tried to book a Scenic river cruise for me through them and they were so difficult to deal with, again, in U.S., that I told her to skip it.

So many companies, be they airlines or software, rush rush to get their new products out with unrealistic deadlines, and then have to deal with the messes they create in the products and do patch jobs, and the ill will with customers (e.g., my pre-purchased British Airways long-haul flight was cancelled less than a week before a cruise, probably due to engine design concerns) .

Perhaps unfairly, I also worry that subtle safety corners might be cut to finally get the show on the road.

I am glad I did not book, and empathise with those whose holidays have to be seriously rearranged (especially if you bought advance long-haul airline tickets)

The "red flag" to me was that at least in the U.S. last year and early this year, the website for a supposed luxury line that deals with mostly affluent people whose time is valuable, was chaotic and inefficient for coherent back and forth searches on various devices I have, and did not get any better as months went by. I thought it would be exciting to be on a ship the first year it launched, and was considering making some compromises (like not having a bathtub in a base suite). ButI worried that customer service, if something went wrong, would be as bad as the website, and that they hadn't made it classier because they were understaffed, or perhaps had enough business with Aussie pax and thus did not bother with the U.S. much.

My TA had also previously tried to book a Scenic river cruise for me through them and they were so difficult to deal with, again, in U.S., that I told her to skip it.

So many companies, be they airlines or software, rush rush to get their new products out with unrealistic deadlines, and then have to deal with the messes they create in the products and do patch jobs, and the ill will with customers (e.g., my pre-purchased British Airways long-haul flight was cancelled less than a week before a cruise, probably due to engine design concerns) .

Perhaps unfairly, I also worry that subtle safety corners might be cut to finally get the show on the road.

 

I am glad I did not book, and empathise with those whose holidays have to be seriously rearranged (especially if you bought advance long-haul airline tickets)

We did a River Cruise with Scenic way back in about 2008......their Head Office, in Oz, for an Aussie, was very difficult to deal with! It seems that, that area of their Business has not improved! However, once we stepped on board the River boat, it was a different matter completely. Crew were brilliant, and I remarked at the time, that any of them were equal to our Seabourn crew.

The Eclipse passengers I mostly feel for now, are the ones who will "maybe", be on the very first Scenic Eclipse cruise. Until late January, anyone who is already booked, will be getting a refund and discounts etc etc.....time will tell if those benefits are good enough BUT....if the cruise goes ahead late January, for the very first cruise, it will be to Antarctica! I know I certainly would not want to be on the very first cruise, in a brand new ship, with a brand new crew, to a very dangerous and isolated place like Antarctica! To go to that part of the World, I would like a tried and true ship and crew. Before these Antarctic cruises were to take place, Scenic Eclipse was supposed to be in much safer areas for a couple of months....any problems would have been able to be sorted out.....I really hope the entire Antarctic season will end up being cancelled for this season!

 

The "red flag" to me was that at least in the U.S. last year and early this year, the website for a supposed luxury line that deals with mostly affluent people whose time is valuable, was chaotic and inefficient for coherent back and forth searches on various devices I have, and did not get any better as months went by.

 

)

I'm in the UK and have struggled with the website since it was launched. Like you, using different devices. iPad, MacbookAir, PC, it's clunky on all of them.

I think the long delay was partly to insure that they had enough time to finish the build without yet another delay later. It sort of makes sense to get the ship to Antarctica and start there, then pick up the itineraries as they were previously.

Oh wow, that would be incredibly disappointing if one already had a booking on this ship!

 

What was the caution that your TA mentioned regarding Encore?

My TA pointed out the issues that were perhaps self evident to some ie - an operator, who had never previously operated an ocean going vessel, was planning a new build expedition ship to some of the most challenging areas of the globe, complete with some previously untested features such as submarines & helicopters. In addition I believe that there were rumours regarding the stability of the ship builder way before they crashed.

My attitude to risk is not that high so I chose not to be a guinea pig on this occasion.

My TA pointed out the issues that were perhaps self evident to some ie - an operator, who had never previously operated an ocean going vessel, was planning a new build expedition ship to some of the most challenging areas of the globe, complete with some previously untested features such as submarines & helicopters. In addition I believe that there were rumours regarding the stability of the ship builder way before they crashed.

 

My attitude to risk is not that high so I chose not to be a guinea pig on this occasion.

Sorry, still not clear. Perhaps it was a typo when you mentioned in your first post that your TA cautioned against 'Encore' which is a Seabourn ship?

Because it was a separate paragraph I assumed you had gone to a different topic and did mean Encore but reading again I think you were actually referring to the Esprit ship, just a typo?

Unlike Wripro, my sailing has been affected by the Scenic Eclipse delay. My cruise is cancelled and I am in the process of getting refunds for the cruise and business class airfares. Extremely disappointing but these things happen. The shipyard has been in trouble for a long time and given the problems at the start of the year, it would have been a miracle for the ship to be ready.

 

Unfortunately Scenic has failed to grasp that cruises are not just a "business" but they represent guests dreams. Many of us have been booked for well over a year, with all of the anticipation and investment (financial and otherwise) that goes with lengthy planning. The compensation offered, 25% off a future cruise, is completely inadequate given that many off us booked at "early bird" rates and now are faced with re-booking at full fares in most cases.

 

I get that things happen beyond the control of cruise companies and I am sure this isn't a fun time for Scenic management. How they choose to manage customer recovery is completely within their control though, and hope Scenic quickly gets a handle on that.

Sorry to read this. I would be so disappointed plus the hassle of having to change plans at such short notice too. Hopefully you'll find an excellent replacement for this cruise.

Sorry, still not clear. Perhaps it was a typo when you mentioned in your first post that your TA cautioned against 'Encore' which is a Seabourn ship?

Because it was a separate paragraph I assumed you had gone to a different topic and did mean Encore but reading again I think you were actually referring to the Esprit ship, just a typo?

Apologies - Mea culpa !! :o:o

I was of course talking about Scenic Eclipse all along but somehow Encore must have entered my mind.

Thank you for pointing this out.

Apologies - Mea culpa !! :o:o

 

I was of course talking about Scenic Eclipse all along but somehow Encore must have entered my mind.

 

Thank you for pointing this out.

No problem at all, it only occurred to me when I read it again this morning that perhaps it had been a typo!

It appears that Scenic may take over a missed niche that SB once had. Great thread!

Just wanted to come back to this thread to update. Scenic has been going through its refund process and promised to reimburse all reasonable expenses associated with the cancelled Eclipse cruises. Well surprise, surprise. They are not fully refunding airfares. Other guests are reporting shortfalls in their refunds elsewhere on cruise critic. I my case I am out of pocket on the exchange rate they have used on the non refundable portion of the airfares, and they are refusing to refund the credit card fees paid to the airline. Only a few hundred AUD in total, but it shows how little Scenic regards its guests. To those of us used to excellent customer service and "the Seabourn way", stay well clear of Scenic as you are likely to be disappointed.

What a complete public relations disaster. It seems Scenic has learned little after the class action of a few years ago related to complaints about their river ships.