Scenic Eclipse

[Marty156]

Wise & Lucky member!

[Still waiting for any refund from that mob since 2013!]

 

Best advise to anyone else?

 

RUN away as fast as yer legs can go!!

 

 

[rojaan19]

https://www.total-croatia-news.com/business/34817-shipyard

 

Shipyard Workers Back on Strike, Block Shipyard Gates

The gates to Uljanik will be blocked until further notice, until such time that a solution for the shipyard is found," he said, adding that they would not allow subcontractors working on a cruiwe ship to enter the shipyard either.

 The head of the striking committee, Boris Cerovac,  said  We have also written to the Scenic group, owner of the polar discovery cruise ship, asking for patience. We are behind deadlines but workers cannot work if they are hungry," he said.

[Expat Cruise]

Really for those guests who still believe and support Scenic what will it take for you to see the truth? This is a company that is in major financial trouble, and is fighting battles on many fronts. At this point the future is very clear no way they can win all the battles they are in and losing one will be the end to the house of cards that is Scenic. Anyone who stays with them should lose your money, because everything has been done to warn you and you still will not listen. Scenic is a dying cruise line built on a house of cards, that will fall like they all do.

[dougo in oz]

On 3/21/2019 at 1:04 PM, rojaan19 said:

We were booked on the 15 August 2019 Reykjavik to Quebec cruise,  we booked 3 years ago.  Originally  our cruise would have been  a year after launching.   Now it is the "first" cruise.  My husband has been  watching the shipyard and the Croatian news,  and we decided early this month  to cancel  our cruise.  Our  TA has been  great.   Today  we were notified  of  a FULL refund in less than   week,    we still think  that the Eclipse  will not sail  in  August.

To those who do not like negative comments ... those of us who post about the reality of this company / situation  and only seem to want to hear good news stories.

When I read rojann's post (above)  I thought there was something not quite right about ST giving a full refund several months out from the sail date.  Normally their T&C do not allow for refunds ... so why now?

Well you have your answer ... a strike at the ship yard which clearly ST knew about and knew it would impact negatively on any sailing date in August.

What I would like to know is if Scenic Tours has been sent you or your agent any communication to explain the new issues with the ship yard?

My guess is "no they have not".

Sure ... keep being in fairies and angel dust and do so at your own risk .... ignore those of us who really know what this company is truly like based on our experience.  Good luck.

Edited March 24, 2019 by dougo in oz

[delmar2011]

 For months I followed Scenic Eclipse on Croatian websites and translated as needed. I believe that Scenic had the best of intentions but found themselves in a very sad, trying, and unfortunate situation. Honesty is always the best policy.  When travelers place  deposits two  to three years in advance of a sailing, the very least a cruise line owes them is complete transparency. 

 

Here is the latest:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20598-former-uljanik-executives-arrested.html

 

 

Wishing you all well,

Delmar

 

[Expat Cruise]

With 24 executives of the shipyard now charged with fraud, good luck seeing this ship ever come out of the shipyard.  Because of the criminal case ownership of the ship can be questioned.  So even if the cruise line has complete proof it owns the ship, it could be tied up for years in court. Criminal cases in this part of the World are not fast, they move very slow. 

 

The ship is a hard asset with value that was produced in the shipyard, since fraud is involved all those owed money can make claims against it. Yes someday the ship will be cruising but the odds of it cruising for Scenic are very low at this point.  In all likely hood the ship will be ruled a asset of the yard and sold at public auction. Scenic does not have the cash on hand to pay for the ship again at auction. 

 

 

[Carol From California]

Just found this article: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20604-scenic-turns-up-pressure-on-uljanik.html

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

With 24 executives of the shipyard now charged with fraud, good luck seeing this ship ever come out of the shipyard.  Because of the criminal case ownership of the ship can be questioned.  So even if the cruise line has complete proof it owns the ship, it could be tied up for years in court. Criminal cases in this part of the World are not fast, they move very slow. 

 

The ship is a hard asset with value that was produced in the shipyard, since fraud is involved all those owed money can make claims against it. Yes someday the ship will be cruising but the odds of it cruising for Scenic are very low at this point.  In all likely hood the ship will be ruled a asset of the yard and sold at public auction. Scenic does not have the cash on hand to pay for the ship again at auction. 

 

This must make you very happy.  Meanwhile, some of us are still hoping to sail on this wonderful ship some day.  But clearly nothing Scenic could ever do or plan would change your desire to 'exterminate, exterminate, exterminate'...

 

[Expat Cruise]

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

This must make you very happy.  Meanwhile, some of us are still hoping to sail on this wonderful ship some day.  But clearly nothing Scenic could ever do or plan would change your desire to 'exterminate, exterminate, exterminate'...

 

No does not make me happy, it makes me mad that people who are smart enough to earn a life style that these kinds of cruises can afford them can be so stupid when it comes to Scenic Cruises. It is crystal clear that everyone should stay as far away from this company as they can.

 

But if some die hard fans of the line still want to drink the kool-aid being offered then they will get what they have earned.  So the fools can keep dreaming of cruising on this pie in the sky cruise line, and get what you have earned. My posts are not for you it is for the new guests looking at this line so they will stay far away.

 

Yes after what they did to guests in Europe on fake luxury cruises that became nothing more than over priced bus trips, and the lying about this ship, Scenic Cruises should be out of business. 

[dougo in oz]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

This must make you very happy.  Meanwhile, some of us are still hoping to sail on this wonderful ship some day.  But clearly nothing Scenic could ever do or plan would change your desire to 'exterminate, exterminate, exterminate'...

 

 

I agree with Expat Cruise's remarks above ... I know I've posted about ST and to be wary of them, and that some on this board did not appreciate that.

However I feel a duty of care to write about issues - to be forewarned is to be forearmed.  

In this case the tell tale signs have been there for ages with this ship ... sad but true.

I truly hope everyone gets their money back ... or sails on the sail date for which they have left their hard earned $$ as a deposit.  And I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you you will sail as per your booking ... but in all honesty the odds do not look great.

[drron29]

I am not too sure how you can blame Scenic for the problems apart from the fact that they chose to build in Croatia.Hopeless and possibly corrupt management at the yards,strikes etc.By getting their own subcontractors Scenic have done about as much as they can to get the Eclipse finished.Also if it isn't finished there is a Government guaranteed payout to Scenic.

The other vessel nearing completion is a dredge and the owners are negotiating to get it finished elsewhere.That probably should be what Scenic needs to consider.

 

You certainly can criticise Scenic for the lack of timely updates on the progress of the Eclipse.Also for continuing to sell cruises that are at great danger of not sailing.However we were booked on the August 14th cruise and 2 weeks ago decided to pull the pin.A full refund was in my account 8 days after the request.So I can't fault Scenic on that score.

 

However anyone on the Eclipse 2 I really don't think those cruises are going to happen.It seems that there is little chance of the Uljanik shipyards having an ongoing future.

[Lord Haw Haw]

36 minutes ago, drron29 said:

I am not too sure how you can blame Scenic for the problems apart from the fact that they chose to build in Croatia.Hopeless and possibly corrupt management at the yards,strikes etc.By getting their own subcontractors Scenic have done about as much as they can to get the Eclipse finished.Also if it isn't finished there is a Government guaranteed payout to Scenic.

The other vessel nearing completion is a dredge and the owners are negotiating to get it finished elsewhere.That probably should be what Scenic needs to consider.

 

You certainly can criticise Scenic for the lack of timely updates on the progress of the Eclipse.Also for continuing to sell cruises that are at great danger of not sailing.However we were booked on the August 14th cruise and 2 weeks ago decided to pull the pin.A full refund was in my account 8 days after the request.So I can't fault Scenic on that score.

 

However anyone on the Eclipse 2 I really don't think those cruises are going to happen.It seems that there is little chance of the Uljanik shipyards having an ongoing future.

 

It is sad that your comments associate blame to a country rather than thinking possibly Scenic should have show due diligence in its tender process and chosen a shipyard with a track record of completing the type of ship they desire within time and cost restraints of the contract rather than the cheapest quote, this is the core of the problem. 

[Marty156]

From bitter experience Scenic always goes for the cheapest and most underhanded methods in business.

They do not care about their customers in the slightest!

Its all about money, and how to avoid paying out any if at all possible!

 

[OceanPatter]

I’ve just jumped back onto this thread, as I haven’t received any updates from cruisecritic. I can’t believe the ‘launch’ has slipped past June ... to August  or later. Unbelievable.

 

And people still think this ship has a future??

[Expat Cruise]

On 1/25/2018 at 7:06 AM, boccenana said:

 

 

Thanks for that update. I was wondering if they got the loan. Certainly takes the edge off.

:)

The loan is only damage control. If they do not find a investor and they will not find one..... this yard will end up in Bankruptcy. As for the cruise ship under construction, the chances of it ever cruising under Scenic or slim at best. At this point a race to see if the Scenic can even stay in business..... Remember the very large class action lawsuit they have already lost.

 

[Marty156]

Oh, the ship & the company both have a future.......

One for  locating a suitable residence on the bottom of the harbour, the other as an anchor!

[boccenana]

We were LUCKY to have our April 9th 23 day cruise cancelled. We did get all our money back, every cent. Scenic even paid our TA her commission. It was incredibly stressful that whole year wondering what the hell was going to happen. Many plans where really screwed up.

We had to wait for them to cancel before we went to plan B which I had researched just in case.

Turned out we had a magnificent cruise to NZ, southern and western Australia ( home of Scenic) and Bali on the Silversea, Silver Muse. SILVERSEA NEVER DISAPPOINTS. You can call them and actually talk to helpful knowledgable people.

There are a lot of these "boutique " small ships being built. Competition is a wonderful thing. 🤑

 

On 8/8/2018 at 3:09 AM, theozcouple said:

Hi everyone, we are on this cruise too, along with my wife's parents. Second Silversea cruise and can't wait.

 

I am also looking to play golf in Fremantle as one of the shore excursions. Look forward to meeting you.

 

James and Louise from Sydney

 

[Mistinguett]

59 minutes ago, boccenana said:

We were LUCKY to have our April 9th 23 day cruise cancelled. We did get all our money back, every cent. Scenic even paid our TA her commission. It was incredibly stressful that whole year wondering what the hell was going to happen. Many plans where really screwed up.

We had to wait for them to cancel before we went to plan B which I had researched just in case.

Turned out we had a magnificent cruise to NZ, southern and western Australia ( home of Scenic) and Bali on the Silversea, Silver Muse. SILVERSEA NEVER DISAPPOINTS. You can call them and actually talk to helpful knowledgable people.

There are a lot of these "boutique " small ships being built. Competition is a wonderful thing. 🤑

 

 

We were supposed to sail last October to Cuba,but, as we all know that never happened! We went back to Silversea last month for our sixth cruise and have another booked for November to Cuba,hope we make it this time,as long as there is no hiccup with the US Goverment banning US citizens from traveling there! Yes, agree,we could never get any information from Scenic,they were always very cagey. Love Silversea,always have the information to give one.

[salbags]

https://www.scenic.co.uk/news/2019/04/scenic-eclipse-progress-report

 

Sounds like despite all the naysayers there is a good chance this ship will sail 😝

[Marty156]

Boblerm

So that is where my refund went to!

Paid AUD20,000 in 2013 and still waiting on the Australian High Court to decide when any refund is paid.

So if your refund was quadruple your outlay in 18 months, I wonder what mine would be after more than 6 years?

 

Consider yourself lucky, there are over 12,000 people from 2013 still waiting for any sort of refund/compensation.

Then there is the high possibility of another Class action for the 2018 cruises that had low water and also had a forced bus trip for weeks.

 

 

[boblerm]

Marty156, just to be clear, my refund was for my deposit to Scenic, and my non-refundable expenses, namely my airfare and insurance policy that I took out, it was not a multiple of my outlay, it was 100% of my outlay.

 

I wish you and the others in the class action suit luck I was not aware of this when I booked my cruise on the Eclipse, but your experience gives me pause about booking with this company going forward.

[Expat Cruise]

5 hours ago, Marty156 said:

Boblerm

So that is where my refund went to!

Paid AUD20,000 in 2013 and still waiting on the Australian High Court to decide when any refund is paid.

So if your refund was quadruple your outlay in 18 months, I wonder what mine would be after more than 6 years?

 

Consider yourself lucky, there are over 12,000 people from 2013 still waiting for any sort of refund/compensation.

Then there is the high possibility of another Class action for the 2018 cruises that had low water and also had a forced bus trip for weeks.

 

 

If they refund all the money owed to guests the line would be out of business, Very easy to promise big discounts and OBC for future cruises that will never happen.  But to refund in full in cash is something Scenic cannot do. The lawsuit that they already lost plus the pending lawsuit, plus the ongoing issues caused by management having no idea how to build a ship and what yard to order it from all means the same thing.  The future of the RMS Titanic is better than the future of Scenic Cruises.  

[rojaan19]

"Uljanik Workers Say Situation Alarming"

 

https://www.total-croatia-news.com/business/35408-uljanik

 

ZAGREB, April 19, 2019 - Unionists in the Uljanik shipyard said in Pula on Friday the situation was alarming and disastrous, and that the government was responsible due to its inaction.

[goorawin]

Scenic Eclipse Luxury Vessel Leaves Uljanik Shipyard

At long last some more positive progress.

It just may make the 15th August date.

 

https://www.total-croatia-news.com/business/35529-scenic-eclipse

[goorawin]

For all those cynics out there, there must be something happening that may just see the launch of the Eclipse in August 2019.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20785-james-griffiths-to-captain-new-scenic-eclipse.html

 

But then on the downside, Scenic have not improved one little bit in communicating anything that's relevant to their customers.

Could be an interesting maiden voyage.