A couple of questions for Scenic peeps!

[Gourmet Gal]

I think we would have heard it here first if anyone was ever refused boarding any ship with too much luggage! 

[Ja9Clay]

Quick Question to save me from being on hold... 
We are having to switch up our flights... If we arrive on a direct flight (SAN to MUC) at 1:30 pm on the embarkation we will be able to meet the transfer? 

 

Thanks!

 

[Canal archive]

I suspect as long as you inform Scenic or their carrier as neither has been informed of your, is it revised arrival time. As depending on how many are arriving at the same time depends on the size of transfer vehicle, limo or auto bus!

[Gourmet Gal]

17 hours ago, Ja9Clay said:

Quick Question to save me from being on hold... 
We are having to switch up our flights... If we arrive on a direct flight (SAN to MUC) at 1:30 pm on the embarkation we will be able to meet the transfer? 

 

Thanks!

 

You’ll definitely need to inform the cruise line but you’re living dangerously flying in on the same day as embarkation.  Good luck!

[PhD-iva]

On 4/27/2022 at 12:56 PM, Gourmet Gal said:

You’ll definitely need to inform the cruise line but you’re living dangerously flying in on the same day as embarkation.  Good luck!

Generally I would expect it is not the same crapshoot as flying in on embarkation day for an ocean cruise. River cruises typically don’t travel long distances overnight, and a bus or train would get a stranded passenger to the next stop easily. Of course, no one wants to miss the first day of their vacation!

[Canal archive]

Many years ago during the Icelandic volcanic ash challenge a small group of Australians were late arriving, and our boat had to leave dock, the group arrived and Scenic took them to another of there boats where they had dinner then they were taken along the river by road our boat pulled into shore moored up for a few minutes and the group boarded. All this around about midnight, beautiful evening they were greeted with a rousing chorus of waltzing Matilda as this increased the number of Aussies on board to more than the number of Canadians. It certainly broke the ice and we all had an excellent cruise although the majority of our fellow passengers were unaware of these happenings.

[gnome12]

55 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Many years ago during the Icelandic volcanic ash challenge a small group of Australians were late arriving, and our boat had to leave dock, the group arrived and Scenic took them to another of there boats where they had dinner then they were taken along the river by road our boat pulled into shore moored up for a few minutes and the group boarded. All this around about midnight, beautiful evening they were greeted with a rousing chorus of waltzing Matilda as this increased the number of Aussies on board to more than the number of Canadians. It certainly broke the ice and we all had an excellent cruise although the majority of our fellow passengers were unaware of these happenings.

I was also travelling during the Icelandic volcano, but I wasn't too worried. My Uniworld trip embarked in Antwerp, but we were there all the next day (for Antwerp excursions), and probably the following one too (for an excursion to Delft). I was travelling on the second day that flights were going from North America to Europe. As it happens, my original flight from Toronto was cancelled. I went to the airport anyway, because I knew there was nothing that I could do from home. It went to the Lufthansa desk, since I was on a Lufthansa ticket, although the flight was operated by Air Canada, and was told that I was Air Canada's problem. I went over to Air Canada, and was ultimately waitlisted on a flight to Paris, although he wasn't too hopeful.. While I was waiting, someone came over, and asked who wanted to fly to Frankfurt. I rushed over, and got on that flight. (The guy at the desk asked my why I wasn't already on that flight, and I explained that the desk a few feet away had sent me to Air Canada.) Anyway, I had already researched train information from both Paris and from Frankfurt to Antwerp, since I knew that flights within Europe were not yet operating. I ended up taking a train from Frankfurt to Brussels, but they kicked people without reservations off in Cologne, and put us on buses to Brussels. Then another train to Antwerp, and a cab to the ship, which we couldn't find because it was hidden behind a parking structure. (I had been in touch with the ship all day to keep them apprised of my location, and no one bothered to tell me that the ship was behind the parking garage.) Anyway, I got there about 7 pm, and almost immediately went in to have dinner. But I made it.

[Canal archive]

Wow, glad you made it.

[Cisterna]

On 4/25/2022 at 4:46 AM, loriva said:

 

Again, have a great cruise Host Jazzbeau!

 

If you have a chance, please update on how Scenic is handling laundry.  How strict are they on their printed limitations of one bag, no more than 1 kilo, per cabin at a day of Scenic's choosing?  Ideally, we'd like to hand them a bag of laundry as soon as we unpack on board given our land journey with Scenic preceding.

 

Happy sailing!

 

You can have as much laundry done as you want to PAY for! They let you have one bag  gratis!  

[loriva]

14 hours ago, Cisterna said:

You can have as much laundry done as you want to PAY for! They let you have one bag  gratis!  

Thanks for that information, Cisterna.  If you have a chance, could you take a photo of the laundry price list?  Or let us know the prices for a pair of trousers and a tee-shirt?

[Cisterna]

13 hours ago, loriva said:

Thanks for that information, Cisterna.  If you have a chance, could you take a photo of the laundry price list?  Or let us know the prices for a pair of trousers and a tee-shirt?

Sorry We are not on the ship yet so I can't help with a picture.  I have been told that the price of washing and ironing a pair of men's pants is 12.50 and a shirt is 8.00 unfortunately I don't know if that  is Euros of U.S. dollars !   

[Cisterna]

the 8.00 was a men's shirt not a T-shirt.  My last trip on Viking Ocean  my husband wanted to murder me ~ he basically said OMG we spent  $28K on this trip and you are worried about spending a $100.00 on laundry !🤪

 I  have learned my cruise laundry lesson - DO NOT ever have them clean anything  special that you would normally dry clean - Windstar ruined  a new $200.00 shirt that DH only wore once, he spilled wine and they said they could take care of it - ruined the shirt - they offered me a $20.00 off coupon on next bag of laundry ! LOL

[Canal archive]

I suspect I have a list but it would be quite a few years out of date. I can say everything we’ve ever had laundered has been done beautifully and in a timely manner, Mens shirts especially. If your on Diamond deck you can have two items per day pressed works for me, very useful. Give them to your butler in the morning and they’re usually back in your cabin in good time to be worn in the evening if required.

[jimmymac613]

How is Scenic handling COVID testing at the end of a cruise to return to the U.S.?  I contacted them and they said they "facilitate" testing but not sure what that means?  Do they test and give results on the ship?  We fly back to U.S. out of Zurich the same day the cruise ends in Basel.

 

Also, any idea if Scenic helps find accommodations if, God forbid, you test positive at the end of the cruise?

[2012_Alaska_bound]

14 hours ago, jimmymac613 said:

I contacted them and they said they "facilitate" testing but not sure what that means?  Do they test and give results on the ship?

 

I can only tell you what we experienced on our Douro river Scenic cruise two weeks ago.  Keep in mind, we overnighted two nights in Porto at the end of the cruise, so had a full day docked in Porto the day before we disembarked.

 

We had received the same "facilitate" answer when we asked the question before we left.  And I knew there was no testing offered at the Porto airport, and transfer time at Madrid airport would not be long enough for me to test there.

 

I needn't have worried though. During the first day Cruise Director briefing he explained that there was a testing site very close to where we would be docked in Porto, and the Reception team would be happy to schedule testing for those of us who required it to travel, paid for by the passenger, not by Scenic.  When I went to reception they asked for my passport, name of hometown, email address, and phone number and when I would like to test the day before disembarking.  I had already decided to not do the morning excursion that day in order to pack so I could take the afternoon excursion, so asked for a morning appointment. One of the Reception team called right then and set up an appointment for me at 9:30. Reception assured me the clinic was easy to get to from the ship, and showed me on the local map exactly where it was the night before. Easy peasy, and they only charged 15 euros at the clinic! Only took me half and hour from the time I left the ship to the time I was scanning back on. When I came back, Reception told me to forward them my test results when I got them back on email, and they would print them for me. We wished there was a higher score than a 10 on the survey to rate the Reception team!

 

So moral of my story is that no matter how difficult pre-cruise info was to get from Scenic, the staff on the ship knew exactly what was going on and kept us well informed!

 

Since I tested "negative" I didn't find out what would have happened if I tested "positive", but given my onboard experience I feel confident that the staff would have helped me find a place to stay and reschedule my travel home.

[acwmom]

On 4/26/2022 at 12:22 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Yes, and our departure was timed for the 10 pm Eiffel Tower light show.

 

The castle is amazing.  We joined the hiking group [JP and Chris would be proud of us] and the first Scenic surprise was that our guide was none other than Richard the Lionheart himself.  O how the mighty have fallen, that a King has to hire out giving tours!  But he was a great tour guide, and we will have him again tomorrow [as Rollo the Viking in Rouen].

 

 

That was a great hike. We really enjoyed it. It’s also the stop where we were forced to leave a passenger behind because she lost track of time….we waited 45 minutes, but had to move on….a shopkeeper in Les Andelys was kind enough to drive her to the locks, where two crewman hoisted her back onboard….it made for a memorable cruise, and the bartender crafted a drink, which was given the name of her cabin number😁(because we heard it over and over during the 45 minutes)