Scenic cancels another cruise with 8 days' notice. Grr.

[DougK]

I was scheduled to go on Scenic's Romantic Rhine and Moselle cruise, starting a week from tomorrow in Amsterdam. My travel agent just informed me that the cruise has been cancelled, and forwarded the letter from Scenic. The only options Scenic offers in the letter are rescheduling to two other cruises that would depart several weeks later. That absolutely doesn't fit in with our vacation timing. Not even a mention of the option for a refund; I (perhaps naively) assume that option exists, but am trying to find out.

 

Very, very, very disappointed and pissed off!

[Gourmet Gal]

What was the reason given for cancelling?

[DougK]

"we have been required to delay the season commencement for some of our Scenic Space-Ships due to continued supply challenges and an immediate shortage of crew members due to the global pandemic.
Our guest’s health, safety and cruising experience is always at the forefront of any of our decisions, and due to this immediate shortage of crew, we have been required to make the difficult decision to cancel your upcoming sailing."

[Reader in chief]

We too were scheduled to go on the same cruise and are very disappointed that it is cancelled. We were given 2 options - either to take a different cruise (Jewels of Europe, Amsterdam to Budapest) on the same dates, or to  delay the cruise start until May 23rd. Although we would really have preferred the Rhine and Moselle cruise, it was too complicated to switch the dates since we leave this Thursday for Amsterdam!

[DougK]

Hmmm... 

1 hour ago, Reader in chief said:

We too were scheduled to go on the same cruise and are very disappointed that it is cancelled. We were given 2 options - either to take a different cruise (Jewels of Europe, Amsterdam to Budapest) on the same dates, or to  delay the cruise start until May 23rd. Although we would really have preferred the Rhine and Moselle cruise, it was too complicated to switch the dates since we leave this Thursday for Amsterdam!

 

Hmmm... wonder why I wasn't given that option. I've asked my travel agent to see whether it is a possibility. Definitely not as attractive as the Rhine/Moselle itinerary (I've done it before, and my girlfriend loves the Moselle), but it might be better than scrambling to find hotels and figure out an itinerary to spend two land weeks in Europe.

[loriva]

What ship were you scheduled to be on?

[DougK]

It was supposed to be

59 minutes ago, loriva said:

What ship were you scheduled to be on?

It was supposed to be the Scenic Pearl, a two-week cruise from Amsterdam to Basel.

[Reader in chief]

Not sure why you weren't offered the same options DougK, but I imagine we were offered the May 4th Amsterdam to Budapest since we booked our flights through Scenic and they knew that we were going to arrive in Amsterdam 6 days before the cruise. 

[loriva]

I hope you find a positive resolution, DougK.  Thanks for the update.

 

[Running Cruisers]

We also got the letter yesterday.  So disappointed as we were leaving for Europe on Sat which makes switching things around so difficult.  We were offered 3 other options for the same itinerary: 

May 23  from AMS

May 25 from Zurich

June 8 from AMS

 

We are confirming whether they will process a full refund (vs a travel voucher) and other expenses before making any other plans.  

 

[BellsRUs]

The Pearl is currently replacing the Jade (which had engine trouble) on an Amsterdam to Budapest cruise, so it will be in Budapest on the day you were supposed to board it in Amsterdam. We are scheduled to leave from Budapest to Amsterdam on the Jade next Wednesday, but it’s possible we will be on the Pearl if the Jade’s  engines aren’t fixed. 
 

The Jade has left Duisburg where they took it after having engine trouble. It is currently underway to Cologne. I don’t know if more repairs are needed or if it is ultimately heading to Budapest for our May 4th cruise. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Canal archive]

Marine traffic does say she under engines so fingers crossed.

[DougK]

On 4/28/2022 at 8:37 AM, BellsRUs said:

The Pearl is currently replacing the Jade (which had engine trouble) on an Amsterdam to Budapest cruise, so it will be in Budapest on the day you were supposed to board it in Amsterdam.

 

 

Yeah, I have to wonder whether that's the real reason my cruise got cancelled, rather than the "supply challenges" and "crew shortages." It's a shame that I can't really trust anything Scenic says...

 

On 4/27/2022 at 6:52 AM, Running Cruisers said:

We also got the letter yesterday.  So disappointed as we were leaving for Europe on Sat which makes switching things around so difficult.  We were offered 3 other options for the same itinerary: 

May 23  from AMS

May 25 from Zurich

June 8 from AMS

 

We are confirming whether they will process a full refund (vs a travel voucher) and other expenses before making any other plans.  

 

 

It's odd that Scenic offered different options to different passengers. When I pointed this out to my TA, who asked Scenic, the answer was that of course all options are available to all passengers, including other cruises, and even cruises on Emerald. So why the heck didn't Scenic actually say that in their letter? And we were also assured a full refund was available, to be sent as a check. That's the option we went for, as we can't rearrange vacation dates and/or locations on such short notice.

 

Very disappointed, but we'll enjoy a land vacation in Europe instead.

[TravelerGir1]

We're scheduled on 'Vineyards & Vistas of the Rhine' that is supposed to join the Pearl at Cochem on 11May.  So far we haven't received a cancellation but it's hard to imagine it will sail (if the ship is even available) with fewer passengers after cancelling those that had the full two week itinerary booked 🤨  For now we sit and wait....

[notamermaid]

57 minutes ago, TravelerGir1 said:

We're scheduled on 'Vineyards & Vistas of the Rhine' that is supposed to join the Pearl at Cochem on 11May.

That is quite an unusual embarkation port and itinerary. Have you booked the concert at Rastatt Palace? This is the only itinerary that I know of any company that visits Hockenheim Ring (the racing circuit).

 

I do hope it goes ahead but as you suggest, you have your doubts for good reasons. Sorry.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Hockenheim is great even our coach driver was amazed. Apart from anything else the picture of my husband on the winners podium was worth it. Museum, open day for personal motorbike racing and car drifting. A really good day.

[Chris_Texas]

On 4/29/2022 at 10:06 PM, DougK said:

 

 

Yeah, I have to wonder whether that's the real reason my cruise got cancelled, rather than the "supply challenges" and "crew shortages." It's a shame that I can't really trust anything Scenic says...

 

 

It's odd that Scenic offered different options to different passengers. When I pointed this out to my TA, who asked Scenic, the answer was that of course all options are available to all passengers, including other cruises, and even cruises on Emerald. So why the heck didn't Scenic actually say that in their letter? And we were also assured a full refund was available, to be sent as a check. That's the option we went for, as we can't rearrange vacation dates and/or locations on such short notice.

 

Very disappointed, but we'll enjoy a land vacation in Europe instead.

When Emerald initially canceled our Danube cruise, they simply mentioned that it had been "postponed" with no details on exactly what that meant, whether another date had been identified, or any other details. Since this was our first cruise, I didn't know enough to know which questions to ask. Once we spoke to our travel partners, we (head-slap moment) realized we should just call up and ask specifically what our options are. Once we did so, we got a lot of helpful info and found a Rhine cruise for the same dates that worked for us.

It would seem like the Scenic/Emerald customer service staff are not trained sufficiently to transition the trip-canceled conversation to discussions about options. One would think that would be Customer Service 101, but I'm sensitive to the fact that everybody is having trouble filling jobs and that some of the training and experience are probably lacking as a result.

[BellsRUs]

On 4/30/2022 at 10:32 PM, TravelerGir1 said:

We're scheduled on 'Vineyards & Vistas of the Rhine' that is supposed to join the Pearl at Cochem on 11May.  So far we haven't received a cancellation but it's hard to imagine it will sail (if the ship is even available) with fewer passengers after cancelling those that had the full two week itinerary booked 🤨  For now we sit and wait....

We are supposed to board the Scenic Jade tomorrow in Budapest, but she is still in Cologne with engine issues. We received notification this morning that we will be on the Scenic Pearl instead, so  it looks like your cruise will either be cancelled or on another ship, as our cruise will not end until May 18th.

[loriva]

3 hours ago, BellsRUs said:

We are supposed to board the Scenic Jade tomorrow in Budapest, but she is still in Cologne with engine issues. We received notification this morning that we will be on the Scenic Pearl instead, so  it looks like your cruise will either be cancelled or on another ship, as our cruise will not end until May 18th.

 

Patti,

 

I wonder if they would bus passengers gathered in Cochem to join the Pearl somewhere along the Rhine instead of cancelling the full "Vineyards and Vistas of the Rhine" itinerary?  Scenic and Emerald seem to be consolidating sailings, so wonder if joining your cruise becomes an option?

 

I hope @Host Jazzbeau has been following the Scenic threads while he was on Gem and took the opportunity to ask the personnel on that ship on events.

 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, loriva said:

Patti,

 

I wonder if they would bus passengers gathered in Cochem to join the Pearl somewhere along the Rhine instead of cancelling the full "Vineyards and Vistas of the Rhine" itinerary?  Scenic and Emerald seem to be consolidating sailings, so wonder if joining your cruise becomes an option?

You know, that was my immediate thought when I read Patti's post. It could work logistically. A bit weird but who knows. Companies are very flexible with water level issues, have to be, so why not with the Jade and the Pearl?

 

Hope it works out for you @Chris_Texas in one way or another, the Moselle landscape is lovely right now and the Rhine is not too bad either.

 

notamermaid

 

[BellsRUs]

9 hours ago, loriva said:

 

Patti,

 

I wonder if they would bus passengers gathered in Cochem to join the Pearl somewhere along the Rhine instead of cancelling the full "Vineyards and Vistas of the Rhine" itinerary?  Scenic and Emerald seem to be consolidating sailings, so wonder if joining your cruise becomes an option?

 

I hope @Host Jazzbeau has been following the Scenic threads while he was on Gem and took the opportunity to ask the personnel on that ship on events.

 

 

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

You know, that was my immediate thought when I read Patti's post. It could work logistically. A bit weird but who knows. Companies are very flexible with water level issues, have to be, so why not with the Jade and the Pearl?

 

Hope it works out for you @Chris_Texas in one way or another, the Moselle landscape is lovely right now and the Rhine is not too bad either.

 

notamermaid

 

That would be an interesting solution! Does anyone know if the Scenic ships have been sailing with a full ship?

[mvjcruise]

On 5/3/2022 at 4:19 PM, BellsRUs said:

 

That would be an interesting solution! Does anyone know if the Scenic ships have been sailing with a full ship?

We were on the Jade cruise that was interrupted by engine trouble. We were told there were 139 on board. Jade information states that she can hold 169 passengers. Can’t speak to other ships.

[loriva]

On 4/30/2022 at 4:32 PM, TravelerGir1 said:

We're scheduled on 'Vineyards & Vistas of the Rhine' that is supposed to join the Pearl at Cochem on 11May.  So far we haven't received a cancellation but it's hard to imagine it will sail (if the ship is even available) with fewer passengers after cancelling those that had the full two week itinerary booked 🤨  For now we sit and wait....

 

Are you traveling on the Pearl tomorrow?  Curious to know the outcome.

[notamermaid]

So, the Pearl is still on the Danube, I reckon going to be in Nuremberg for the day tomorrow. I would like to know also what the arrangement for tomorrow's cruisers from the Moselle are @loriva. Right now, I cannot see a ship docked in Cochem (apart from the standard excursion boats). The link is: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ports/25373?name=COCHEM&country=Germany

 

And there is no Scenic or Emerald ship in the harbour list for today, tomorrow or Thursday.

 

notamermaid

 

[loriva]

Well, the Pearl is showing docked at Nuremberg (next to Scenic Jasper) and nothing in Cochem.  I wonder what arrangements Scenic made for @BellsRUsand @TravelerGir1?