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Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours

TravelLizzy

By TravelLizzy,
in River Cruising

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TravelLizzy

TravelLizzy

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

Has anyone every taken a Scenic Luxury Cruise?  I have heard from Viking Customers and have read a lot, but am looking at Scenic's current 2 for 1 offer and asking for Pros and Cons from any one who has actual knowledge of Scenic.  I would appreciate your sharing.  Thank you

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TravelLizzy

TravelLizzy

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GG - this promo came to me in an e-mail from Cruise Critic, so I went to Scenic's website and selected the trip went through all the info, up to payment and it came out to half, except for taxes, ins, and extra days we want on either end of cruise.  Looking at the 8 day Gems of the Danube, into next year - specific months of course.

Gems of the Danube
8 Days   |   Budapest to Nuremberg  |  Tour Code: NBU
 

It’s hardly surprising that one of Europe’s longest waterways is home to so many wonderful attractions. On this luxury cruise, enjoy an enchanting private Viennese evening concert at Palais Liechtenstein and visit Regensburg Old Town.
- View Itinerary

1st Guest: from $4,445*
2nd Guest:  FREE
*$350 additional in port charges per person

Departure Dates: August - October 2022, April - June 2023 (excludes May 18, 2023)

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Gourmet Gal

Gourmet Gal

Posted
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Sounds like a deal.  So inexpensive.  You can read many comments about Scenic by using the search function on this forum as well as reading reviews from actual passengers here on CC.  I don’t sail Scenic but there are many happy cruisers here who have.

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pontac Great Review Rare

pontac

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, TravelLizzy said:

Has anyone every taken a Scenic Luxury Cruise?

 

If you can wait a couple of weeks I am taking my first Scenic river cruise this week after 10 river cruises with Viking. I'm going to compare the two. But a half price deal seems a no-brainer......

 

PS: Port Charges? What else is not included, food?

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Canal archive

Canal archive

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Only things not included are some what they class as top end alcohol brands. On one spectacular evening on a Boudreaux cruise we finished off the Laphroaig. There is Veuve Clicquot for Buck’s Fizz, the orange juice is wonderful at breakfast. Okay I quite like a drop of Boly but I can do without it, just! Joking apart you can only ask. On one of our cruises an Australian asked for lamb chops for breakfast (definitely not on the menu) and as he wanted them he got them every morning. It’s a case if you don’t ask you don’t know if it’s possible.

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3Shelaghs

3Shelaghs

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Had a look... Full payment is due within 72hrs of booking. Offer applies to upgrade elements only, and includes cabins (R, RO,RR,RP,RA and RJ). Port charges extra of $350. US pp. Offer is good til end of Aug. I wonder if the upgraded elements (ie per pax) is also free for second pax?? If so, that is a considerable savings . For eg an RJ upgrade is approx $1786. US pp. 

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TravelLizzy

TravelLizzy

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Canal, thanks for the info. Yes it is cabin only but most 2 for one is just that.

 

Pontac, we were looking so waiting not a problem, looking forward to your assessment.

 

3Shelaghs, I read the offer as cabin only, still a savings over full price.

 

Thanks to everyone

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Wings55

Wings55

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13 hours ago, TravelLizzy said:

Thanks, my next query was going to be a general search of CC.

@TravelLizzy I'm sure you will find more opinions that you will need but I am a huge Scenic fan and feel they are one of the premier river cruise lines. Viking offers a good value but Scenic's level of quality and service are much better and normally more expensive. If you can find a good price reduction, go for it!

Paul

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flviking

flviking

Posted
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No luck on repricing. We decided to move from September to next April. We became increasingly concerned we would pay for a luxury river cruise and end up with some degree of a bus tour.  No way to know but we think we improved our odds of doing the entire itinerary on the ship.

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TrojanGal

TrojanGal

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@TravelLizzy - we did a Scenic cruise on the Danube in June - did a pre-cruise in Prague for 3 nights. Prague was amazing. Scenic had a city walking tour scheduled for us one day in Prague. They also had transportation pickup at the Prague airport to the Scenic booked hotel. The actual cruise started in Nuremberg, ended in Budapest and we did 2 extra nights post cruise in Budapest at the Marriott which was arranged by Scenic. Our trip had been canceled 3 times because of the pandemic so we were so happy it actually happened and had a wonderful time. Originally we were booked on the Scenic Crystal but due to low water levels they started us on the Opal in Nuremberg. Then there were rumors on board that we would have to switch ships again a few days in. The cruise director kept trying to tamp down these rumors but when we got back to the ship from the LONG excursion in Saltzberg, the luggage mats were on the bed so we did in fact have to change ships the next day from Opal to Crystal that we originally should have been on. The ship changed ended up not being a big deal since we were going on an excursion anyway and by the time we returned and had lunch on board, the rooms were ready earlier than expected.  I’m glad we got to experience both ships but the Opal had better cabin bathrooms - newer and a bit more storage space. My only complaint is Scenic had issues with their customer service during the pandemic. Would not return calls or emails and we were concerned if they would even be in business. They held our money hostage for two years so that was scary. We had a TA who helped us though and had a direct line to Scenic. So I’d say overall their corporate customer service was pretty poor. I can’t hold this against the onboard staff - they all were great.  Where Scenic shined was taking care of guests from the moment we got off the plane we had a greeter outside of l baggage claim to the moment we got to our departing airport - they were always making sure we got from point A to point B.  Everything was very organized. The excursions are all included in your cruise fare and you pick the activity level that is comfortable for you. Some excursions were easy biking, or hike to Buda Hill in Budapest for example, so those were the active excursions or if you are more of a museum or palace person, those were choices as well. Guided city walking tours too. They sure kept us busy though and the day we were in Vienna my husband and I were exhausted from being on the go and decided not to do the excursion that day, but after dinner they scheduled for us to take coaches into Vienna for a private classical music concert with 2 opera singers and a ballet dancer in a beautiful palace. So they really made  everything special for guests. The coaches were clean and comfortable. The breakfast and lunch buffets were great and one day when we returned from Nuremberg, the chef had a Bavarian lunch for us with local sausages, cheeses, sauerkraut, pretzels, local beer. This was my favorite meal of the cruise. The dinners were really underwhelming and since we had the ship change and experienced two different chef’s food, I still was underwhelmed. Maybe they are still trying to get their routine going from being closed down for so long. Not sure. They had a nice wine selection with lunch and dinners which paired well with the food. All your alcohol (spirits, wine, beer) are included with the cruise fare all day long, not just during meals. The cabins have a mini bar that they replenish daily which was nice to have a cold coke in the room after a hot day.  I would definitely cruise with Scenic again but we are doing an ocean cruise with Princess around the UK next year so probably won’t do another river cruise until 2024. 

Edited by TrojanGal
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Croooser

Croooser

Posted
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On 8/15/2022 at 9:44 AM, 3Shelaghs said:

Had a look... Full payment is due within 72hrs of booking. Offer applies to upgrade elements only, and includes cabins (R, RO,RR,RP,RA and RJ). Port charges extra of $350. US pp. Offer is good til end of Aug. I wonder if the upgraded elements (ie per pax) is also free for second pax?? If so, that is a considerable savings . For eg an RJ upgrade is approx $1786. US pp. 

Can anyone see this on the website or do you have to call?

 

Also, when I did a dummy booking , there were no options for hotel stays on either end?

 

Am I missing some thing?

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pontac Great Review Rare

pontac

Posted
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Well, we are now onboard Scenic Diamond, flew yesterday (why?) booked by Scenic Air France via Paris.. Paris connection at CDG was bad, incoming plane from CDG was late, so at scheduled 09:00 departure time we were boarding. Meant we got into CDG late and our scheduled connection didn't then allow for the lunch we had planned at CDG. 

 

Long long walk and horrendous queue at security. The had fewer than half the security channels open. Once through security long queues at immigration, again very few desks open. But UK passports CAN use passport reading machines (and there is an officer behind to stamp passports with the necessary Schengen entry stamp.

 

Just got to gate 5mins before gate closure time - but flight delayed. 

 

Only good news about flight was hold baggage checked through to Bordeaux. Heathrow checkin and security was fast, and bags came out quickly at Bordeaux.

 

Still, car came for us at 04:00 and we didn't get to hotel till 16:45 with no lunch. We're too old for nonsense like that, very long day and panic over making our connection. Unnecessary.

 

Add following day Scenic scheduled hotel pickup at 14:00, thus allowing us to make own arrangements for lunch even though we found they have an embarkation lunch on board. So got to boat at about 14:45, but rooms were not ready till 16:30!!

 

Plus point - greeted on board with glass of Champagne. But so far not impressed with Scenic

Edited by pontac
correct spelling error
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franski Excellent Advice! Rare

franski

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We have done 2 cruises with Scenic - and our 3rd is booked.  Hopefully (river levels permitting...) flying out mid-September to do the lower Danube with Transylvania pre-cruise. 

 

We have been very happy with them.  We booked our 1st cruise with them as they had an awesome sale.  The reports were only so-so (they were new in the European market at the time) but we figured that even a so-so cruise was ok given the price we paid.  We were surprised and impressed with the entire package. 

 

I did look at their "2nd passenger free" sale, but timing doesn't work for us.  As mentioned above, we are already booked with them in September - and have a cruise booked with Emerald (their sister company) in the New Year.

 

Go for it!!

 

Fran

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hihandycap

hihandycap

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On 8/15/2022 at 10:15 AM, flviking said:

Has anyone tried to get Scenic to reprice an existing cruise to use the 2 for 1 offer?

Yes (but on Scenic's value brand, Emerald--on a late October '22 Douro cruise (i.e. still time left before the " guaranteed 60 days before sailing to re-book penalty free" option expired.)  Result: cabin upgrade plus FCC (which we then used on a BOGO 2023 Azzurra Red Sea/Nile/Suez itinerary).  Our impression is that because the promotions only apply to the upper-end cabins, it is not as attractive as it first appears on new bookings for us hoi polloi who tend to book steerage berths. 

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3Shelaghs

3Shelaghs

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Well, Scenic web site still on and off... totally fed up with their lack of tech experts to fix this issue. When it comes time for payment, how do I do that???? 

Surely I don't have to wait on phone for 2hours for an agent to answer, then give my CC over the phone? Or should I email one of the email addresses I have, and ask them to call me? 

Why on my Booking Advice form under Booking Payment Information is there a "click here to make a payment"????

When I originally made deposit (2019), I actually did provide payment online. What am I missing, or what has Scenic dropped the ball on???

Maybe this cruise will  turn into a driving holiday! And I'll kiss the deposit goodbye.

Edited by 3Shelaghs
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