Scenic Tours river cruise

[Ricky Chan]

Pictures are borrowed. Be careful with your enthousiasm on the socalled balconies on the Scenic ships. The size of the ship is determined by the size of the locks on the Main Danue canal. the width is never more than 11.6 meters. This means that the balcony is taken off the size of your cabin. Several rivercruiselines have tried this concept and none of them were happy with it. It is a great sales concept, until you get into your cabin. You'll see the size difference immediately. Take it from me, you will not spent much time on that balcony, it is simply too small. The French balconies featured by Amadeus and Avalon are far more practical.

 

Wow, you really discourage me. :eek:

 

I guess I have to find out the hard way. I really like its contemporary design and the it seems more upscale than the other company.

 

Ricky

[SF]

Ricky,

 

I also was first concerned but I agree with you, the cruise line itself looks more upscale so a little smaller room to me isn't a big deal and I will use the balcony. The main deciding factor for us will be the price.

[Jack1]

Dates and prices for 2009 15 day european tour is available tonight. Not the add ons or upgrades yet.

I may not spend alot of time on the balcony but the option of being able to sit out there if I want to (and I will) means alot to us. To each their own.

Faye

PS Looks like about 10% increase from 2008 prices. Our basic price went from $4195 to $4595 per person.

[SF]

Just checked and ours went up from 4295 to 4795 not counting the add ons for the higher deck nor port charges. This year it was 1550 for the higher cabin and 195 for port charges. Have to wait and see what those charges will be for our sailing. The total for this cruise just seems to be adding up. Guess I'll wait and make a decision when all the numbers are in.

[Jack1]

Although we haven't been contacted yet by Scenic Tours for the new prices for our 2009 cruise, there are new cruise/land packages being added to their website quite frequently. I wish they would add dates to these new itineries so we could make a final decision soon. Not too long till their inaugral sailings for 2008!

If they take too much longer we will let the booking go and book for another year when they have everything already ironed out. The ocean sailings are out for 2009 and there are some interesting ones that Oceania and Azamura are doing. They can get into smaller ports because of their ship's size so this opens up whole new ports for us who have already been to the mainstay ports many times.

Faye

[Jack1]

Just received email notification from our lady at Scenic Tours with updated 2009 pricing. As suspected, approx 10% increase over 2008 pricing. The deposit was susposed to be $500 per person once we commited to things and that has been reduced to $400 per person. For our itinerary, they are offering and Early Bird River Cruise Booking Bonus of $250 per person if we pay in full by Sept 30/08. Not anything big by any means but more than we probably would get if we left it in the bank. Still kinda nervous giving this new(ish) company that much money in advance. So we will probably not go for the early bonus!

Anyone else hear yet? We have approx 1 week to think things over before additional deposit is due.

Faye

[Ricky Chan]

Just received email notification from our lady at Scenic Tours with updated 2009 pricing. As suspected, approx 10% increase over 2008 pricing. The deposit was susposed to be $500 per person once we commited to things and that has been reduced to $400 per person. For our itinerary, they are offering and Early Bird River Cruise Booking Bonus of $250 per person if we pay in full by Sept 30/08. Not anything big by any means but more than we probably would get if we left it in the bank. Still kinda nervous giving this new(ish) company that much money in advance. So we will probably not go for the early bonus!

Anyone else hear yet? We have approx 1 week to think things over before additional deposit is due.

Faye

 

Faye:

 

I received e-mail from my travel agent today. The early bird discount that you mentioned was quoted as $250.00 per person last week. But today my agent told me it is $250.00 for two persons. I have asked her to confirm again.

 

I am actually slighly ahead if I pay in full at September 30. Saving account interest rate these days is about 3%, times 243 days(June 6, 2009 is the final payment deadline), the interest earn on that payment is less than $250.00. Plus I have to pay taxes on the interest earned if the money is sitting in the saving account.

 

I have decided to confirm the booking and mostly likely will pay in full in late September.

 

It will be even better if the actual early discount is $250.00 per person.

 

Scenic Tours is a very reputable tour company in Australia. It is only new in Europe river crusing market.

 

Of course, it is wise to buy insurance right now when putting down additional deposit. That is exactly what I will do.

 

 

Ricky

[SF]

We haven't been contacted yet by our TA but we're assuming we'll get that call very shortly. Not sure based on the increase mentioned by others if we'll keep our reservation. For us it's even more expensive since payment is in Canadian dollars. Being originally from Canada I never thought I'd see the day when the Canadian currency is worth more than US. We have to consider not only the 10% increase but probably another $250.00 in the exchange rate depending on what it is that particular day. Since making our booking with Scenic I've checked out other options and several nice cruises have become available with RCCL and Azamura. We may opt to go with one of them instead. Works out to be the same amnt. of days and about 3,000 less. I also don't like the idea of how they interpret their "Early Bird Discount". Most cruise lines give you the Early Bird Discount but don't make you pay up front in full. To me that's really not a true Early Bird Discount but more of a Payment in Full Discount. When I priced Amadeus they gave you a true Early Bird Discount whether you paid in full or not. Also, their prices for us were in US funds so we may consider them or Avalon again.

 

This week will tell all.

[Jack1]

SF- you can get Scenic to price tour both in $US and Canadian and then see what would be better for you. I agree about the early booking deal, didn't really feel like an early booking if we had to pay all by Sept 2008. We too had looked at some sailings Azamara was offering for 2009 and couple of them were very interesting. Both DH has his heart set on a river cruise for next summer, so I am okay with that.

We have decided to go ahead with July 2009 for our trip with them. When we priced out and compared Ocean cruise and excursions etc, it was fairly similar pricing. Sandra (from Scenic) told us today they plan on having some bicycles on the ship for anyone who wants to tour around that way. I told her DH would just love that and I would be okay with it as long as there is a side car on one of the bikes so he could pull me around with him:) She also mentioned there would be a pillow menu to choose from, another plus for us! And they would be breaking up the passengers into smaller groups for the tours, (depending on passengers abilities). Some like a faster paced walking tour and some would appreciate slower paced tours.

Ricky- I am glad someone else is going to try this new company. We too will get travel insurance just in case. We will likely be in Europe for a few days before the precruise tour we have added on to Paris. Want to wander around switzerland again for a few days. Probably take the train to Paris to meet up with the pretour. As for the early discount, my invoice specifically says $250 for each person.

Faye

[SF]

Faye,

 

Thanks for the heads up on getting Scenic to price tour in both CAN funds vs. American. Never thought to ask about that.

 

Called my TA today and he still hasn't heard from Scenic. He'll probably call them tomorrow to check things out and based on what he finds we'll either give the rest of the deposit or get our initial one returned. I'll post once we know for sure.

[Ricky Chan]

SF- you can get Scenic to price tour both in $US and Canadian and then see what would be better for you. I agree about the early booking deal, didn't really feel like an early booking if we had to pay all by Sept 2008. We too had looked at some sailings Azamara was offering for 2009 and couple of them were very interesting. Both DH has his heart set on a river cruise for next summer, so I am okay with that.

We have decided to go ahead with July 2009 for our trip with them. When we priced out and compared Ocean cruise and excursions etc, it was fairly similar pricing. Sandra (from Scenic) told us today they plan on having some bicycles on the ship for anyone who wants to tour around that way. I told her DH would just love that and I would be okay with it as long as there is a side car on one of the bikes so he could pull me around with him:) She also mentioned there would be a pillow menu to choose from, another plus for us! And they would be breaking up the passengers into smaller groups for the tours, (depending on passengers abilities). Some like a faster paced walking tour and some would appreciate slower paced tours.

Ricky- I am glad someone else is going to try this new company. We too will get travel insurance just in case. We will likely be in Europe for a few days before the precruise tour we have added on to Paris. Want to wander around switzerland again for a few days. Probably take the train to Paris to meet up with the pretour. As for the early discount, my invoice specifically says $250 for each person.

Faye

 

Faye:

 

I am taking a different itinerary, 11 days from Budepast to Prague on September 7, 2009, could it be the reason that I receive less early bird discount because of shorter duration?

 

IT'S DISCOUNT SHOULD BE CALLED "EARLY FULL PAYMENT DISCOUNT", as SF said.

 

I have instructed my agent to pay the additonal deposit, and ask to clarify the discount amount. Anyhow, it is a go for us.

 

After cruising with ocean liners many times, I like to try river cruising next time. Besides, I have planned to visit Prague for a long time, it should work perfect, trying river cruise and visit Prague at the same time.

 

Nice to hear they add some new features.

 

Ricky

[Jack1]

Ricky

Cool, that's two of us Canadians booked for this new experience!! It may well be the shorter cruise is the reason for the smaller discount. Hope they just made a mistake and you get the full discount.

Faye

[Ricky Chan]

Ricky

Cool, that's two of us Canadians booked for this new experience!! It may well be the shorter cruise is the reason for the smaller discount. Hope they just made a mistake and you get the full discount.

Faye

 

Faye:

 

Not the case, it is not a mistake. My agent phoned Scenic Tours today and was told the discount amount is depend on the itineray.

 

I am jealous, your discount is double my amount. :)

 

Yes, nice to know there are fellow Canadians trying this new company as well. Too bad we are not taking the same cruise.

 

Good luck to Flames, if you are the fan.

 

Ricky

[SF]

Still don't have the prices for our cruise. Our TA called Scenic and they said they aren't available for our sailing date yet so as of now we still aren't sure what we plan to do. I wish they'd decide already so we can either leave the balance of the deposit with them or book another cruise. If they don't have prices by next week I think we're just going to cancel.

[Benita]

Scenic Tours has the wierdest website. You only find out about certain destinations if you live in certain places. I'm not talking about pricing, I am talking about itineraries. I was interested in viewing their Egypt trips, but they are not on the website for people in North America - you need to pretend to be (or actually be) from Australia or New Zealand to view this destination. In their mailed catalogue for people from North America, same thing. They send a DVD with pictures of Egypt, but no tour listings. Strange.

[Spoely]

Hi, Folks:

 

Dave and I have decided not to do a river cruise in 2009. Lots of factors came into play here, and it just won't work out. I was looking forward to meeting so many of you! Maybe another time on another ship, yes?

 

Cheers,

Karen

[sanny]

This thread re Scenic Tours seems to have stopped. I am new to Cruise Critic and not sure how it all works. My husband and I have booked the Scenic Tours 21 day Paris to Prague and Jewels of Europe River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest starting in Paris on 20 March 2009. I, too, have had problems finding any feedback on Scenic (mental note to let them know!). We're Australian so we're more than comfortable making a reservation with an Australian company (we know where to find them!) I really do hope that people from other countries will give them a go. I love Australians, but I'm not going to the other side of the world to travel with a bunch of Aussies. Although for the rest of you guys out there, we are really, really nice people! I hope that this thread will start up again and over the coming months there will be more updates. I've been waiting for this for 20 years and I'm really excited!!:)

[ciana]

There's a full page ad for Scenic Tours in the Globe and Mail today (June 23). I tried their website but I can't see any prices for their river cruises and can't even find some itineraries that are listed in this ad. Did everything seem to work so far for those who have booked already? We were looking at Sept 2009 dates but are having difficulty getting information. (Canadian)

[newnanna]

I have booked on the cruise Budapest to Amsterdam - departing Budapest 17th Nov 2008. Anyone else booked on this cruise??

[nordski]

Ciana:

 

I too saw the ad in the Globe yesterday and checked their web site. There was nothing about the "specials" then.

 

However, today there is a link to 2009 cruises and the specials are listed. It is still difficult to determine the total cost (which is in US$) and whether it includes air fare.

 

Their web site isn't particularly helpful.

 

Good Luck

[sbrauner]

Does anyone have a phone number with which to contact Scenic? I am interested in a river cruise for July 2009.

 

Please respond to sylviabrauner@comcast.net

 

Thanks

[GrannyLorr]

I have just read this thread from beginning to end as we have also just booked with Scenic. As an Aussie I had heard of Scenic, but never traveled with them, and actually had no idea they were so new to River cruising....just got a "good deal" in an email so went ahead and booked! There was a question as to their connection with HAL....they widely advertise a Canadian/Alaskan trip here, and i think the Alaskan part is on a HAL ship...therefore the HAL photos?? (well thats just IMHO)

We are booked Amsterdam to Budapest, leaving Amsterdam on November 17th 2008. Wont have any European stopovers, but we will fly via Asia, so having a stopover in Bangkok to break the loooooooooong flight! :eek:

I will be carrying my trusty laptop with me, so as long as there is wi fi connection, i will most certainly be writing a review...hopefully day by day!! If not any wi fi, I will still write it day by day and post it when I get home......my last "report" has had almost 25,000 hits!!! :D

[newnanna]

Hi Grannylorr,

Seems we may have booked our cruises the same day. There seems to be a little confusion with scenic as I have booked the Budapest to Amsterdam route but according to my booking they are asking for my preference on the Amsterdam tour dated 18th Nov. We are also going to stop over in Bangkok for a couple of days-but haven't set the date for flights- still waiting for booking agent to get back to me. Do you have a date for leaving Bne? Have you been to Thailand before?

Have you booked your Hotel?

Thanks

[GrannyLorr]

Hi newnana, just got an email last night from the TA saying our flights are all confirmed but not sure if we are leaving Bris on the 12th or the 13th. Flights on the 13th seemed to be full so we said we could go a day earlier or whatever....so not sure of the "whatever" yet! We havent been to Bangkok before and are staying at the Pathumwan Princess, we have a late check out as our flight to Europe doesnt leave till around midnight. On the way home we will be staying at the Novotel at the airport as the connections are lousy again.......flight from Europe arrives in Bangkok around 3pm and flight to Bris doesnt leave till 7am next day.......dont want to go all the way back to the City again.....

[newnanna]

Still waiting for our TA to get back to us. Did you book the PP through your travel agent? or through a web site. I usually use hotelclub.

After reading reviews, Siam@siam seems to get a great rap.

Still to get costings on the two hotels. We fly Austrian Airlines from Thailand as we are supposed to be meeting the boat in Budapest. I know on the flight over the flight out is around 11.00pm- I don't think we shall hold our room but head to the airport early and relax in the lounge.

Sounds like the connection home is terrible. Good idea to stay at the Airport. We did this in KL.