Scenic Tours river cruise

[GrannyLorr]

The TA booked us into Novotel Siam Square, but I asked her to change it to PP.....always do my own research on Trip Advisor etc.....I usually book my own via the Net, but not this time.

We are flying Thai then Austrian as well but cruise from Amsterdam. KL's airport hotel is great, stayed there many times...hopefully the one in Bangkok will be just as good. Our late check out is till 6pm and by looking at hotels on the Net, a lot seem to offer this. Ask your TA if you can get it at no extra cost! Sightseeing for the day will be very HOT....would rather have a shower before getting back on a plane for a loooooooooooooong flight! :eek:

[newnanna]

Thanks for the information.

[newnanna]

:eek: well, there seems to be a little confusion as to which cruise we are on. My T/A advised it is on the Amsterdam to Budapest route however, the specials I thought were only on the Budapest to Amsterday route. Anyway, I said I don't care which one as long as the price is the same- so we may be on the same ship. I am travelling with a girlfirend as both our husbands are very busy with work. We are intending having a couple of extra days in Budapest. I have had mixed reviews about Budapest. One girlfriend has just returned and says it is worth the extra time. Another, has says it is very dirty and she won't be returning. Best to discover for ourselves. I am wondering if it will get colder the closer we get to Budapest, and hopefully we may get the beginning or the Xmas market season. :)The flight connections aren't good especially coming home.:(

[GrannyLorr]

we will most likely be on the same flight from Bangkok as well! our fare is a "special"....I think "some" categories of suites were only available Budapest to Amsterdam......however the one we selected was available Amsterdam to Budapest. We had intended staying on in Vienna, but then realised we are already booked for Hervey Bay early December, so have to come straight home.....this will be our shortest overseas trip ever! :eek: Dont know about buying too much at markets....luggage is too much of a problem these days!

[newnanna]

Well, its a bit of a drama, but we now have the cruise confirmed and we are on the Budapest to Amsterdam route. It now seems that we have to fly via Sydney on Qantas to Bangkok as Scenic did not hold enough seats on the Thai Airways flight. I think the total tour is extra using Qantas and we have to pay the extra for the bne/sydney leg. :( We are departing on 11th Nov and having 3 nights at the PP.($400 for 2 including transfers and breakfast. Good price?????):rolleyes:

We are then going to have an extra 2 nights in budapest.

Apparently, Thai used to have two planes leaving Brisbane but as of July 1 have cancelled one of the services. The flights are obviously very full.

[GrannyLorr]

We have also had some dramas....all flights were confirmed EXCEPT the Bris to Bangkok one.......even saying we could go a day early didnt work. Finally got us onto the Thai one on the 13th BUT we had to pay an extra $500 plus!! :( Not ending up quite as "cheap" as we thought! We have two nights at the PP with transfers and late checkout but NO BREAKFAST for $504 so looks like you got a better deal than us! :D Booked the Novotel at Bangkok Airport for the trip home.....also have a 12 hour lay over in Vienna....the flight connections are really bad. Dont think I will fall for one of these "Specials" again!

[newnanna]

Yes, it seems the special might have been a bit of a "con". No flights available at the special price therefore you have to go to the next level.

The problem is definately the Brisbane to Bangkok leg. Scenic should have been more responsible and made sure they had the seats available before offering the special.

We have previously used Viking to do the tulip and windmills cruise. This was also offered at the time as a special- we had no problems. Maybe I will stick with viking in the future.

In saying this I am sure once we get on the plane and the boat we shall have a wonderful time.

As we will be flying home via sydney I don't believe we need an overnight in Bangkok.

[newnanna]

Finally, after much stress we have the trip sorted thanks to a wonderful girl in at scenic. We are flying qantas out of Sydney on the 11th and we are on the cruise- Budapest to Amsterdam.:o

I will tell you more about the situation if you wish to contact my on blondie_g13@hotmail.com

[Burgo]

This is my first post so please excuse any errors. Just wanted to comment on Scenic Tours. This company is based in my home town in Australia and we have done 4 overseas tours with them and are booked on their Grankd Alpine Adventure and Jewels of Europe River Cruise in August this year (2009). I would not think of travelling (escorted tours) with any other company than Scenic. They provide wonderful service and we have never had a problem with any aspect of their service and tours. The accommodation is always the best available, their tour directors are experts and nothing is too much trouble for them. We have travelled to China, Egypt, Canada and Alaska with them and every trip was a wonderful experience. With this in mind we had no hesitation in booking our tour this year with them and are looking forward to the cruise section on the MS Scenic Ruby from Budapest to Amsterdam.

[sanny]

Burgo, you are absolutely right. Scenic Tours does have an exceptional product with their Jewels of Europe river cruise - their ships are beautiful and their crews and tour directors are amazing. I'm so glad that you have had 4 wonderful tours with them and nothing has gone wrong. When (if) something ever does go wrong you may have a different opinion. At the moment we are still having issues, and we are working very hard to make sure that no-one else has the same problems that we did.

FYI .... they are still advertising 6 cruises in April 2010 which I believe will have dire consequences for anyone who unwittingly chooses to travel then. We recently contacted Scenic to ask them how these cruises would be affected by the lock maintenance and were told that the dates for the closures were "subject to change" but if we were concerned about their effect on the itinerary that we should postpone our trip to May. Unfortunately most people would have no idea about these lock closures and wouldn't know to ask about them. Dear me, will they never learn. :mad:

[Burgo]

Sanny

 

Sorry to hear you had some issues with Scenic. As I said we have had no problems that were bought on by Scenic and any problems that occurred (as a result of outside influences) were dealt with quickly. On our China trip a woman was taken seriously ill through the night but was quickly taken by the tour director to an English medical centre and was attended to and able to rejoin the tour in 2 days. On our Canada tour the rail line was washed out and our 2 day rail journey was cut to 1 day but at the end of that day the Scenic tour director had all the paperwork for a refund and this was received on our return home. I didn't know about the lock maintenance issue so hopefully all will be well for our trip in September.

[Burgo]

Hi Sanny

As you have sailed on the Sapphire, sister ship to the Ruby we are booked on, could you tell me what the "internet access in every cabin" involves and how the cost is charged. I have a very small laptop that I was going to take so can I plug this in or is wireless involved?

Cheers

[CruiserRob]

Burgo

I asked this question of Scenic tours customer service and this is their response:

 

Internet Information:

 

Connecting to the Internet from the TV in the cabin:

 

Passengers who wish to connect to the internet through the TV will need to go to reception and purchase an internet pas for the time they want to use the internet for.

 

A wireless keyboard will be given to the passenger that connects to their TV.

 

A printout of a user name and password will be given to the passengers and they can use this to log into the wireless network on their TV.

 

 

Internet Rates:

 

EUR 5.00 for 1 day

EUR 15.00 for 1 week

EUR 25.00 for 2 weeks

Internet is not like the internet you get at home. It is via Satellite so it is not as fast as broadband.

Sometime the satellite needs to be folded down to pass under low bridges and reception is not received when the ship is in a lock!

 

Rob

[Hot2Travel]

What are the duties of the 'suite butler'?;) Is morning coffee service available in your room?

[sanny]

Hi Sanny

As you have sailed on the Sapphire, sister ship to the Ruby we are booked on, could you tell me what the "internet access in every cabin" involves and how the cost is charged. I have a very small laptop that I was going to take so can I plug this in or is wireless involved?

Cheers

Hi Burgo, we used the ship's laptops and the fee wasn't exhorbitant (but we only used it for an hour at a time). I'm sorry but I forget what it cost on a weekly basis - again, I don't think it's too much. The only problem is connection. On the Sapphire there were no major issues, but on the Emerald the access was very limited - not sure why, it's a question you'd have to ask Scenic. Presumably whatever problems the Sapphire and Emerald have/had they will address on the Diamond & Ruby ??? Can't help saying it, but internet access may be the least of your problems. Fingers crossed all goes well for you. At least in September the locks won't be closed. Enjoy the scenery, it's amazing.

[Burgo]

Thanks for the info.

 

Cheers, Burgo

[De Boss]

What are the duties of the 'suite butler'?;) Is morning coffee service available in your room?

HI,

Yes you can get coffee in your suite by the Butler. You have to ask and decide the time. Assuming you are not in one of the Royal or Junior suites, when you are supposed to get a canapes (and according to brochure drinks) normal suites on Danube deck can have 2 items of clothing pressed daily per person, shoes cleaned. The butler will also take meals to your cabin, if you ask. There is no washing facilities on ship, but we hand washed and then had items pressed if they needed.

We sailed on Emerald and then had to change to Sapphire. Internet access on Emerald was very limited to non-existent while Sapphire also had problems. Nobody seemed to know why.

Enjoy the scenery. That was stunning and I hope you get to sail all the way.

[Burgo]

Can anyone tell me what temperatures to expect (degrees C) on a river cruise in the first half of September - Budapest to Amsterdam. Am also touring Switzerland, Austria Germany etc prior so not sure how hot/cold it will be.

 

Cheers, Burgo

[letsgo39]

Can anyone tell me what temperatures to expect (degrees C) on a river cruise in the first half of September - Budapest to Amsterdam. Am also touring Switzerland, Austria Germany etc prior so not sure how hot/cold it will be.

 

Cheers, Burgo

 

This site,www.weatherbase.com will give you average temperatures for the areas you are visiting. Bring up the home page,than Europe and than you can check by different cities.

[shudder]

we travelled on the scenic emerald(changed from scenic saphire) in may 2009 and were in cabin 332 - we paid considerable money for an upgraded room only to be shaken by shuddering vibration whenever the engines are running especially upstream and leaving locks - the rooms above the engines are supposedly on a floating floor but if you are travelling on the scenic emerald(quite possibly other scenic ships as well) you will find that the floating floor doesnt float it shudders - make sure you get a room well away from the engines or you will be most disapointed and feel ripped off like we do - we were not the only ones who were affected - would like to hear from others that have experienced this problem

[Jane2]

Hi

We had same problem with shuddering etc on the MS RUBY in June2009. We were in cabin 234 at the end of the ship. Between the motor noise & fume smells our first week was a disaster. Plus the sewerage smell was awful. Seems that problem is still happening on the MS Ruby from article in the Sydney SundayTelegraph a week ago. They told us the smell was caused by something being put in the sewerage system to stop the smell but it caused the bacteria also being killed which increased the problem. Hard to believe since it is still on going a month later.(We did get moved with other travellers up stairs to cabin 324 halfway through the trip)

We did write letters of complaint to Scenic head office & did get what THEY called a "gesture of goodwill" amount BUT we felt that they did not really handle the situation as well as they should have. Hopefully the group of Australians that have just got off have their problems handled with more apathy. Shame other ships don't have balconies. Scenic have it tied up. Make sure you double check these problems & yes do not get a cabin past the half way mark to the rear. Maybe stay away from MS Ruby until Scenic can guarantee you no problems. Happy cruising

[penang32]

Jane2

Were there any positives regarding your cruise?

All we seem to be hearing is the negatives and I would have thought that there would be others who have travelled on Scenic cruises this year and would also be able to provide feedback.

 

Where did you commence your cruise from?

[Ricky Chan]

Jane2

Were there any positives regarding your cruise?

All we seem to be hearing is the negatives and I would have thought that there would be others who have travelled on Scenic cruises this year and would also be able to provide feedback.

 

Where did you commence your cruise from?

 

When we booked, the ship assigned was Ruby, it was later changed to Emerald. Received cruise doc. last week, it was changed to Sapphire, I believed this was the first ship built. Our cabin is situated at midship on Rhine deck. Hopefully we wont' hear any noises from our cabin.

 

Will give my opinion after coming back from our ever first river cruise. Only 12 days to go before leaving town.

 

Ricky

[shudder]

the ship/staff and itinery were fine and provided you aren`t in a room near the engine and the so called "floating floor" then you should have an enjoyable trip. Ricky if you are midship you should be ok as those in the forward cabins had only occasional vibration but for those who are in the rearward cabins(probably 26 upwards and getting worse each room further back) the vibration is constant and bad - as stated on an earlier post we were in cabin 332 and the the cabin didnt vibrate it rattled and shuddered to the extent that the cabin girl put towels under glasses - towels in the wardrobe doors - towels in the shower screens and under the toilet seat as well as several other places which helped with the rattle but not the bad vibration - we weren`t the only ones affected - the lady in 333 was in tears after the first night and fortunately for them they were able to get another cabin further forward on a lower deck which they said wasn`t perfect but was much better - another couple on the 2nd floor were also near the generator and had to put up with that 24/7 plus the shuddering vibration.

By the sounds of it you are further forward and as such you should have an enjoyable time but for anyone who is booked near the engines they will be dissapointed