loriva

I don't remember seeing any on the Jade. There MIGHT have been one--a shaver outlet--in the bath, but I always carry battery-powered tea lights to use as a nightlight so was not looking for one. In addition to the two round-pin European outlets by the desk/shelving area, there was one three-pin outlet--not sure if it was UK or Australian (or if they are the same). We brought a power strip (no surge protector) with a European plug that had space for three U.S. grounded plugs plus two USB ports that worked really well to charge cameras and phones plus power the laptop. We also brought an adaptor plug to use by one of the nightstands for DH's dual-voltage CPAP machine. (The steward provided distilled water for the latter on request--it came in a sealed 5-liter jug, which was more than enough for a one-week voyage.)

Hope to hear about your experience, We are booked on the Viking Astrild for a Christmas on the Elbe cruise in December. Weather and water levels will, presumably, be a little different then. 😉

I’m sure @notamermaidtalked about these in previous discussions about the Rhine, but they are so interesting. Faux castles along rail lines built during WWII in Germany as the Allies had a pact not to bomb cultural sites.

Looks like only one uploaded. Here’s the second to make “a couple.”

Here’s a couple from our sailing between Rudesheim and Koblenz on the Scenic Jade on 26 June.

Just filled out the post-cruise survey sent one week after disembarking by Scenic. It consisted of one question: "Based on your most recent cruise experience with us, on a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend Scenic to a friend or colleague?" plus a free-text box to explain the main reason you selected the rating you did. I gave Scenic a "5," reflecting an average--perhaps a generous one--of the abysmal pre-cruise experience (a "0," up to and including not picking us up at the airport in Vienna as promised); the hard product (two wonderful hotels in our land package, two average, and one below average) plus the Jade itself; and the soft product of service during the land and cruise portions of our trip. Overall, I think the two Canadian couples we met on the cruise--both of whom had traveled multiple times previously with Scenic--nailed our experience: it was inconsistent. And a company that bills itself as luxury should have consistently high standards and deliver its product to clients in a consistent manner. As our Canadian friends said, Scenic was special before but now it's not. Maybe it can be again once the world works through the current staffing and supply issues--who knows? Part of me--the pathological optimist--wants to think this was just a blip. A bad combination of the hack on Scenic's IT system (which, honestly, should be more resilient and not be out for almost two months), issues coming out of the pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine that took experienced staff out of the picture. I kept thinking "it will all be wonderful" once we're traveling with Scenic, but it was so stressful and nerve-wracking getting there--we wondered if our trip would be cancelled up to the moment we met the Tour Director in Vienna (compounded when we couldn't reach him because the Scenic office gave me the wrong telephone number). And once we were traveling with Scenic, some of it was wonderful--and some was not. It was clear on boarding the Jade--seven days into resumed service--that they were woefully understaffed and many of the staff they had did not have the needed training. Scenic brought on additional staff halfway through our cruise and wait times improved noticeably in both the lounge and dining room. And everyone seemed to have been trying very hard--even our poor Belarusian waiter who looked like a deer caught in the headlights every time we asked for something, even as simple as sparkling instead of still water. Would we sail with Scenic again? Honestly, I don't know. We had never traveled with them or any river cruise company prior to the pandemic, so we don't have that warm glow of nostalgia. We were probably spoiled as our one and only river cruise was in October 2021--with the pandemic issues at play, but not yet the war in Ukraine--on Crystal and they were truly wonderful. At every turn someone was asking if they could do something to help you. The sommelier let us try all the wines the first night to find favorites and constantly sought out interesting pairings. The suites were well equipped and designed. And the ship had a self-service laundry room, which was very helpful on a longer trip as we had--no washing lingerie in the bathroom sink and trying to find a place to hang it to dry. The luxury of choice and consistency (the butler always seemed to spot me while I was heading to the laundry room and insisted on carrying the laundry bag.) Alas, Crystal is no more as a river cruise company thanks to the sins of its parent company. We are next slated to sail with Viking in December for a Christmas markets cruise on the Elbe, so that will give us another point of comparison. We may end up on river cruising the same that we are for ocean cruising--we pick a trip based on itinerary and other factors not loyalty to one line. And we'll continue to try to help others on CC.com by providing information on current conditions--the good and the not-so-good.

A quick wrap-up on disembarkation. The CD on Jade, Tadej, was really on top of this aspect of our cruise. He sent out a preliminary schedule for cabins based on flights, hotel booked through Scenic, and independent arrangements two days prior to the end of the cruise. Passengers were asked to visit him to confirm their arrangements by the next day. He held a disembarkation briefing on our final night and then issued a final schedule. The only bobble was that passengers with independent arrangements somehow did not receive their luggage tags. We had to ask for ours twice as did our travel companions. The tags were with Reception--somehow they had not been distributed to our stewards to bring to us. An easily solved issue all around. Breakfast started early on disembarkation day--0600 instead of 0730 hours. I ran into some passengers with transfers before breakfast who noted Scenic had not provided a breakfast box for them--they said they had received one from Viking when they had similar early departures. We did run into a couple at breakfast who had just been transferred from the airport in Amsterdam to the ship, so Scenic is flexible on boarding. We saw them again while we were in the lounge and the crew came to advise them their cabin was ready about 0900 hours. Everyone had to leave their cabins by 0830, but you could wait in the lounge until your transfer--you could even stay for lunch according to the CD. Scenic arranged for taxis to those of us at local hotels not arranged through Scenic; the latter had a small bus. Taxis appeared to be a flat rate 40 Euros for hotels in central Amsterdam. Our travel companions were at a different hotel than us and the CD arranged a van for them and another couple--so they were able to split the 40-Euro fare. Many (all?) taxis in Amsterdam appear to accept credit cards for payment of fares. The CD came around the lounge to advise passengers when their taxis arrived. He and the assistant CD accompanied passengers to the pier, had us identify our luggage, and then helped with getting the luggage to the taxi if needed. Then they wished us a pleasant farewell. Overall, a smooth and cordial experience.

Ours also landed in the Spam folder. We had the double whammy that Scenic somehow had us in their booking system as a travel agent. So they kept sending us links to their TA portal--which, of course, we could not access to retrieve our documents. Had to do the 1.5-hour wait on hold (we considered ourselves lucky to get through in that time given what others here reported) to reach a Scenic agent who could send us our documents.

Regent also does this for its ocean cruises. It's something for Scenic to consider. I need to finish up my thread with our disembarkation experience. Will try to wrap up later today.

Armin moved from the Pearl to the Jade on 15 June to serve as the Enrichment Director to Tadej, who also moved from the Pearl as CD. They were to get the Jade up and running after its season was interrupted by engine troubles (a battery issue per the captain) during its tulip and windmill sailing in the Netherlands. Armin was very personable and ran one trivia game and some disco nights during our sailing on Jade 22-29 June. He would also accompany some of the tours--a combination of helping to keep the groups together (some variances in how quickly we could move versus what the guides could do) and gauging how well the guides (many new to Scenic) were doing.

After lots of posts in the thread "What's Going on with Scenic," and receiving little information from Scenic prior to starting our cruisetour with them in Vienna on 15 June, this thread will attempt to provide some information on our tour and cruise experiences themselves. We arrived in Vienna after a missed connection due to a delay flight and the driver promised by Scenic was not at the airport to pick us up. After conversation with Scenic's European office (have their phone number handy and use option #6) we ended up taking a taxi to the hotel used by Scenic--the Hilton Vienna Park--and a promise of reimbursement by Scenic. Since we arrived a day ahead of the official start of our cruisetour and since we had had no information from Scenic, we planned a full day including meeting a relative who owns a craft brewery in Vienna. When we did receive our final documents--in the "Summary"--we discovered that time conflicted with the meeting with the Tour Director at 1800 hours in the hotel lobby. The hotel personnel had no information about the TD nor any Scenic meeting. I called Scenic's European office and asked for them to have the TD call me. They also provided his name and telephone number. After a frustrating hour trying to reach him--because Scenic had provided the incorrect telephone number--he texted me when he reached the hotel. We were able to have a quick meeting and obtain the information needed for the following day. This consisted of a half-sheet of paper with wake-up call times, what time luggage needed to be out, and what time we needed to meet in the lobby to start the day's activities. Day two started with a tour of either the Imperial Palace or the Natural History Museum. We had been in Vienna in October on a Crystal river cruise and had visited the palace then so chose the museum. The guide gave a somewhat strange tour that focused--admittedly--more on the history of the museum than the actual exhibits inside. Then a short walking tour of Vienna to St. Stephen's square where we then had a couple of hours before we met up with the TD and then walked to where the bus was to be. (This turned out to the the same place by the canal where we met Crystal's bus. Lesson learned--ask where the bus will be at the end if you have a little knowledge of the city and let the TD know you'll meet the group there. We would have spent our time differently if we'd thought to ask.) We then drove to Salzburg. Two hours into the drive we stopped for a break--at a place that was closing in three minutes. (They did let us use the restrooms.) We had to wait there 30 minutes because the bus driver said he had to take a mandated break after working for 3.5 hours. Since he'd only been driving us the past two hours and this was our designated driver and bus for the duration of our land package with Scenic, this made no sense. (We later overheard the TD questioning this as well. Along with the information that Scenic had not arranged for a bus-parking permit in Salzburg and failed to make hotel reservations for the bus driver.) We also made a stop in Mondsee to see St. Michael's Basilica used for the wedding scene in The Sound of Music movie. We arrived in Salzburg about 1845 to pouring rain. (The earliest we could have arrived would have been 1800 hours as the hotel Scenic is using--the Goldener Hirsch--is in the Old Town and buses are not allowed between 0800-1800 hours.) The TD and bus driver--and hotel staff--were great, however, and popped open an umbrella for you as you exited the bus. Evening and dinner on our own. (As was lunch--only breakfast included at hotel.) It is a lovely, historic property--part of the Luxury Collection of Marriott.