flviking

1 minute ago, SusieAV8R said:

Should have been specific.  Experience, post covid, is M-class.

We were left on our own to board and find our room on Edge RS boarding from the suites lounge. First world problem to be sure. 

41 minutes ago, franski said:

If you stay in what they consider a "host hotel" for a pre-stay, they will include airport transfers - even if you are outside the tour dates.  They often have a hotel identified as a meeting point so they can get the boat cleaned before the next group arrives.  If you were staying there - or could get there - transfers would most likely be included. But - at that point - it might be a group transfer.

 

We are going in 3 days ahead of our Scenic cruise (eastern Europe). The tour starts with one night at the Marriott - so we booked there.  Transfers are now included - even though we are outside the tour dates. 

 

On a positive note, unless your hotel is way outside the downtown Buda/Pest area, a taxi will be really reasonable.

 

Fran

We are at the Four Seasons. We asked them to arrange the car for us.

34 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

Nothing special there when we boarded at the secondary terminal in 2014. I believe it was designated T29. We've also boarded at T4 in 2016. Both were PH on the Constellation. Both times we were escorted directly to Michael's. Never even sat down in the terminal. Photo is from the master bath looking south from T29. Looking forward to Retreat boarding at T25 in November. 

 

We did the Retreat boarding at 25. We drive to the port ourselves. Missed the suites luggage drop off as the sign was obscured by a law enforcement vehicle parked in front of it. Other than that it was a nice change. 

Is there a suites lounge area at Celebrity's second berth at Port Everglades? We are in Royal Suite on Reflection but Beyond is also in port so they likely get Terminal 25.  Any experience on the embarkation process when we are in the tier 2 berth?

1 hour ago, pontac said:

 

Chauffer travel from/to your house to/from airport/railway station is included (up to 50 miles each way) for all Scenic UK customers. If Scenic arrange a hotel at the destination they also include transport from/to boat.

 

But that foreign travel connection could be a coach, depending on how many passengers there are. We stayed at a hotel on arrival abroad and were taken to boat by coach, but on departure from boat were taken to airport by Mercedes people mover as only one other couple were departing at that time.

 

If you make your own hotel arrangements abroad - I didn't with Scenic but I have done with Viking - you have to make your own travel arrangements between hotel and boat.

 

The cruise companies have different offerings in their different markets.

 

Thanks for that explanation. We booked our own flights from the US. We arranged our own hotel in Budapest. Our suite includes private transfers. We are disappointed that the private transfer is so inflexible. It seems having a private car from the hotel would cost Scenic no more than from the airport as it is a much shorter distance. 

On 8/31/2022 at 3:58 PM, English Tim said:

We have just returned from Budapest and we had a Mercedes on both legs and both drivers were on time and excellent.

Is the chauffeur drive a perk for UK cruisers? We are in a Royal Panorama Suite. Couldn’t get Scenic to pick us up at our hotel in Budapest for the drive to the ship. They told our TA they would only transport us from the airport. As our hotel is right at Chain Bridge the distance for the driver would be much less than from the airport. Not a good taste on our first Scenic cruise. 

1 hour ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

If we are doing a CS it is on an S class and we have a preference for cabins 1110 or 1233 which have the much larger balconies. We don't really like those on the deck above as they have more overhang. On the other CS cabins on deck 10 have balconies that, if you take into account the amount of space the tub in the RS takes up, are similar to the useable RS balcony.

 

We are in 1110 in 3 weeks time, unless we get a positive result from our MoveUp bids for either a RS or a PH (neither of which are currently available).

We were in 1110 on Silhouette. Really liked the deep balcony and especially the ability to see forward sue to the balcony angle.

We were in an RS on Edge. While the balcony is basically halved we liked having the living room go to the edge of the ship with the floor to ceiling windows on the days it was cool for us Floridians to be out in the breeze.

We have done Sky Suites and CS. Won a move up to RS on Edge earlier this year. Night and day. We had the best service and care ever. The crew do keep track of you. Every time we went to a specialty restaurant the Luminae maitre' d somehow came by to check on us. Butler took care of anything we requested. We had our own little Super Bowl watch party in our suite with the butler bringing food from two specialty restaurants.  We love Luminae so we have always booked lower level suites as they are much more affordable. After the experience we booked a RS for our November cruise.  Whatever suite you are in will be a great experience. 

Silly Upgrade Bid Ranges

Ship: Reflection

Wishing the Scenic Amber cruisers well.  Please post your experience as time allows. We were on Amber Sept 29 Budapest to Nuremberg. We hopefully made a good choice by switching to April 2023. We really didn't want to spend the money this river cruise costs for even a partial bus tour.

I remember George Carlin gave the annual weather forecast. Cold with warming toward mid year then cold again.  Seems right for the northern hemisphere.

We decided to switch from September to April for our first river cruise. Scenic Budapest to Nuremberg.  Prices are much higher for the river cruise than a bus trip. Our calculus said move. Scenic charged us $400 to make the switch. We will know in May if we made a good decision.

We were on Edge in a RS last Super Bowl Sunday. Our PRH brought us food from two different specialty restaurants so we could sit back and enjoy our suite and watch the game. Other times we've watched on deck but it was cool and rainy that Sunday.  RS on a Move Up was quite the treat.

We did have wait staff tell us we had an upcharge in certain specialty dining or bars such as adding a lobster tail to a steak. When it was time to sign the check it was always "You're in a RS so you are all set". Eden bar was the only place that processed an upcharge.  $1.00 per drink!  Hoping for Move Up many more cruises!  Enjoy yours!

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.

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

First time on Scenic in September. Received the email this am. 

Not impressed so far. Still can’t get a time for transfer from ship to Nuremberg airport morning of departure. Scenic has confirmed they will not provide our private transfer from our hotel in Budapest to the ship rather than from the airport to the ship. I guess they offer private transfers with the expectation many will not risk a flight arriving morning of boarding. To be complete they actually told my TA if we went back to the airport they would provide the private transfer. Wow!
As we arrive earlier than day of boarding the offered transfer is not available. Nickel and diming a high end suite will not earn my repeat business. 

Wow! So sorry so many are having all these difficulties. As first time river cruisers this is quite a change.  When we pay over $2k per day for an ocean cruise we are treated very well. On board and shore side.  Our TA recommended Scenic and we have a top level suite.  Among other amenities we are supposed to have private transfers.  We make our own air reservations so we can choose airline/schedule/price trade offs that work for us.  Our TA has been waiting three weeks now for Scenic to tell him (us) the earliest time they can get us to the airport in Nuremberg at the end of our cruise.  I have no concept why this can be so difficult. Don't they dock at the same time every two weeks as the ship goes back and forth between Nuremberg and Budapest? I can't see this as part of their under-investment in IT and their catastrophic hack.  Isn't this on a piece of paper or in someones brain?  Is this normal with Scenic to be so difficult to deal with pre-cruise?

We have ATT for our cell phones. $50 or $100 for a 30 day cruise plan depending on the data and minutes you want to buy. Far more affordable.

RS on Sunday.  Got an email from the shoreside concierge Monday morning so 6 days in advance.

Thank Jim.  We received an email from the concierge this morning.

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Nothing so far.   I'm in a CS and only availble for bidding was a RS and a PS.   Currently to RS available an no PH. 

 

In the past the earliest I have ever had a bid accepted was 14 days before sailing and the latest 48 hours. 

Do you know how it works as to amenities if you get your upgrade? We are on Edge next week. We were successful on a bid from SS to RS. The area to enter the bids listed amenities. We would definitely use the unlimited specialty dining.  When we try to make a booking the system still wants to charge the cover charges.  Any experience with this?  Thanks!

https://www.exploregov.ky/reopening-plan

Click here to download a summary of Phase 5. 

No Cruise Travelers as of Jan 20, 2022

To add to the uncertainty the CDC has stated the requirements of  Conditional Sail Order will become voluntary on Jan 16.  My guess is that near term the lines will continue but loosening of the requirements to sail will now be at the discretion of the company.

• Ship:  Edge
• Length of Cruise:  7
• Cruise Sail Date:  February 13
• Date email offer received: 1/6
• Captain’s Club Tier:  Elite
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
• Current Cabin:   S2 Sky Suite
• Bid?  Yes/No:  No

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Minimum Bids

CS $1000pp

RS $2400pp

EV $3500pp

PH $7000pp

IS $10000pp