Kristelle

I dont agree with that. I think most people understand degree and context - because I can sometimes get away with being slightly over speed limit doesn't mean I think it is ok to go 100s of miles over it or that I think other laws are not worth keeping to. Or the equivalent on this thread - just because I get away without wearing a tie t o a place doesn't mean I think a swim suit would be ok or I change my behaviour in that place. Interesting this 'dress codes make people better' idea on this thread I don't agree with that either

In Australia they are called bum bags. Fanny has a different meaning here than in US. I have a simple elastisiced belt one I bought from ebay and it just fits cash, credit card, phone. It has a loop holder for water bottle but i never use that and cut it off. Not at all expensive but works really well for me. Sits under my clothes so nobody really sees what it looks like anyway I carry non valuables, like hat, book, etc in a light weight back pack

that is the trip we are booked on but in reverse - starting in Siem Riep and finishing in HCMC

I don't understand the issue. We are booked to go on this cruise in Jan 2025...both the paper brochure and the online itineraries state you bus from Ho Chi Min city to where the cruise commences and that you bus from Kampong Cham to Siem Riep,for the land section there ( or vice versa if you are starting in Siem Riep.) What part of this were you not aware of? It is quite clearly stated as that being the case. At least it is in my Australian brochures/ Scenic Australia Online. It does seem Scenic don't do pre and/or post extensions the same way they do in Europe. But there are a few longer itineraries that do this same trip plus more which I guess in effect is same thing, just presented differently. They are quite clearly shown in the literature too.

My allegiance to my fellow countrymen??? not sure what you mean by that. I cant open the attachment, sorry. Nobody is fully objective - that applies to you too, reading reviews after the fact. Confirmation bias applies to all of us. Buyer beware of everything - do your research, read the fine print - I do that beforehand with all holidays. Almost obsessively in fact. I'm sorry you were caught up in this event and have not been able to resolve it to your satisfaction I had a great cruise with Scenic though and happily booked another. (Ive had great trips with other companies too but they are not topic of this thread) Wishing you all the best on whatever future trips you take.🙂

I didnt really find this, at least not for my husband and I. We sometimes sat with different people- but I agree with what you said - just quickly explain when introducing yourself.

We met somebody who was quite hard of hearing and he just said similar to that too - if people know this they will understand. One trick might also be to try to sit yourself so your deaf ear is at the wall side of tables - so nobody is talking to your from that side anyway

I have gone on Europe river cruise and planning to go on Mekong river cruise next - have read up lots on all sorts of details including dress code. Dress code is stated as smart casual - so I would do similar to ljandgb and if I changed from my day clothes I would usually put on tomorrows clothes to wear to dinner - or if I thought they were too casual, I might have a dressier top for the evening. On my Europe cruise, the weather was warm - not as warm as Mekong, but short sleeves/shorts weather. On ordinary nights there were men wearing shorts at dinner - not skimpy gym shorts, of course, but smartish cargo type, almost to knee length ones I read beforehand that jeans at dinner were a faux pas - reality was different, not unusual at all to see people in jeans at dinner. There were a couple of nights when people dressed bit more formally - captains welcome/farewell gala dinners and night out to a concert. Women wore nice dresses or pants with dressy tops (cooler in evenings in Europe, in Vietnam/Cambodia I might wear 3/4 pants with dressy top for suchlike) Men wore pants and smart collared shirts, with or without jackets. A few wore ties at these events (nobody wore them every evening) but they were minority. I would expect Mekong river cruise to be similar sort of dress standards.

I would be really annoyed if that happened to me - not because there were formal night requirements but because you specifically asked about them and were told otherwise in writing what is the point of checking things if answers are wrong. Not your fault their left hand doesn't know what their right hand is doing.

Re reviews about other things (ie apart from ones about this incident) - as always, there are some negative reviews about any company - I don't see more for Scenic than others though and I read a lot of reviews

I don't think anyone is particularly supporting Scenic. Just trying to give perspective and of course we could only go on information given. There are several other unfavourable reviews relating to the incident or to Scenic in general?

You seem to be seeing this as us vs them. I dont think anybody is blindly supporting Scenic so much as sharing their own experiences and, in my last post, the direct words of Scenic in their brochure about compensation for missed touring. If you are being offerred $450 per person per day (you still havent clarified that, not sure why?) then that seems within the amounts stated in their fine print - not that fine, was in regular size writing and easily found in their literature. I think you need to cut the staff a bit of slack for poor service that evening - if items in kitchen were broken, food lost, staff minor injuries - seems possible in scenario you describe - then I think they were doing their best in the unforeseen circumstances Odd that it continued at deteriorated level for rest of trip I have had a great experience with Scenic but my above comments would be same for any other company

You didn't answer my question whether it is $450 per person per day You didn't mention 'complexities regarding food and cabin services' in your previous posts - what does that mean exactly? Yes of course it is disappointing but I'm not sure Scenic are doing other than their brochure says they will do.

I don't agree Canberra itself is a scapegoat for many things - but making fun of politicians, whether they be in Canberra or our state ones, is somewhat of a national pastime, usually in good fun (like joke I posted, I thought, although some people seem to have taken it to heart) Good natured state vs state (or territory) banter something of a pastime too - eg Victorians making fun of South Australians or vice versa. Mentioning that one specifically as has been my own experience.

Sorry to hear your trip was messed up like that. We had a magnificent 14 day cruise with Scenic and would book with them again. Can't comment on how crises were handled as we didnt have any. However I did book a Mekong River cruise and somebody from Scenic was suppossed to contact me couple of weeks ago to discuss it - and so far, nobody has. So perhaps their cruises are good but their sales service not so much. anyway below is copy and paste from their Europe River cruise book, so this tells you what compensation they will pay. Are you being compensated $450 per person per day - which would seem within their stated amounts? Did you have choice to disembark and get full refund for non taken part of cruise? If so, they will say you could of exercised that if you were unhappy with arrangements? What does an itinerary deviation look like? How could it impact my trip and how might I be compensated? Minor Disruption Coaches transfer guests from their original Space-Ship to a new one on the other side of the obstruction. These ‘ship swaps’ are performed with the least impact possible with your Cruise Director accompanying you onto the new ship with all belongings. You will be accommodated in a suite of the same type and value; should this not be possible you will be compensated the difference in the value of the suites. Prolonged Disruption Coaches may be used to transfer guests to included sightseeing locations, while continuing to be accommodated on your Scenic Space-Ship. A prolonged disruption may also require the Space-Ships to continuously cruise without stopping for touring. Under Scenic’s River Cruise Cover you will be compensated between $100-$200 per person, per day of the disruption should we not be able to fulfill the sightseeing listed in the itinerary. Extended/ Major Disruption Accommodation may need to be provided off-ship in hotels with all meals provided. To the best of our ability, we ensure hotels are of similar standard to your Space-Ship. Meals will be included, however, alcoholic drinks and amenities such as butler service, may or may not be included. Touring is by coach. As we understand this experience will not be same as being on board a Space-Ship, under Scenic’s River Cruise Cover you will be compensated based on the suite category booked, between $300-$800 per person, per day for up to seven days. Alternatively, a full refund for the remainder of the cruise may apply should you choose to disembark and end the journey.

I'm not from Canberra or Tasmania but I read it as a dig at politicians not people living in Canberra. Like most jokes, doesn't have to be factually correct.

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired "Where have you been?" God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds "Look, Michael. Look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test 'Balance.'" God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. . Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things..." God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice." The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a heart shaped island and said "What's that one?" "That's TASMANIA , the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful trees and gardens, a beautiful river, and days filled with sunshine. The people from TASMANIA are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things." Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked "But what about balance, God? You said there would be 'balance.'" God smiled. "I will create Canberra, Wait till you see the idiots I'll put there!".

I'm not sure what the World Cafe is but it seems from the video that Viking have a Cafe on next level, same as Scenic. Which, on Scenic, had a smaller continental breakfast buffet and lighter lunch alternative - sandwiches, wraps etc instead of the main dining room buffet.

Not much, No. River cruise ships are all much the same design, all companies Breakfast and lunch you probably can if they are buffets and time spaced out. But dinner everyone is at one sitting and if the ship is full there wont be many tables for 2 and you can't reserve tables - and anyway the tables are so close together that you are almost together with people next table to you anyway Skip through to almost the end - shows the main dining area. Very few, if any, tables for 2 on Viking

We went on Europe river cruise with Scenic - but I expect dress codes much the same on Viking. Weather was warm - low 20's to low 30's throughout the 2 weeks. Day dress was casual and dinner dress maybe slightly smarter casual Some people dressed up a bit for dinner, some not. About 1/4 of men shorts at dinner - not skimpy gym shorts of course but cargo type almost to the knee ones. Before going I read that jeans at dinner were a faux pas - but reality said otherwise, jeans at dinner were not at all uncommon, men and women There were a couple of dressier occasions - the captains welcome and farewell dinners and one night we went out to a concert in the evening- men wore smart collared shirts and chino type pants, with or without jacket, women wore smart dresses or pants with dressy top A few men wore ties at these occasions but majority did not so, yes, you will get away with casual gear most of the time and your good trousers and smart shirt for the few times you need to go step further.

We are going to do this trip in Jan 2025 - not as extensive as Terry and Mike's as we have been to Vietnam before - we will be doing 7 day cruise with 3 nights on land in Cambodia, package with Scenic A lot of information in above linked thread. I booked the tour when on board Scenic Jewel in Europe, got discount for doing so and was somewhere we already knew we wanted to do Paid initial deposit and Scenic rep was suppossed to contact us soon after we got home. that was 2 weeks ago and not heard from them yet.🤔

I think,like most things, it is a compromise. Most of us don't have unlimited money so we have to figure where is the sweet spot between what we would ideally like, and what we can afford or consider worth the cost.and would still enjoy doing. if you can afford, or consider it worth the cost, of the lowest price and you will enjoy that holiday even though it isnt your ideal penthouse suite, you can really afford to go and should do so.

or they would be fine if you did them as part of a land/cruise combination trip or, as mentioned above, live really close to the location of the cruise.

or less. I've been on many dinner cruises - that last for about 3 hours while you sight see and have dinner. But like one day ones you obviously do so as part of a trip, not fly from Australia to France just to do a dinner cruise on the Seine. or people do things like 2 nights on Halong Bay as part of a trip to Vietnam

when I was on river cruise (so not sure if this would work for ocean cruises where there are so many more people) the cruise director mentioned this - people deciding not to take some old item of clothing home so more would fit in luggage, please let us know. whether they then donate them or bin them I don't know, you could ask - but at least they know not to try to contact you or wait for you to contact them, thinking it was left by mistake. But I agree with Anita - don't just leave them in taxis or random places in ports - that would just clog up their lost property, not knowing if you would later claim it. if you are going to donate them, needs to be donated to a thrift shop there or a charity that you know wants them. Would have to do some research in advance to know how to do this in a foreign place.