English Tim

Day 3 Originally we were due in Cologne, but river levels meant docking in Düsseldorf, then yesterday we were told we’d been delayed so we’d have a brief stop at Duisburg to drop tour passengers off, then carry on to Düsseldorf. This morning when we awoke, we noticed we were past Duisburg so then an announcement that we’d be docking at Düsseldorf. It is a bit of a nightmare for all, especially the cruise director, who has to keep redirecting the tour buses. We are going on a bike tour, which now leaves in the afternoon instead of the morning. We believe we should be swapping ships at Frankfurt tomorrow, after a bus tour of the Rhine Gorge and Rudesheim. The food and service on Scenic Pearl is excellent, as is the CD Nick! I am having the odd problem with posting, as some posts disappear, so hopefully this one will actually go live. So far the cruise has been a bit chaotic, mainly due to the river levels and no one knowing from one day to the next what might happen. We docked a bit late, which resulted in shortened tours to Cologne, not helped by heavy traffic. We did our own cycle tour around a very busy city, then returned for an early lunch before an organised cycle tour in the afternoon. They organised tour was good fun and went along the riverbank one-way and returned via a beer garden, which was very interesting, as I managed to order a second beer, instead of asking for the bill. I shared a second beer with a Canadian family, who we met on a tour. There were 10 of them but not all on the tour and they were great fun. The return ride to the ship was very interesting, as one person had a puncture and another lost a pedal. We got back just in time for the port talk, which was about a transfer to our new ship, which was going to be a very long day, due to expected heavy traffic on the autobahn to Frankfurt. We thought about going by train, but due to a special offer on the trains and it being the weekend we were advised against, as we might not be able to get a seat. The plan was for Tours to go via route is home, for a visit to a music museum, followed by a further drive to Frankfurt and as I don’t like travelling by coach, due to my height, the nice tour director said we could travel on the bus with the luggage, which would go straight to the ship. We chose this option, which turned out to be an excellent decision, as we arrived in time for a relaxing lunch, which utilised the room service menu as standard facilities weren’t available, which is not surprising as there only five of us on board. We thought there would be just two of us on the luggage bus, but my wife has been talking to the Canadian family and three of them decided to join us and it was a really good trip helped by an excellent young driver, who turned out to be the owner of the bus firm, who spoke excellent English. He was highly qualified at all levels of vehicle and during Covid as there were no bus passengers, he drove HGV lorries. Rosy and I walked into the city centre and took a tram ride, which took a circular route and we were given pretzels and apple wine, we thought that the music playing, but there wasn’t. We got a reduced fare of €3.50, instead of €8 so a real bargain. The remaining passengers arrived at about 6 pm, had a quick freshen up before a port talk and dinner, which was followed by a name that tune quiz, which was very popular and raucous.

There were several companies doing several trips per hour, so you shouldn’t have any issues. I can’t recall which company we used.

My wife and I booked this cruise last Autumn, but it was recently cancelled and we were rebooked on Scenic Jade from Amsterdam to Budapest, departing August 17. We flew British Airways from London Heathrow to Amsterdam on an early flight, which meant leaving home at 04.00. Now that we are Scenic Platinum we are entitled to free transfers from our home in Dorchester to any airport. The journey was quick and being BA gold, we could check in at the First Wing, which meant were soon in the lounge having breakfast with champagne. The plane was late leaving and arrival at Amsterdam was delayed, plus immigration was delayed, meaning a slight delay in arriving at ship, in pouring rain. When we arrived at our cabin our shoes and socks very wet! After a quick buffet lunch we went in search of a canal tour from near Central Station. This cost 10 euros each and was very informative. We decided not to fully unpack our clothes, as we are due to change ships due to the low water levels on the river Rhine. Dinner was very good, but portions were small. Austrian wine was excellent. We had an early night as it had been a long day.

Thank you very much for your comprehensive posts and your beautiful pictures. We are going on the Danube with scenic in the middle of August

I asked my TA for the flight reference, which I was given immediately allowing me to pre-book my seats, which has a gold card holder I can do so free of charge. It may be worth emailing the hotel, obviously only applicable if you know which hotel and they may be able to put a note on your reservation. When you arrive back at Heathrow, there should be a driver with your name on the card, allowing you a quick getaway.

If you have the scenic cruises reference, you can access manage my booking and see most travel arrangements etc. You’re unlikely to have any communication until a few days before departure.

UK cruisers usually get a chauffeur driven car from home to airport and return. It always used to be a chauffeur driven Mercedes E class, as it was for our outbound leg recently. The return was a standard taxi. Please could UK cruises post their experiences with this service.

Interestingly, I just did a Google search for this subject and it came up with our posts in 2016! So, we’ve both experienced the good services of scenic transfers and I await confirmation from my travel agent, that they are still offering the same service, or I shall be switching to my own reliable local service.

Those of you in the UK taking advantage of the complimentary chauffeur pick up to the airport, have you always had a Mercedes and have they always been on time? on Friday at Heathrow, several passengers stood around waiting for drivers. Ours claimed to have been there for one hour, yet when we phoned the company they told us he was 10 minutes away from the airport. I asked why we were not being picked up in the usual standard of car and you told me that the company was short of vehicles.

Thanks for your review, which we are following with great interest. with so many people awaiting documents, it is very reassuring to read of others experiences. We have just returned from Scenic Sapphire on the river Rhône and had a wonderful cruise and are now looking forward to Scenic Jade on the Danube in August.

We’ve just returned from scenic Sapphire and we also had similar concerns prior to the cruise but once on board had a fantastic time. Our documents arrived by email less than seven days from departure.

Below is a picture of our bikes, which we used a lot during the cruise. Apart from the cycling tour, I think we were the only passengers who use the bikes. We cycled all over the place and had a great time. The departure arrangements seemed to be very well organised by Darrin, the cruise director. The group travelling to London for the 6.30pm flight, were the last to leave and were picked up in a fleet of taxis at 3:15, so we had a fairly tedious day sitting on board watching the rain pour down. The last day is always very surreal with the crew looking forward to the new guests. We were ejected from our rooms at 8:30 and refused a room to shower in, so it was a challenging day, but had it been very hot it would’ve been far more challenging. The airport was chaotic, with no obvious place to check in and we had to wait around in a big group for half an hour, until the correct place was announced, by which time it was completely chaotic. Civilised behaviour had disappeared and people were diving under the barrier ropes, trying to get near to the front of the line. We have been at the front of what we thought was the correct line and were told it wasn’t, so we retreated, then found we would’ve been alright there, but now we were near the back of the line. Anyway somehow we managed to get to the lounge before anyone else. Although the flight was ready to leave on time, air traffic control decided we would be almost half an hour late arriving. Our driver was nowhere to be seen and many others suffered a similar fate. Eventually, we arrived home about an hour later than we expected, but we had a tremendous holiday, meeting some very nice people and the crew did everything they could to enhance our experience. in conclusion, we would do all we could to avoid a late flight home and given the option would take Eurostar. Those who did, expected to arrive in London about six hours before us. from an editing point of view, the word at the beginning of the line often starts with a little letter, rather than a capital, which drives me mad. We look forward to our next scenic experience, but will try to use better travelling arrangements.

Of 91 passengers there are about 60 from the UK. There is an umbrella in the wardrobe. We disembark tomorrow and they are allowing us to stay on board until 3.15, prior to our 6.30pm departure.

We spent three nights at Avignon, followed by a day at Viviers, a pretty little town, with one tree-lined avenue leading to the dock from the town square. Avignon was very busy and we enjoyed dinner and a concert at the Pope’s Palace. Food and entertainment excellent but heat overbearing. Last night we had torrential rain on arrival in Lyon, so only about half the pax, mostly the British, ventured to an excellent choral concert, the rest staying on board. We are now docked at Quai Claud Bernard, which apparently IS the usual place.