Oceania veterans who have cruised on Scenic river cruises

[kiawahdon]

It amazes me when the OP asks a simple, specific question:

 

"If any of you have sailed on Scenic, I would love to get your feedback"

Posters feel compelled to go off on tangents and discuss every river cruise line sailing and their experiences- even in parts of the world that are irrelevant.

Just my observation.

[Noxequifans]

What I like about CC forums is that when a subject is introduced many contribute with thoughts far and wide. From these I have learned much.

 

Yes, sometimes the threads seem to go on too long and I have sometimes noted that. But, I welcome the contributions and am glad we are not constrained in the content of our comments to just the original question posed.

[pacheco18]

As the OP I can tell you I am thrilled we got slightly off topic.

I am not complaining and I am the one who posed the question so I cannot understand why anyone else would complain.:confused:

 

This thread convinced me not to take ANY European river cruise -- Scenic or otherwise.

Great responses.

 

I'm only going on the river in Egypt and China.

[alexandra cruiser]

to post under river cruise section.I started a thread re whether they re slipping in recent years.

That way more people thinking of river cruise can read them,not just O fans.

Look forward to opinions.Thanks:)

[pacheco18]

Good idea

 

The reason I posted here is that I wanted opinions of O cruisers -- who are used to a certain standard -- their opinions count most to me in evaluating the experience. The frame of reference is important when seeking opinions. Also, I "know" many of the posters here -- either personally or through their posts.

 

The river cruise board posters will be more varied in their frame of reference. That makes it more difficult (at least for me) to evaluate the validity of the responses.

[doubledobles]

We did three Uniworld river cruises and the only one that was worthwhile was the China trip - and most of that was on land. We would not do another one.

[hondorner]

It amazes me when the OP asks a simple, specific question:

 

"If any of you have sailed on Scenic, I would love to get your feedback"

Posters feel compelled to go off on tangents and discuss every river cruise line sailing and their experiences- even in parts of the world that are irrelevant.

Just my observation.

I've learned more about river cruising on this thread than I have in all the specific river cruise sites. I think Laraine, the OP, approves as well.

 

So, let me add to the diversion...like Laraine, we've been thinking about a European river cruise for ages but never pulled the trigger. I think I saw too many horror stories, especially about the tiny cabins on the older boats. Also, we never wanted to fly round trip to Europe just for a 7 day excursion we weren't sure we'd like.

 

But, we're on the NY to London cruise on Marina next May, will be flying home on miles, and didn't want to pay the high air taxes out of UK airports, so I started thinking about alternatives. Since we would already be in Europe and had to fly home anyway, I decided to look into a river cruise. I decided I wanted our first to be out of Amsterdam, so I looked for river cruises on any line within a few days of arriving in London. There have been so many mixed reviews about Viking, I looked everywhere else, first. But, Viking was the only one that fit my date parameters, in fact I had the choice of two within 6 days.

 

One allowed me 3 days in London, an overnight train/ferry/train connection to Amsterdam and a couple of nights in that city, plus it was on one of their new Longships, the Ingvi. The flight home from Basel will be much less airtax.

 

I have no idea whether I will like European river cruising (we love American river cruising on AmericanQueen, where we have 23 days already), especially with Viking, but there's only one way to find out. I've heard about the crowding and the double parking, the bus trips (which may also be based on the crowding, when a boat can't get docking space), the service, the food, etc. etc. Hopefully, things will be a little better on a new boat, especially the size of the cabin. I never wanted to spend that much money for a space not much larger than my small RV.

 

It may be our first and last, but at least we'll know.

[pacheco18]

Report back please

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[LHT28]

I would agree with Don the AQ was very good

The food on there was much like Oceania quality

 

We toyed with European River cruise idea for yrs & when our friend retired & both men turned 65 we decided to try the river cruise option

After much research we chose Scenic tours, cabins were nice & the balcony was a nice feature

Unfortunately for us we found the food on Scenic did not live up to their hype

 

You take your chances with the water levels ..no guarantee it will not become a bus tour

 

JMO

[kimanjo]

Have to say, I've really enjoyed reading this thread.

 

I have never, and do not plan to ever take a river cruise, but its a great thread nonetheless!

[NC Garden Traveler]

My wife and I enjoy both ocean and river cruising and just completed a Rhone River cruise on one of Viking's older ships (built in 2000 and scheduled to be taken out of service at the end of this year). We enjoy the food, bedding, and service on Oceania, but we realize that there are lots of places in the world that we want to see that aren't accessible by ocean liner and don't enjoy living out of a suitcase. We chose Viking after reading posts on Cruise Critic and concluding that most river cruise companies have very similar itineraries, essentially all companies have proponents and detractors (and that most river cruisers have traveled on only one line), and that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'

 

After much deliberation, we selected Viking based on significantly lower price than AMA and Uniworld (perhaps because it was an older ship). Prior to the cruise, I had a few pangs of buyer's remorse (I'll never use Viking Air again, but I don't use Oceania's either). We knew the cabin was smaller than on Oceania (but also realized we were taking the trip to see southern France, not to sit in a room) and the food and service wouldn't be up to Oceania standards. With our expectations thus set, I have to say that we actually enjoyed ourselves and the cruise.

 

The food was prepared from fresh ingredients and varied each day. All three meals were better than expected, especially at lunch and dinner. The house red wine changed each day and was reasonably good (the white wines were disappointing) and there was no corkage fee if you wanted to bring your own bottle (since the tour included Burgandy and the Rhone valley, we bought bottles at several stops). The bed was below Oceania standards (but that can be said for lots of beds). The tours guides were generally quite good and the electronic head sets were useful, but not intrusive (Viking provided separate tours for active and slow walkers). Overall, we had a good time. It wasn't up to Oceania standards, but we didn't expect it to be.

 

Will we river cruise again? Yes.

Will we go with Viking again? If the itinerary is interesting.

Will we judge compare a river cruise to Oceania? No we won't because they are inherently different.

 

My two cents,

David

 

P.S.: Our next cruise is this coming March on Nautica from Tianjin (Beijing) to Bangkok with a week of independent rail travel in Shanghia, Hangzhou, and Beijing beforehand and a week in Kyoto and Tokyo afterward. Given the choice between visiting China by river cruise or by rail and ocean liner, we chose the later.

[hondorner]

My wife and I enjoy both ocean and river cruising and just completed a Rhone River cruise on one of Viking's older ships...

 

Thanks, David, your attitude is very similar to ours about expectations, we're looking forward to the experiment.

 

While I appreciate various suggestions about land tours being more comprehensive, that's the reason we don't do them. We like to unpack once and have the same bed every night, even if it's a less than perfect bed. In fact, the fabulous beds are among the reasons we choose Oceania. The only travel experience we like as much as cruising is RV travel, because we take our own bed with us :cool:. Of course, we have to cook our own meals and clean up after ourselves...;) If we ever do a European land trip, I expect we'll rent an RV ("caravan" over there).

Edited November 9, 2013 by hondorner

[Hawaiidan]

Friends from O returned about a month ago and hated every minute of the " bus trip on water." They reported the food to be, as best, fair, and the "down- under crowd very noisy. Certainly not even under consideration for us.

 

This is what turned me off to river cruising... was the lack of cruising that I so enjoy on the Ocean. Your parked during the day and travel at night... Train routes and roads line the banks in most of the rivers I have seen and there is no getting away from it all

 

If you want to get away and have a real experience, take a barge trip in France or UK They have only a few people and its like being on private boat that cruises the back roads

 

With roads and trains so easy and scenic in Europe, any organized tour ( set out your suit case by midnight...6 am be on the bus) you can do better cheaper and more enjoyable. ENGLISH IS SPOKEN about everywhere and the roads are super.

 

Want to see Switzerland/Austria Germany? Get a train pass... Take the Zurich airport to Milan, then Milan to Zermatt, the Glacier express from Zermatt to Chur. Chur to Salzberg, Salzberg to Vienna and or Zurich

Stay a few days in each town and explore or take one of the many day tours. Salzberg is great for this. Rent a car and explore all for half of a river trip ( as I said before its not a cruise)

[Pet Nit Noy]

You should also look at Odysseys Unlimited. They have small group tours of 12-24 people. They have several in Europe. Friends took their Vietnam tour and raved about it.

 

 

We've taken two Odysseys trips and enjoyed both.

 

Some generalizations:

o the hotels are typically very appealing. The company chooses hotels in the most scenic, historic area of town.

 

o the food for the group meals is acceptable, but not great. Fortunately, there are a considerable number of meals that are not part of the basic tour. I'd say we had control over either lunch or dinner most days. Since we typically travel independently, the more control we have over our time on a group tour, the better we like it.

[Pet Nit Noy]

I just looked

Very interesting tours

For the region we are interested in they include a tour of Auschwitz. We did that just recently and I am not sure I want to do that again.

 

I will keep them in mind.

 

As long as the sightseeing as the group returns to the same hotel at night, there's no obligation for you to go on any day trip with Odysseys. We took the Eastern Europe trip you're considering and skipped the Day 12 activities (Vienna Woods, Medieval Abbey, and Baden spa town) to stay in Vienna to attend a performance by the Lipizzaner stallions. We were thrilled with our decision.

 

Unfortunately, this option wouldn't be possible for you. The stop at Auschwitz takes place on Day 4 en route from Warsaw to Krakow. Still, it's something to remember when you consider other trips.

[no fuss travel]

We did a Viking cruise in China which was fantastic. The only problem was that we did it in July and the weather was hot and humid. The guides are fantastic. Our friends just took the Viking China cruise this past fall and noticed the difference in service from Europe to China and said the service was as good as we told them about several years ago. As a result of our Viking China cruise, we booked a Viking river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. In comparison, China won hands down. We found the crew much more helpful in China to Europe, but again, we still had a good time on the river cruise. We have just completed a cruise through the Galapagos Islands, and have decided never to do another expedition cruise again if we want comfort. Viking ships in Europe are pure luxury to an expedition ship. We enjoyed the Galapagos, but once is enough.

[Host Jazzbeau]

( set out your suit case by midnight...6 am be on the bus)

 

I was flabbergasted that you seemed to be offering this as a GOOD thing, until I noticed your signature with the Navy cruise history. Did someone forget to tell you that you are retired??? ;)

[JimandStan]

I was flabbergasted that you seemed to be offering this as a GOOD thing, until I noticed your signature with the Navy cruise history. Did someone forget to tell you that you are retired??? ;)

 

ROTFLMAO

 

Rolling on the floor, laughing my animus out!

[Hawaiidan]

I was flabbergasted that you seemed to be offering this as a GOOD thing, until I noticed your signature with the Navy cruise history. Did someone forget to tell you that you are retired??? ;)

 

Jazz...

 

What I was referring to is the structure and regimentation of package tours.

 

You know, see Switzerland in seven fun filled days. Seen and talked to a lot of these... insightful and sensitive guided tours in a monster bus with 40 of your closest friends," Welcome in Zurich", then in the hotel, set out the bags by midnight for the bus which leaves at 6 to 7 am, for another fun filled day only to repeat the cycle every day till your chock full of experiences like a Christmas goose.... and worn to a fraz :eek:

 

Avoid tours.... take a train to and from several cool cities. Spend 3 to 4 days wandering and taking day or half day tours from them. Paris, Salzburg, Munich, Geneva and London.. are places where you can tour on your own with no language skills or problems.

Get a train pass and travel all over in easy day rt to explore. Do what you want when you want... you don't need to pay $$$ to be hand fed... and you will enjoy the freedom and discovery on your own pace.......far more:cool:

[DrivesLikeMario]

IMO and IME, Tauck is by far the best river cruise company. Tauck includes so many entrances into venues that the general public can't get into and pre-arranges so many little details, that it makes the experience first class. Viking and AMA are probably next best for food, service and experience.

 

Someone sent me this link awhile ago and it's a great way to experience river cruising through someone else's eyes on a day-to-day basis. Read it with an open mind but knowing your preferences, and then you'll get a good idea of whether river cruising is for you. Click on this link, http://www.fromthedeckchair.com/ then "Live Voyage Reports" then choose the cruise and cruise line that interests you. Enjoy! :)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Jazz...

 

What I was referring to is the structure and regimentation of package tours.

 

Avoid tours.... :cool:

 

Sure didn't get this from your original post. This makes more sense. Maybe you should use ;) or :rolleyes: to let slower minds like me catch your sarcasm. ;)

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I love this thread and all its info. It has answered so many questions for me. I want to know what I'm buying. I want to compare to O, not Carnival or HA. This thread gives me info to make a better informed choice. Thanks Laraine.

[pacheco18]

I love this thread and all its info. It has answered so many questions for me. I want to know what I'm buying. I want to compare to O, not Carnival or HA. This thread gives me info to make a better informed choice. Thanks Laraine.

 

LOL

My pleasure

This thread convinced me that I never want to take a river cruise -- Scenic or otherwise -- unless it's on the Nile or the Yangtze (both of which I have already booked).

[Host Jazzbeau]

IMO and IME, Tauck is by far the best river cruise company. Tauck includes so many entrances into venues that the general public can't get into and pre-arranges so many little details, that it makes the experience first class. Viking and AMA are probably next best for food, service and experience.

 

Someone sent me this link awhile ago and it's a great way to experience river cruising through someone else's eyes on a day-to-day basis. Read it with an open mind but knowing your preferences, and then you'll get a good idea of whether river cruising is for you. Click on this link, http://www.fromthedeckchair.com/ then "Live Voyage Reports" then choose the cruise and cruise line that interests you. Enjoy! :)

 

I read the review in your link. It's hard to believe that a professional review site has such a Gushing review, unless it's an advertisement (even then they would be more circumspect ;)). But the one onboard menu posted did not look at all appealing to me. And since I can pay for my own sanitary conveniences, there really wasn't anything included on this trip that isn't included on AMA.

 

Here's another positive AMA review, just posted today:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1945880

[DrivesLikeMario]

I read the review in your link. It's hard to believe that a professional review site has such a Gushing review, unless it's an advertisement (even then they would be more circumspect ;)). But the one onboard menu posted did not look at all appealing to me. And since I can pay for my own sanitary conveniences, there really wasn't anything included on this trip that isn't included on AMA.

 

Here's another positive AMA review, just posted today:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1945880

 

The travel writer that has that website has many, many reviews of different cruise lines and itineraries. If you read a few different reviews of his, you come to realize that he points out the positives, and even a few negatives, of each cruise line and ship. He often compares one ship or tour operator to another which helps in making your own decision as to where you fit best.

 

I don't know the writer, but I love the reviews and love living vicariously through his adventures.