What is going on with Scenic Cruises

[Mrs Miggins]

Having checked again our cruise starting on July 4th is Lyon to Lyon so flying out of there to Heathrow now makes sense Except there are no British Airways flights on the day we end our cruise.  Hopefully we will get some information about both our outward Eurostar train as well as a new plan for our return.

 

 

[pete_coach]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We took our first Scenic cruise earlier this month.  We were arriving in Paris via train and they agreed that the private transfer benefit would cover picking us up at the station [AMA had refused to cover our transfer to the station in Amsterdam, even though they would have taken us to the airport...]  They sent a car and driver just for us, and we were met inside the train station – made us feel like VIPs to start the trip.

 

You're asking about the end of your cruise.  These arrangements are made by the Cruise Director onboard the ship.  There will be a questionnaire asking for your flight arrangements and requested time.  Don't worry, they will take good care of you.

OK but, who are you responding to?

[gnome12]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You're asking about the end of your cruise.  These arrangements are made by the Cruise Director onboard the ship.  There will be a questionnaire asking for your flight arrangements and requested time.  Don't worry, they will take good care of you.

The concern expressed by flviking below is how early a flight they can make, not arrangements for the transfer.

22 hours ago, flviking said:

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. 

If you are flying out of Nuremberg and it is your final port, you can probably make quite an early flight. If the ship was overnighting, I have seen people leave as early as 4:30 in the morning. But if you aren't overnighting, it might be a little more difficult. That said, we aren't looking at a Southampton to Heathrow transfer; Nuremberg is where the cruise ends and the airport can't be that far from the dock.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:43 AM, PhD-iva said:

I am also absolutely disgusted w the pre-cruise performance (or lack thereof) to date. This will be my first and LAST cruise w this cruiseline.

 

You may change your mind after you cruise.  We certainly had no response or help pre-cruise from the Scenic office, including claiming that they wouldn't help with required covid testing. It took our TA several long calls to even get them to tell her what hotel we would be staying in!

 

(Just came back from the Wonderful Douro and Lisbon pre-cruise.)

 

BUT..... once we started on our pre-cruise stay, everything changed.  Staff both on the pre-cruise and on the ship itself were VERY helpful and well informed! Nothing was too much trouble. Food and drinks were excellent. Excursions were excellent with Scenic guides on each one.

 

So, now I'm looking at the Bordeaux cruise on Scenic for next year!

[2012_Alaska_bound]

On 5/8/2022 at 8:02 AM, San999 said:

I wish I would have brought ear phones as you have to hold your phone up to your ear but that’s not a big deal.

 

Just ask at reception for ear phones. They had them on the Azure on the Douro.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

On 5/9/2022 at 4:50 AM, loriva said:

Wondering if this means Scenic uses hired buses, not its own?

 

 

Just came back from my first Scenic cruise on the Douro in Portugal.

They have 3 Scenic buses there that are used for all excursions.  Every excursion required a bus.

 

Also the CD and two of his staff served as guides on all excursions except for the one in Spain (due to Spanish rules).  All 3 were excellent!  All crew on the Douro are from Portugal.

Can others chime in on Scenic in other countries?

[2012_Alaska_bound]

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You're asking about the end of your cruise.  These arrangements are made by the Cruise Director onboard the ship.  There will be a questionnaire asking for your flight arrangements and requested time.  Don't worry, they will take good care of you.

 

Agree with Host Jazzbeau on this. It was like pulling teeth to get Scenic office to tell our TA that we indeed would get a transfer.  I think a couple of days before the cruise in the email with the transfer tickets it actually named a time.

 

However, once on the ship, everything changed for the better! CD informed us the first day what our transfer time to the airport would be when we got back to Porto.  Even though I had a 5:30 a.m. transfer, they had a light breakfast set up for our group!  Friends who had a 2:30 a.m. transfer were even given a box breakfast for their trip! Everyone else got regular breakfast in the dining room.

[gnome12]

5 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Even though I had a 5:30 a.m. transfer, they had a light breakfast set up for our group!  Friends who had a 2:30 a.m. transfer were even given a box breakfast for their trip! Everyone else got regular breakfast in the dining room.

I just note that since there is no nighttime sailing on the Douro, the ship will be docked the evening before debarkation, so these extremely early departures are possible. That may not be the case in other ports on other itineraries. 

[Tidalmist]

I have a booking on the Rhine Highlights cruise, October 26, Basle to Amsterdam……..the cruise is no longer listed on Scenics website. Should I be concerned?

[loriva]

1 hour ago, Tidalmist said:

I have a booking on the Rhine Highlights cruise, October 26, Basle to Amsterdam……..the cruise is no longer listed on Scenics website. Should I be concerned?

 

What ship were you scheduled to sail?  Scenic seems to have been consolidating (canceling one sailing and moving passengers onto the reverse itinerary) a lot of its cruises along the Rhine.  The Scenic Jade also suffered engine problems that forced the early termination of a cruise last month.  Its sailings have all been cancelled until late June and passengers either moved to sailings on the Scenic Pearl (now docked in Amsterdam) or offered alternative sailings or a full refund.

 

Scenic's office in Canada has seemed to be easier to reach than the one in the United States, and the staff there very knowledgeable and proactive.  I'd give them a call (have your travel agent give them a call, depending on how you booked) to determine options as early as possible. 

 

If you do, please report back your experience and outcome here to help others.  (For our Rhine sailing on the Jade--the first on Scenic's updated schedule on their website--I reached out via our TA to Scenic on Monday for answers to some questions about the viability of our sailing.  I also sent a second email directly to the ship's address (sticky at the top of the River Cruising board).  Still awaiting response on both.  Will advise.)

 

Good luck with whatever you decide,

 

[Tidalmist]

13 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

What ship were you scheduled to sail?  Scenic seems to have been consolidating (canceling one sailing and moving passengers onto the reverse itinerary) a lot of its cruises along the Rhine.  The Scenic Jade also suffered engine problems that forced the early termination of a cruise last month.  Its sailings have all been cancelled until late June and passengers either moved to sailings on the Scenic Pearl (now docked in Amsterdam) or offered alternative sailings or a full refund.

 

Scenic's office in Canada has seemed to be easier to reach than the one in the United States, and the staff there very knowledgeable and proactive.  I'd give them a call (have your travel agent give them a call, depending on how you booked) to determine options as early as possible. 

 

If you do, please report back your experience and outcome here to help others.  (For our Rhine sailing on the Jade--the first on Scenic's updated schedule on their website--I reached out via our TA to Scenic on Monday for answers to some questions about the viability of our sailing.  I also sent a second email directly to the ship's address (sticky at the top of the River Cruising board).  Still awaiting response on both.  Will advise.)

 

Good luck with whatever you decide,

 

Thanks for all of the good information. We are scheduled to sail on the Scenic Ruby, but that could easily change. Booked directly with Scenic as we had some credit. We have had to cancel and rebook twice so far.

We do have our air arrangements if that counts for anything.

[jimmymac613]

11 hours ago, loriva said:

 

What ship were you scheduled to sail?  Scenic seems to have been consolidating (canceling one sailing and moving passengers onto the reverse itinerary) a lot of its cruises along the Rhine.  The Scenic Jade also suffered engine problems that forced the early termination of a cruise last month.  Its sailings have all been cancelled until late June and passengers either moved to sailings on the Scenic Pearl (now docked in Amsterdam) or offered alternative sailings or a full refund.

 

Scenic's office in Canada has seemed to be easier to reach than the one in the United States, and the staff there very knowledgeable and proactive.  I'd give them a call (have your travel agent give them a call, depending on how you booked) to determine options as early as possible. 

 

If you do, please report back your experience and outcome here to help others.  (For our Rhine sailing on the Jade--the first on Scenic's updated schedule on their website--I reached out via our TA to Scenic on Monday for answers to some questions about the viability of our sailing.  I also sent a second email directly to the ship's address (sticky at the top of the River Cruising board).  Still awaiting response on both.  Will advise.)

 

Good luck with whatever you decide,

 

We're supposed to be sailing on the Jade for the Romantic Rhine & Moselle Cruise leaving Amsterdam on June 8th and have not received anything yet from Scenic regarding cancellation or any offers of rescheduling or refund.

[loriva]

11 hours ago, jimmymac613 said:

We're supposed to be sailing on the Jade for the Romantic Rhine & Moselle Cruise leaving Amsterdam on June 8th and have not received anything yet from Scenic regarding cancellation or any offers of rescheduling or refund.

 

The Scenic website is not showing your sailing for sale--there are no Amsterdam to Zurich sailings at all on its schedule for 2022:  https://www.scenicusa.com/tours/romantic-rhine--moselle/11984.

 

Scenic has not been proactive in reaching out to passengers even when--as it appears in your case--they have cancelled a sailing.  If you have not already, it might be time to reach out to them.  (Please note that I said "appears" to be cancelled--that is pure speculation on my part only because the sailing is no longer showing for sale.  Maybe they are just sold out.  And my previous post on Scenic offering alternative sailings or a refund refers only to those posting on CC.com who have had cruises cancelled by Scenic and were offered these options.  No one can project what they will do in the future.)

 

Plan on a lot of time and patience for you or your travel agent, however.  I've been trying to reach Scenic since Monday--directly to the ship as well as through my TA--with no luck.  On Tuesday, the TA could not even reach Scenic's call center--just a busy signal every time she called.  Yesterday, she got through in the late afternoon but was on hold for over three hours, ending up being cut off when Scenic's offices closed at 2000 hours.

 

On the good news front, CruiseMapper shows the Jade did a little sailing this morning out of its berth in Duisburg.  Hoping this reflects the engine problems have been resolved.  The ship that has been sailing the Jade's itineraries (the Pearl) has also left Amsterdam and is en route to Basel on Scenic's "Rhine Highlights" itinerary.

 

Good luck.  As always, please report back on your experience with Scenic.  Forewarned is forearmed for all of us with bookings on the line.

 

[flviking]

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. 

[travlr21]

10 hours ago, loriva said:

The Scenic website is not showing your sailing for sale--there are no Amsterdam to Zurich sailings at all on its schedule for 2022

 

There is at least one such sailing, Sept 21 on the Jewel. We are booked on it along with the Grand Alpine land tour following the cruise.

[terry&mike]

On 5/17/2022 at 1:11 PM, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

 

You may change your mind after you cruise.  We certainly had no response or help pre-cruise from the Scenic office, including claiming that they wouldn't help with required covid testing. It took our TA several long calls to even get them to tell her what hotel we would be staying in!

 

(Just came back from the Wonderful Douro and Lisbon pre-cruise.)

 

BUT..... once we started on our pre-cruise stay, everything changed.  Staff both on the pre-cruise and on the ship itself were VERY helpful and well informed! Nothing was too much trouble. Food and drinks were excellent. Excursions were excellent with Scenic guides on each one.

 

So, now I'm looking at the Bordeaux cruise on Scenic for next year!

We sailed the Bordeaux 10 day itinerary with Scenic last September, and it was one of our favorite vacations!

 

[jmm]

Does Scenic provide a venue for last day Covid testing on their river cruises?  We were trying to figure out if we should arrange on our own in Amsterdam.  We are flying back to the US the day we disembark the ship. Thanks!

[English Tim]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:51 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

Having checked again our cruise starting on July 4th is Lyon to Lyon so flying out of there to Heathrow now makes sense Except there are no British Airways flights on the day we end our cruise.  Hopefully we will get some information about both our outward Eurostar train as well as a new plan for our return.

 

 

Nice to see you posting. We are on the June 14 departure from Lyon.

[Mrs Miggins]

14 minutes ago, English Tim said:

Nice to see you posting. We are on the June 14 departure from Lyon.

Hi, lovely to hear from you too.  Do let us know how you get on.  Are you flying into Lyon ?  We thought we would try the train, however still don't know which train they will put us on.  They are now suggesting we return to Heathrow on KLM with a change in Amsterdam.  Guess we don't have much choice.

Just back from great B2B on Azamara Quest.

[mvjcruise]

3 hours ago, jmm said:

Does Scenic provide a venue for last day Covid testing on their river cruises?  We were trying to figure out if we should arrange on our own in Amsterdam.  We are flying back to the US the day we disembark the ship. Thanks!

On our cruise, they handed out a sheet with options for testing. You are on your own to get the test.

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by mvjcruise

[English Tim]

23 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Hi, lovely to hear from you too.  Do let us know how you get on.  Are you flying into Lyon ?  We thought we would try the train, however still don't know which train they will put us on.  They are now suggesting we return to Heathrow on KLM with a change in Amsterdam.  Guess we don't have much choice.

Just back from great B2B on Azamara Quest.

We chose to fly Club, to hopefully get more options. We fly in the day before, staying in Lyon and return at 18.30 on disembarkation day. We only briefly considered Eurostar, as we have a three hour journey to London, then crossing London, making it a difficult journey as it requires an overnight stay in London. However, now that we are platinum we have discovered we have a transfer to London included, which would make quite a difference in future.

[English Tim]

Sadly this thread is full of complaints and pre-cruise enquiries, but very little post cruise information from those who have returned home.

 

Please post reviews to help the rest of us who may be anxious.

 

We are also due to cruise on Ruby from Budapest to Amsterdam in August position, but this has now been cancelled and we have been offered Jade on the reverse itinerary on the same dates. This has meant a change of suite grade, with so far a derisory offer of compensation (less than we originally paid for the upgrade)!

 

I’ll keep you all informed of any changes.

[loriva]

5 hours ago, English Tim said:

Sadly this thread is full of complaints and pre-cruise enquiries, but very little post cruise information from those who have returned home.

 

Please post reviews to help the rest of us who may be anxious.

 

We are also due to cruise on Ruby from Budapest to Amsterdam in August position, but this has now been cancelled and we have been offered Jade on the reverse itinerary on the same dates. This has meant a change of suite grade, with so far a derisory offer of compensation (less than we originally paid for the upgrade)!

 

I’ll keep you all informed of any changes.

 

Sorry to hear of your experience.  I guess the saving grace is that they cancelled it months in advance instead of days as others have experienced.  I hope Scenic comes through with appropriate compensation for you.

 

We are scheduled to sail on the Jade starting in Basel on 22 June.  I will continue to post our experience in trying to reach Scenic with questions prior to sailing as well as our experience onboard (we hope we make it onboard!)

 

In keeping with promise above, we have still had limited luck in getting our questions answered.  Our TA reached out to Scenic last week and Scenic provided a response (in about 72 hours), but it did not really address our questions.  Specifically we asked if Scenic had purchased tickets for the Passion Play in Oberammergau as that is the main point of our trip and if we could have our final documents expedited as we are leaving early for our departure point of Vienna.  The exact information that came back from the TA after speaking to someone at Scenic was "YES, it is confirmed your extra days in Vienna, you will watch Oberammergau."  The latter gives me some hope--especially as our cruisetour and sailing on Jade are still showing for sale on Scenic's website--but I feel like I'm caught in a giant game of "Telephone" where things may be getting garbled along the way.  Two inquiries sent over the course of a month directly to Reception on the Jade have gone unanswered.  Will post any updates as received.

 

Our booking in Scenic's Trip Personaliser went to the "closed for finalization" status exactly 30 days before our trip kicks off.  (Note to Scenic's IT department as they rework the system after the hack in March:  I wish Scenic's TP operated like other cruise lines--where we could access and print off our final documents ourselves.)  We are now one week into the 2- to 4-week period in which Scenic says it will provide final documents.  Will post when they are received.  (Of course, people have reported having their cruises on Scenic cancelled AFTER they received final documents.)  

 

Looking forward to seeing the review of the Scenic Gem from @Host Jazzbeauas well as other reviews.  Presuming we do set off on our trip with Scenic in three weeks, will endeavor to post pertinent information at each step to help others.

 

Many thanks,

 

[sbjornda]

I have a concern that people are calling the ships directly with questions about future sailings. The hospitality staff on the ships will not have this information yet! Head Office does not give them much of a "heads up" at all. The on-board Reception Desks are there to handle current passengers, for example, people calling the ship when they have missed the bus back to the ship and need to describe its docking location to a taxi driver. 

 

Thanks,

Sterling

[notamermaid]

@sbjorndaThe idea that reception will not be able to answer came to me while reading loriva's post. But just specifically just for the Scenic Jade. It may actually be tricky "diplomatically" for Reception to give an answer to a query that the office people in the respective countries should handle.

 

2 hours ago, loriva said:

Two inquiries sent over the course of a month directly to Reception on the Jade have gone unanswered.  Will post any updates as received.

Thank you for your efforts to keep future cruisers of Scenic informed of how your (unintended) adventure is going. I was thinking that the Reception desk of the Jade may actually be deserted... I wonder if they only have a maintenance crew on board, seeing that she is in the shipyard? Speculation of course, but a possibility.

 

It is certainly staying interesting and I hope that - as it seems to be the case - the staff on board is such a delight that all the "office troubles" are forgotten once cruisers have boarded their ships.

 

notamermaid