Mekong Cruise - which ship?

[worcestergal]

My DH and I are planning a SE Asia trip for the winter of 2024 (yes, I realize that’s over a year away, but I love the anticipation…). Our initial thought was to go with Scenic and do the trip which includes days in Hanoi, Siem Reap and HCMC (Saigon). However, I’ve read some concerning comments about Scenic on this board, so now I am wondering if this is a good choice. 
 

This will be our first river cruise.  However, we’ve been on Seabourn for about a dozen ocean cruises and we very much enjoy the level of service on that line. I am curious to hear about others’ opinions concerning the Scenic cruise and suggestions about other options.  Thanks for your help!

[hoosier2017]

We booked this trip with AMA for October of 2023 with pre land package and post package as well. I can’t comment on Scenic, and can only tell you that the AMA staff has always exceeded our expectations.  Best of luck with your search. You’ll find many opinions here, and they certainly vary. 

[terry&mike]

I have traveled with Scenic and with AMA, as well as several other river cruise lines (Viking, etc). Scenic and AMA are at a level above the other lines, and will deliver a excellent experience, so you can't go wrong with either.

 

No doubt the discouraging remarks you have read about Scenic are with their administrative side (before you leave, documents, etc), as that has been a weak link for them; although it appears that this area has improved. I give the edge to AMA in the pre-trip communication. In the actual trip itself, I give the edge to Scenic over AMA, as they deliver a slightly superior product, a bit more high end. 

 

I will be sailing the Mekong with Scenic and will be joining them in Siem Reap for 3 nights on December 31, then boarding the ship to sail south from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City.  I am doing Hanoi and HaLong Bay, as well as several days in HoiAn, before I join Scenic in Siem Reap, and HCM City afterwards, all independently. This is part of a longer Asia trip that begins this Friday when we depart for Thailand. 

[worcestergal]

Thank you for your suggestions. Terry&Mike, your trip sounds amazing and I hope you will post all about it. I will be looking forward to reading!

[terry&mike]

4 hours ago, worcestergal said:

Thank you for your suggestions. Terry&Mike, your trip sounds amazing and I hope you will post all about it. I will be looking forward to reading!

I hope to!

 

[Pumpkin Travels]

Hi worcestergal,

We’re thinking about the same trip although considering the Scenic Grand Indochine and Mekong for late 2024. The itinerary sounds amazing!

 

i can’t comment on AMA, but we sailed on both Scenic and Viking this year and would agree with terry&mike, Scenic was a cut above Viking on the European ships. The service was better and almost all of the excursions were included on Scenic which we liked. The food was more creative on Scenic which we very much enjoyed. 

[worcestergal]

Thanks!  We are going to go ahead and book the Scenic cruise and land travel. The trip does sound absolutely amazing. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 minutes ago, worcestergal said:

Thanks!  We are going to go ahead and book the Scenic cruise and land travel. The trip does sound absolutely amazing. 

I'm sure you will enjoy it.  We had a Scenic cruise booked when their website got hacked and their communications dried up for months – that's when all the complaints were being made here.  Luckily we only had one thing that needed resolving during that period and our TA was able to handle it.  The communications issues were resolved before our cruise last spring.  Since then all the reports I have seen have been positive (except one person who keeps posting about the communications issues during the hack – not about the actual cruise experience).

[franski]

We have travelled a couple of times with Scenic - and not been disappointed.  We are actually doing Vietnam & Cambodia with Emerald (sister company, lower price point than Scenic) in February 2023...  So the count down is on!!

 

We are starting in Hanoi - going in a couple of days ahead on our own.  We have a total of 5 days in Hanoi (3 on our own - 2 with the tour) before heading to Ha Long Bay.  We fly down from Hanoi to HCMC and get on the boat there.  We are flying home from Siem Reap through Thailand, so are staying 3 nights in Bangkok before the final leg of the journey..

 

Very excited about this trip.  Hoping to do some posting along the way (internet permitting...).

 

Fran

[worcestergal]

Thanks!  I’m looking forward to seeing your posts. 
We are now booked on Scenic in March, 2024 for the trip which includes Hanoi, HaLong Bay, Siem Reap and the cruise ending in HCMC. Even though it’s over a year away, I am really looking forward to it. 

[Pumpkin Travels]

On 12/15/2022 at 7:33 AM, worcestergal said:

Thanks!  I’m looking forward to seeing your posts. 
We are now booked on Scenic in March, 2024 for the trip which includes Hanoi, HaLong Bay, Siem Reap and the cruise ending in HCMC. Even though it’s over a year away, I am really looking forward to it. 

Looking for ward to hearing about your journey and from franski about the trip on Emerald.   

 

We're still looking at lat 2024, already have a Portugal cruise booked in spring of 2024 on Scenic.

[TriMomma]

We sailed the Emerald Harmony in October this year and were very pleased.   The sister ship Scenic Spirit was docked beside us and a travel agent from our group toured it.  She reported that it too was a lovely ship and other than decor, sligthly larger suites and an elevator was the same as the Emerald Harnony we were on.   

 

I agree with other posters that the "issue" with Scenic is their communication.   Don't know if that is a pandemic thing or if they have always been this way, but once we embarked, it was fabulous.