Scenic Reviews 35

Really low standards in the Spa.Bad behavior from Operations manager Gabor Herman.I will not recommend to anyone to have any contact with him.So low and unprofessional

Scenic river cruise was fantastic in every way. Professionalamazing staff. Cabins were immaculate. Food way better than ocean cruises. Anyone complaining must be very hard to please indeed!

Definitely NOT 5 star experience.
My first Scenic Riverboat Cruise and definitely my last. I booked the Romantic Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel. The ship was the Scenic Pearl and was absolutely filthy. The ship requires significant maintenance and a complete overhaul of furnishings - many of which were ripped or broken.

I am a seasoned traveller that has had the pleasure of enjoying many 5 star experiences.

The Scenic Pearl definitely did not deliver a 5 star experience from lack of cleanliness to poor service from some of the staff and the cruise manager.
This was sold to me as a 5 star cruise. Unfortunately the cruise failed to deliver what was promised.
1. My room was not cleaned properly.
2. The duvet cover was stained. The duvet cover had blood stains and had to be changed. The second duvet cover also had stains. This also was changed. The third duvet cover was ripped. With the change of the bed linen halfway through the cruise I was also given a stained duvet cover.
3. The skirting around the bed was ripped and hangingdetached from the metal base.
4. There were stained finger marks on all the light switches.
5. The balcony had lots of long white hair clumps on it. I’m a brunette.
6. Some of the coat hangers in the cupboard were broken.
7. Some of the seats in the lounge area were ripped. Most of them had crumbs and dried food on them from the previous night.
8. The floor in the lounge was also dirty with crumbs and food from the previous night. It was never cleaned properly for the duration of the cruise.
9. The tables in the lounge were not regularly wiped so there were stains and finger marks all over the tables.
10. Several times I was given linen napkins that were stained.
11. The video showing the safety features was pixilated and unwatchable. I brought this to the cruise director’s attentionbut he shrugged and said they could do nothing about it.
12. The stair railings leading to the dining room were not wiped regularly and had finger marks and stains all over them.
13. The Captain’s Table dinner was held at the back of the dining room with no separation from the main area. It was noisy and uncomfortable. This was not a special experience as is usual for a Captain’s Table dinner.
14. The tours were often held in towns that were completed closed due to timing or holidays. I was unable to visit museums or galleries in these townsnor could I shop. Having organised this tour for quite some timeScenic would have been aware of the closures.
15. The butler service was mediocre at best with the simplest of requests not being met.
The ship has significant wear and tear and is definitely due for a complete overhaul. Not a luxury 5 star ship.

I understand that this was the second last tour of the season. I paid for a 5 star experience with Scenic and this cruise very much failed to deliver.

A very expensive and disappointing experience. I contacted Scenic Australia's General Manager CustomerOperations and Administration and sent him photographs of the various issues. His response was to offer me a $500 voucher to use on future Scenic cruises by way of apology.

I will not be travelling with Scenic again.

Five of us did a family trip to Antarctica in February this year. VERY expensive holidaya holiday of a lifetime with our grown-up kids - it was over £80,000 (yesyou read that right)all inclusive of the boathotels and flights from/to the UK. There were 5 of us in 3 cabins on the boat.
We booked via ROL Cruiseswho were great.

The Scenic Eclipse boat and the staff were very good.

HoweverI cannot recommend Scenic as a company and would not travel with them again.

Some reasons:

a) Scenic's smart terms and conditions - lack of key expected feature but no comeback
One of the key reasons we booked with Scenic was to go in the submarine on the boatunder the sea in Antarctica. Yeswanting such a thing is asking a lot - but this was a one-offa really expensive holiday of a lifetime.

However Scenic emailed us a few weeks before the start date saying "sorryno submarine".
No compensation for the lack of this key feature; no option to cancel. Of course Scenic insisted we had to pay 100% many months before.

I complained to ABTA and went to arbitration. The arbitrator (and Scenic themselves) accepted that the submarine was a key reason for booking with them but Scenic's terms & conditions are 'well written'with the result that it seems if Scenic don't supply a key feature like thattough luck - no compensationno comeback. (I lost at arbitration.)

b) Choice of FlyBondi for the charter flights Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and back
FlyBondi are the cheap carrier in Argentinawith the emphasis on cheap. Dirty airplanes; terrible/non-existent food on a 3.5 hours flight; hours late for the return flight.
Look at the Google reviews of FlyBondi: to give you some idea2 of us toured South America after Antarctica but there was no way we would fly with FlyBondi.

c) Scenic's 24-hour emergency line - useless
Our last night in Buenos Aires we tried booking in for our flight the next day back to the UK.
But the British Airways website said 'check in from Rio de Janeiro'. That was not us; that was our 2 daughters who were flying from Rio.
The flight back to the UK was booked by Scenic so Scenic should know and Scenic could sort it out right? As it turned outno.

We spent hours on the phone with Scenic's emergency linebounced around the world to their different sites as it got later and later in the evening.
All we got was:
- a confirmation email from Scenic that was EXACTLY incorrectthat said that 'we were checked in from Rio de Janeiro' (not much use to us when we were in Buenos Aires);
- and then when we finally spoke to Scenic UK a suggestion that "we [Scenic] really don't know if you have a flight back from Buenos Aires - suggest you go to the airport early tomorrow and find out".
So we headed out to Buenos Aires airport early the next daynot knowing if we actually had a flight back to the UK - although we had paid Scenic for it.
We lost our last evening in Buenos Aires and had a stressful end to our £80k holiday. Of courseno compensation from Scenic for this.

d) Courtesy-car penny-pinching
Part of the deal was that Scenic would send a courtesy car to collect us from home to take to Heathrowup to 100 miles included. We had 3 cabinsso 3 carsso total 300 miles?
As it turns outno.
Two collections were from London: both ~25 miles eachso way less than the 100 miles.
One collection from Bristol so 115 milesso 15 miles over.
BUT between the threea total of ~165 miles - all included? No.

Scenic insisted on charging for the 'excess' 15 miles at £2 per mileeach way. A small amount but it shows the poor attitude of Scenic. (As it happened ROL Cruises covered the cost.)

e) Flight & luggage penny-pinching
Included in the price were return flights from the UK to Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires to Ushuaia.
However2 of the 5 of us were not taking the return flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires [2 of us doing other travelling].
A refund from Scenic for the flights not taken? No chance.

Alsowe wanted to give a bag to the 3 who were taking the return flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Airesof our spare Antarctica clothes.
Scenic's response: "yeah we know that 2 of you are not taking the flight and also therefore we are not taking your 2 bags - but if you give a bag to someone else that will be an excess bag and we will charge you". Nice.
AgainROL Cruise stepped up and said they would cover the cost as it was unreasonable of Scenic.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Soif you don't mind spending serious money with Scenicthen have them penny-pinchand possibly not provide a key feature [the reason you booked] but then have no comeback or compensation and get no support if there is a problem then finego ahead with Scenic.

Howeverif you are looking to book a cruise to Antarctica or elsewhere we would recommend ROL Cruises in the UK - just don't choose Scenic.

We have just completed a Emerald trip (the same company as Scenic) on the Danube and it was first class in every way. The water levels were fine and even the weather was on our side. We previously did a river trip with Scenic on the Rhine the water levels were high and so prevented travel on the upper levels but this did not steal from the experience. All efford was done by Scenic for us to enjoy the cruise. Yes the Scenic cruise was more expensive but what an experience it was. It would be impossible to find any fault and I consider it very good value for the extra cost. We took the cheaper option for cabins on both trips and were not disapointed with our choice.

I have taken three Scenic holidays - two riverbased and one land based .
Cannot fault the trips. Scenic are definitely premium priced but do deliver a premium product!

Although I respect people’s right to complainI cannot understand how people have come to some of these conclusions. I spent most of my 20’s and 30’s working as a Nanny for some of the most wealthy people in Europe. I lived with themtravelled with them and was so lucky to have experiences above and beyond those that “normal” people get to have. I definitely think Scenic live up to their six star luxury tagI also think some people have no idea what six star means. My sister and I have travelled with Scenic twiceend of 2020 for the Christmas Markets cruise and the Mekong River cruise in January/February 2024. They were exactly what was advertisedeven the one just post Covid. Yesit was difficult to talk to an agent prior to the first cruise. Their computer system had been attacked AND we had just started to come out of Covid. For those who don’t knowthe Australian Government restrictions during this time were some of the most severe in the world. But we DID get everything sorted before we left. Nothere were no casinostheatresshows etc on board…you knew this when you booked. This is not a floating shopping mallthank goodness. Alsodon’t bring your kidsthis is not a child friendly environment. I honestly can say the food was excellentapart from one room service breakfast. I agree about the Butleron the European cruise we hardly saw himalways someone elseBUTif you sit back and expect them to somehow know what you need without asking you will get nothing. When we asked for thingsthey were promptly provided. On the Mekong cruiseservice was even betterin fact the whole experience was beyond our expectations. What did annoy me on the Europe cruise was the behaviour of other passengers. The people who drank to excess and became loud and rudeor passed out in their dinner…yes that happened. The man whoat EVERY mealtold the chef how he should be preparing the food. The man who was so drunk at the special concerthe bashed into a servercausing her to drop the tray of drinks she had. He then YELLED AT HER for getting champagne on his jacket. The woman who yelled at the waitstaff because her polenta was not what she thought it would beit was perfectly normalwell cooked polenta. The rude woman that shouted at the guide to “get better English lessons” You are in a foreign countryand the guide spoke very very good Englishwhat she did not speak wellwas trashy American. Lucky for usthese type of passengers were not part of our Mekong river cruise. We are off to New Zealand in February 2025 to sail on the Eclipse 2 and look forward to another excellent adventure. Unfortunatelyit is mostly people who had a bad experiencefor whatever reasonwho write reviews

This cruise line bears no resemblance to its marketing and advertisement. It's an absolute garbage barge. I've sailed on CrystalSilverseaRegentSeabournOceaniaCelebrity and Scenic. Scenic is the very worst.

The problem is that its corporate office does not care about passengers' experiences and instead focus almost exclusively on courting travel agents. On my recent cruise with Scenicat nearly every port travel agents were escorted through the ship and given priority over passengers. Scenic would roll out the red carpet for them (champagnecold towels and so on) but would refuse to do the same for paasengers.

They also do absolutely nothing about bad passenger behavior including allowing passengers to yell homophonic slurs at a gay couple and threaten violence on others. They simply did not care. Now if you are an unruly passenger who enjoys slurs and threatsthis may be a good line for you.

The excursions are a total joke. Things get cancelled without notice and without any real attempt to give passengers another option. For exampleafter we missed two ports over several dayswe got a letter from Scenic advising us that we missed the ports...days after the fact.

The ship seemingly has deferred maintenance and a lot of things were not operative (air conditioning on deck 5stabilizerspropulsion systemetc.) but Scenic didn't divulge that to passengers. Instead we found out the hard way. Scenic frankly was less than forthcoming when we asked. It was Cruise Industry News that actually disclosed the truth - the ship was headed for dry dock for repairs.

Time and again corporate's response was a condescending dismissal of numerous passengers' concerns. The corporate view is passengers are lucky to be on Scenic. They also remove negative comments from their Facebook page to ensure potential passengers never see the truth. It's a deceptive practice.
On our cruisepassengers were given surveys but when so many started to came back negativeoddly other passengers started noting the "sumbit" button was malfunctioning. Coincidence...maybe.

The best thing that could happen to this line is for it to go insolvent and be sold to a company that doesn't hate passengers.

Totally deceptive company. Stay far away! They'll lure new clients / Travel Agents in with glossy marketing materials and slick Instagram videoshoweverI'm here to tell you the real-life experience is absolutely nothing like what's advertised. Not "6-star" as they repeatedly claim. This isn't even a 4-star line on its best day. Total misrepresentation. They'll tell you they have helicopterssubmarinesand Zodiacs. What they won't tell you is that they're rarelyif ever used as they're routinely brokenorwhen they arethey're reserved for Travel Agents. Scenic prioritizes Travel Agents over paying guests by parading hoards of travel advisors through a ship that paying passengers are on. On what planet is that "6-star"? Scenic allows them to board / tour the ship before paying guests. The A/C system in a majority of the ship does not work--tons of deferred maintenance (a majority of cabins and common areas were without A/C)howeverwe were told it was due to the fact the ship wasn't moving. Another blatant lie. Scenic knew about this as well. In additionScenic knew that the propulsion system wasn't working properly which made for an extremely uncomfortable voyage as the ship was constantly bouncing around. The outdoor bar on the sun deck is self-serve and never staffed. Also not 6-star. Scenic operates the company as a ponzi scheme of sorts: courting new-to-Scenic cruisers and Travel Advisors who were foolish enough to fall for their deceptive advertising only to realize that the onboard experience is a far cry from what was promised. The corporate customer service team is non-existent and guests will receive an auto-reply email stating their matter will be responded to in "seven business days". Buyer beware! The Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor reviews don't lie and I encourage you to read them all. This is a very expensive cruise vacation and I don't want to see anyone else taken advantage of by this duplicitous organization. Book with ANY other cruise company. They do not stand behind their product and treat paying guests as a burden. They dohoweverroll out the red carpet for Travel Advisors: free helicopter tourscold towelschampagne (paying guests receive none of these things)--it's all a farce. As the saying goes from the Wizard of Oz: pay no attention to what's going on behind the curtain. I wouldn't recommend this cruise company to my worst enemy. Pathetic.

Pros
Comfortable ship though jaded
Good service by reception bar & waiting staff.
Cruise director tried hard to make things run as smoothly as possible under the circumstances

Cons
1
We were doing back to back cruises Lyon to Lyon & second one from Porto. Scenic in their wisdom booked us on a 640am flight from Lyon & had our transport booked for 345am
When we arrived at Lyon airport check in the staff were bemused that we were booked on that flight which then had a 4 hour waiting time in Madrid to connect to Porto. Total time from leaving Lyon cruise to arriving at Porto cruise was 11 hours.
On checking Iberian airlines timetable we found there was another 1225 pm flight that day that arrived in Porto at 4pm the same day!!! Travelling time of 6hrs still not ideal but a better option that getting up at 3am.

2.
While we understand that scenic has no power over the weather we feel decisions were not made in the best interests & comfort of the guests

3.
After 4 nights in Avignon instead of the scheduled 2 we were finally transported back to Lyon as the boat was unable to leave the port. The bus trip was 3.5 hours after which we were deposited at a large square in the city centre
We were left for 3hours to get lunch before being transported to our accommodation. There were a number of infirm people who could not walk very far so choices for lunch were virtually non existent for them

4
We were told that once we arrived at our accommodation our luggage would be in our room
Not the caseluggage was everywhere in the foyer
Radisson blu had two lifts to get all 140 pax to reception on 32nd floor!
The distribution of keys was a complete farce with 2 people calling names for at the same time. It was pure chaos. The were 2 hotel lifts from 32nd floor for 200 rooms over 5 floors. Total time from Lyon to getting keys for room 8 hours.

5
The provided dinner on Saturday night in Lyon was disgusting. Considering it was a last minute booking for 140 people we were not surprised

We had been very tolerant to scenic decisions but ran out of patience with such poor management choices
Considering we paid over $20,000 for this cruise it is without doubt one of the most disappointing and badly managed cruises we’ve ever been on (we’ve done 10 different cruises)
While cruise director worked hard for the guests she was obviously hampered by decisions made by scenic management
These decisions were not in the best interest or comfort considering the age demographic of the pax

Conclusion
All in all the Lyon cruise was not going to be what we’d hoped after we were delayed 2 days in Lyon
In Avignon we watched the Avalon ship beside us disembark their pax before the rain hit Avignon on Thursday
All in all a much better decision for their pax

Scenic needs to kindly explain why many Canadian travellers are offered a deal for a couple to only pay for 1 pax after only doing one previous cruise!

Australians who had done several cruises had never been offered such discount & had paid full price for both pax!!!!!!!!
Could not in all honesty recommend a Scenic Rhone river Cruise after this experience.

Scenic cruise InjuryUsing Scenic bikes - be wary
I sustained a serious injury that became infected because a Scenic supplied bike was not safe to use. No first aid kit or FA people on board to help manage. I incurred medical costs and could not participate in booked activities because of the injury. Scenic will not accept any responsibility nor compensate for the $ loss I have incurred.... incredible weasel words in all correspondence. The fact the incident occurred is one thinghow it is responded to is what shows character - in this case Scenic have failed badly.

Using Scenic bikes - be wary

I was waiting from Chelsea from Newcastle NSW after job application and interview. She said they were expanding. Hiring 5 staff. Did online interview and advised after morning meeting the next day shall be advised after lunch. At 5.55 pm got a message. I was less experienced. Seriously. I have a commendable record. This is so disheartening. I believe in doing what you say you shall do. Glad I know better than rely on her next cruise. Lies and all that 👍

Booking this trip was not a pleasant experience. The agent I dealt with seemed to go out of his way to be as awkward as possible. I was all for cancelling at that point. Plus every time there was even a minor change we got stacks of the same paperwork sent to us.
So I started this trip in a pretty negative frame of mind which was frustrating due to the pretty hefty price tag of this holiday.
The flights were finealthough we ended up paying far more than if id booked them myself. When I pointed this out to the scenic agentthe response was toughthat's the deal their flight team had.

Arrival at the airport was a little hectic but someone was there to greet us and we got on the bus ok to the ship. If you fly in earlierwe were advised that no later transfer would be done. It was only by chance the boat couldn't make it to Basle so we joined up with the group at the airport for a bus transfer.
Very warm greeting on our arrival. I did feel special which was nice. This was our first river cruise after many ocean cruises.The Pearl was a little dated but it looked well cared for and clean. The room was small and the balcony was separated from the next one by a metal screenwith large gaps all the way around. Not great for conversations. Our balcony door also wouldn't lock. We reported this first thing but nothing. Engine noise was occasionally annoyingand there was vibration. And we weren't near the back.
Mini fridge was stocked with a small bottle of wineGinvodkawhisky one beerorange& apple juice and 2 or 3 cokes. I asked for Drambuie and Sprite to be included but was advised I had to go to the bar for those.
What made this holiday so good. The people we metthe gorgeous scenery and the staff working so very hard. Having sailed on many ocean cruise linesthis service was miles better. You were constantly asked if you needed anything. We saw little Butler service. That was fine. Not something we felt we needed anyway although the odd check from him would have been nice. Our cabin Steward did a great job keeping the room clean. Food was a mixture. Sometimes excellent and other times like pub food. Lack of consistency was strange.The bar staff were absolutely outstanding as were the waiting staff in the restaurant.
Entertainment was generally ok if uninspiring. The entertainment manager was a very good singer but he was up for three nights of the seven. The rest of the entertainment was bordering on amateur hour. This aspect was really disappointing. Only one night due to the itinerary could you get a shore to appreciate local entertainment.
Security measures were pretty much not seen. Perhaps they had hidden measures. I forgot to tag back in one night. Only realized next morning but no one checked. People seemed to wander on and off the ship.
Trips were generally goodbut too short. Far too little time to explore some of the gorgeous towns and cities we visited. Some of the guides English was also a challenge. Occasional welcome home drinks were niceand cold flannels were occasionally offered.
We did the e-bikes on board which was great fun and the most strenuous tour offered. It was a shame that no water based activity was offered.

So despite the really poor customer service during the booking process which I think needs to be addressed as a matter of urgencythe crew on Pearl turned my very negative views into a real positive.

Would we sail with scenic again? Jury still out especially reading about too little/ too much water and scenics handling of these issues with unhappy customers.

We have just had the BEST holiday.We have just done the castles & vineyards trip down the Rhine.
Basically if I could give Scenic 10 stars I would.It was indeed 5 star luxury from the start!The ship was fabulous as were ALL staff.Nothing was too much trouble. Food,fabulous!!
All basically beyond our expectations.

Was thinking about booking a danube river cruise but after reading these reviews I am now not going to. I notice none of these reviews have been answered by Scenic. That tells you something else. Pity because on their website the cruises looked good. Thank you everybody for your reviews

we have always had the best holidays with Scenic and today I rang on 2 different numbers to enquire about the New Zealand holiday and waited for over 1 hr on 2 different lines and had to eventually hang upvery disappointed.

Seasoned cruise travellerfirst time Scenic River cruise - never again. The only thing 5*star about this company is their marketing - over promise and under deliver. Pleasant staff but this must work within very rigid guidelines - I have never encountered a more non guest friendly cruise company. Had a junior suitea butler is mere figment of their marketing BS - decor was chrome and mirrors and the food and wine and embarrassment.

Very difficult company to deal with. After two failed attempts at going on a cruise due to Covid. (nobodys fault). I was given an undertaking that I could have my cruise payments refunded at 30 June 2023. Some 2 years after the second cancelation. Good luck getting Scenic to honour that commitmentthey just continue to make empty promises. Unfortunately I will have to take legal action against them to recover my money.

I recently did the Jewels of Europe tour on the Scenic Jewel which began in Amsterdam on 28th of July and brought my son and his family. Altogether there were 7 of us.
I have also booked for 17 people December 2014 for the 7 night Christmas market tour.

Please take this feedback in the manner it is intended and I hope it will be helpful for future planning.

First of all the staff were absolutely amazing. Nothing was too much trouble and this helped make our trip very enjoyable.

Now some areas that could be definitely improved.
1) The food for the evening meal was not good. I understand they have a small kitchen but there is very little variety and whenever we ordered the options of salmonsteak or chickenthey were always well over cooked and dry even when we asked for it to be rare or medium rare.
2) Bread rolls were so tiny and tastelessNice large bread rolls would be great
3) One day we had just been in beautiful German wine country where we all got a chair lift over miles and miles of vineyards. That evening we were offered Australian and American wine. I asked if it was possible to have wine from the region we had just visitedand they said surebut this should have been standard practice and we should not have been offered Australian and American wine.
4) It would be nice to have table cloths at night. We were often tied up next to other boats and could see they had table cloths which made the meal more special
5) Portobellos was closed half the time meaning we only had one turn in there. Suggest opening every night as the meal quality was much better and that way everyone could get 2 opportunities to eat a higher quality meal

6) The machines to talk to listen to the tour guides were terrible. We spent 20 minutes of each tour trying to get them working In the end I just stayed close to the guide so I could hear what they were saying. My brother did same cruise 2 weeks before me and he agreedEveryone on his trip had same problem. Even the tour guides said other companies use much better and more modern systemsso would be great to replace these.

7) Even though it is smallthe massage/facial room is still charging top prices for a treatment but the ambiance was not good. This small space needs to be made a lot more relaxing and spa like. ( Im in the beauty training industry so this really bugged me as we work with small rooms and it is easy to dogood bedbattery candles etcnice things on wall.

8) I also suggest a dress code for the evening mealjacket for menlong pantswomen well dressed.This raises the level.we were on the trip of a lifetimeand having people in thongs at dinner and shorts ( men and women) lowered the quality

As I saidthe staff were amazing. I could not fault thembut the suggestions above would be easy to implement and raise the professionalism and quality of Scenic experiences

My Fiancé and I were booked to travel to the Antarctic in December this year. I had to cancel as I have a diagnosis of Liver Cirrhosis and need to have scans etc. They wrote to me and said that we would be refunded in 8 weeks. I thought that was a little bit of a long time but never the less waited. After the 9th week I got in touch. After agreeing the refundthey then wanted proof of my illness! This is private information but I obliged. I was told that the refund would be in my account within 3 days. A week later there was still no refund. I made a good 8 calls over the following 4 weeks to address this issue. They said to me that they wanted proof of bills that I had to pay. Then in my last recorded (with their knowledge) call they wouldn’t let me have their customer complaints email address. I wrote yet another email and said that I would take this to Consumer Affairs and A Current Affair. The refund was for $36,000.00. It was only then that they got in touch by email and processed my refund. Finally. 13 weeks after they agreed it. I’ve read on reviews of people waiting 3 years for the same. The abject lack of understanding and customer care with this company is simply non existent. You can never get past the people on their general number - they simply wont put you through. I will never sail with them anywhere. Be warned. They will hang on to your money even if you are ill and need the refund. Disgusting behaviour.