Our trip on the Scenic Sapphire was great, it totally surpassed our expectations. The ship is beautiful, with very comfortable accommodations. The crew was very friendly and very professional. Captain Costel did a great of job of maneuvering the numerous locks and getting us to our destinations, usually ahead of schedule. The hotel manager, Arthur was great, he has a wonderful sense of humor and was always there with a smile to help in any situation and his staff did a tremendous job too. Cruise director, Tadej did an excellent job both with the on board activities and the shore excursions. Purser, Katrina and her assistant handled every request efficiently with a smile. Executive Chef, Chadvar and his staff turned out some amazing meals from very tight quarters. Maitre d’Hotel, Vitor and his staff, especially our waiter, Zoltan did an excellent job of serving the meals and seeing that our wine glasses were never empty. Housekeeper, Teodora and her staff did a wonderful job of keep the Scenic Sapphire spotless from stem to stern. Maria who serviced our cabin did an excellent job, cleaning at least three times a day and leaving some delightful arrangements of towels. On Mothers Day she saw the card I gave my wife and made a heart of towels around it on the bed.

For a relatively new company in a very competitive market Scenic Tours really did their homework and got it right, right from the start. I couldn’t imagine a better experience in river cruising. I had never heard of Scenic Tours but while researching riverboat cruises on the internet I came across it on the website riverdiscounts.com. I was first of all impressed with the beautiful new boats. When I looked in to it further I liked the fact that the all gratuities were included and complimentary wine was served with lunch and dinner. There was even a bottle of Prosecco on ice along with Champagne flutes if you wanted a little bubbly with your breakfast in the morning, which was pleasant surprise. Another bonus was the fact that unlike most European tours, which make all announcements in 3 to 5 different languages, all announcements, were in English only.