Our "Enchanting Rhône" cruise had many 5 star features. The service and food were terrific! In fact, the food was the best we've ever experienced on a cruise of any kind. The lunch and breakfast buffets had many delicious choices. The sit-down dinners were gourmet quality. Our Captain, Franck, was friendly, welcoming and very visible. The shore excursions were very good. Yvonne, the Cruise Director was very hard working, available, and helpful, as was the rest of the staff. On-board customer service was top-notch. Everything really was included in the price of our cabin, even two wonderful specialty dinners. The itinerary was great fun. Our Junior Suite was roomy enough, with a nice balcony and very large bathroom. Butler service was part of our package, but it really didn't add much value.

However, I will NEVER again travel on Scenic as we were cheated with false advertising. Specifically, Scenic LIED ABOUT HAVING A SMALL POOL & FITNESS ROOM. There is none. (We spoke with a number of other passengers that were under this same mistaken impression.) When our Cruise Director, Yvonne, mentioned there was no fitness center during our orientation briefing on the first night, I told her that this was NOT what we were told and what's SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED & LISTED ON THE COMPANY WEBSITE. The Deck Plan depicted on the company website lists both a "Vitality Pool" and a fitness center. Yvonne said something like she would have to look into that and that she would be able to find me a fitness facility to use in Avignon and Lyon. If we had known there was no fitness center, we would NOT have booked this ship!

Also, the airport transfer from Nice was awful -- disorganized, chaotic, poor communication with passengers spread out in a fairly wide area of the terminal. The bus ride was more than 3 1/2 hours from Nice to Tarascon, with no beverages, even water, provided by the bus company. When you pay more than $10,000 for a cruise, you expect a more reputable company than this. Read more