I have always wanted to try a river cruise because I have always travelled on ocean cruises. I liked the smaller amount of people, the ports were exquisite, you could see land on both sides of the ship always, no rocking of the boat, the excursions were good except for one where we could not understand our guide. The cons were there was not a lot of choice as far as food, the rooms are small with some issues of smelling the drain in the shower. There was also issues with the woman’s bathroom on one of the floors. Another common thing is changing ships because the water level being low. Talking to the crew this happens almost every time and in that case you are shuttled to the next ship or to your next excursion but that usually is hours away. I’m glad I did it but will think hard about doing it again. Read Less

We started sailing on the Scenic Ruby but due to low water changed to the Scenic Crystal. I didn’t realise there were water level issues and its a lesson for all to note that. We were lucky to have a scenic boat coming the other other way and passengers simply changed. We had an excellent cruise director Alex who managed the lot. The facilities were excellent on every level of accommodation, some complained about smash showers in the lower floors We were on for 15 days and that was my limit. The ruby had better service that the crystal but the Crystal was a better boat My lessons are -Pack light, most people didn’t dress up, and laundry was quick and reliable -Check out water levels before you travel and get insurance -See which boards have Alex as cruise director -DOnt feel obliged to go on every tour, it was exhausting Read Less

Best reviews, best TRUE all-inclusive, best dates, best location stops and tours, amazing cabin. The staff is second to none. BBQ on deck, personal service, incredible food and beverages, informative and small-town tours... we will be back many time! The ship is amazing, clean and well laid-out. Amazing and varied gourmet meals, well organized tours to very special destinations. The staff attentiveness is second to none. I researched over 25 river cruise lines for the best... this was it. Cabin, although expensive, was spacious and provided an un-encumbered view of all sides of the ship...truly and amazing experience. Special surprises such as an on-board BBQ, nightly entertainment from local sources, private concerts in Palais Lichtenstein, concert pianists, world-class violinists, dancers, and musicians. The cruise director Yvonne is a treasure and the captain and his crew approachable, thoughtful and willing to go the extra mile to ensure a wonderful and life changing experience. We will be back! Read Less

Wanted to visit Amsterdam and Germany and it was the perfect way to do it. We chose the Scenic Ruby as the ship and decor was very modern. We had the room at the rear of the ship. The rear window was wide that we didn’t have to leave our room to see the beautiful river scenery especially the castles. The food and service was five star, all our needs were met by our wonderful butler with early morning coffee and breakfast in our room. There was a also a full buffet breakfast in the dining room with a great selection of cold and hot food. Evening meals were five star. The daily soups are to die for. As you cruise through the towns and past the vineyards you get to try the lovely wines and beers in that area with you meals. It seemed happy hour all day. The bar staff would were very attentive and ready to mix your favourite cocktails. The musical entertainment on board was excellent. There was a good selection of shore excursions. Our Cruise Director was informative advising us of the next days’ tours and departure times. Comfortable coaches and guides were ready each day to take us on our guided tours. This was certainly a five star cruise. Read Less

Scenic was recommended to us by friends. Certainly glad we went with Scenic. Couldn’t be more pleased with the trip.Chose this cruise because of the date and the river it sailed on. Like the idea that it was all inclusive. We were treated by all crew members with excellent service. It was our first river cruise. Would definitely recommend Scenic. Good choices for the daily excursions off the ship. Tour guides that Scenic used were knowledgeable and personal. Used the Taylor Made app so could hear the guide as he explained the area to us. Liked the number of passengers aboard. Made it more personal. Would certainly use Scenic in any future travel plans. They have trips that appeal to us. The nightly entertainment was very good. Having to check off and on the ship for daily trips made us feel safe knowing that the crew were aware of where we were. Our room was comfortable. Nothing but praise for the entire experience. Read Less

Most people on the ship were fairly elderly. I would guess that the average age was 68 and scewed a bit toward the higher side than the lower. I think that it is because of this that my experience was not that great. Don't take this the wrong way, the other guess were quite nice people and I did have some nice conversations with many of them. However, everything is geared toward that age group. Let me give some examples. Please note that I am far from young, 50's. I use the term "elderly folks" only in the most respectful way. Very nice people and, to me, seem like the vast majority were in pretty good shape. I have the feeling that this will come across as pejorative, but I couldn't think of a better term. The Dining: I went absolutely nuts. Every supper is a many course mean that take hours to get through. In my opinion, the food wasn't that great either. I had to wait just for these lengthy ordeals just to be able to get some food. I could order room service, but the there wasn't much of a selection. I could get a burger, but it was awful. It was obviously a frozen patty, overcooked and some nauseating sauce that neither me nor my wife could stomach. The breakfasts buffet was awesome and we ate as much as we could to hold us over. Lunch was also a buffet, but we mostly struggled to find something that appealed to us. They also have two special meals; I skipped the one that was supposed to be a degustation experience. I am glad that I did as I would have probably hated the food and it would have taken even longer to eat. The other was supposed to be an Italian restaurant experience. Well, nothing like an Italian restaurant that I have experienced. I didn't recognize one thing from the menu. What I did order didn't appeal to me. I am not sure that this food is gear toward someone from the US. The dining experience seems to be geared at more elderly folks. The best meals we had were the one German lunch and the couple meals that we had off-ship. The Excursions: I was very happy with the quality of the excursions and the guides pretty good. However, they were extremely short. In the neighborhood of an hour and a half and sometime not even that. I had at least one that was well short of the 1.5 hours it was supposed to take. Although there were multiple excursion choices on any day, you could only pick one. What do you do with the rest of your day? I didn't expect that the excursion would be so short. Sometimes we were able to ad-lib and find something else to do, but it was hard without being prepared for this situation. It would have been nice to be prepared for this so that I could have planned better. I am just guessing, but assume they do this because this is what appeals to the elderly folks. Entertainment: On almost every night there was guy playing the piano. I don't think I heard any song played that was newer than 40 years old. This was mostly the only entertainment on the ship at any time. There is pretty much nothing to do, but sit around. That can be relaxing, but there is only so much of that to one can take. There was a trivia game on one night. Many/most of the questions were geared toward an older generation. I know that a couple of the music answers were Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink. I don't really know who they are, but know they were someone my mom listened to when she was alive. I was a little uncomfortable in my room. The AC would work sometimes and not others. Unfortunately, it would often not be working in the first part of then night, when I was trying to get to sleep. It would start working again in the early morning hours. It didn't seem to be much they could do about it. They gave me a fan. That actually did help a bit to get able to get to sleep. One thing that really irritated me was to rush back to the ship for the last port talk only to discover that the whole talk was just an advertisement we had to sit through for their Scenic ocean ship. I know I have mentioned quite a few negative things. I was very happy to be able to go on this trip. This is an area of the world that I had really wanted to see and am glad I was able to do this with my wife. Although some of the things I mentioned about made me grumpy, at times, the crew on the boat are a 10 out of 10. I really cannot imaging having a nicer crew. If I was every down in my mind about something, just their friendlies would snap me right out of it. Would I do it again, knowing what I know now. Probably not. I very much like the concept. I would probably search a bit more for another line that might address some of the things that I mentioned above. I don't know if that exists. Read Less

We went to one of their presentations here in Victoria and what they said sounded really good. Both my husband and I wanted to experience a five star experience on a smaller cruise ship going down the rivers from Amsterdam to Budapest. The food was mediocre!! We sent a steak back to the kitchen, it was cold inside and slightly charred on the outside with a frozen glob of butter on top. If the steak was hot the butter would have melted. Also I have a mushroom allergy, of which they were informed of and they didn't always remember to inform me of the menu for the lunch and dinner. I found out by chance on one occasion that mushrooms were in the dinner menu because I was in the entertainment room when the chef announced what he was cooking that evening and that mushrooms were in the food that evening. I was very upset that I was not informed and could have had a very bad reaction and hospitalized had I injected the uninformed ingredients. For the money put out, honestly we would have been better off with a cheaper carrier where the company doesn't portray itself as five star but gives you this kind of service. Also the entertainment was a joke, truly, a joke. First of all there was little of it and our evening entertainment was someone that as long as he didn't sing we could listen to the music, which was not that impressive. The few days that entertainment was brought on the ship only two were good the rest was not acceptable in the least. The daily excursions were excellent, the tour guides, buses, sites, amazing. You have to remember that was off the ship. The scenery was really great. The Captain was very good at his job as was Darinka, our tour director, made sure we were aware of the daily schedule and was herself very entertaining. The crew in general were excellent and wanting to please at every moment. In summary, we have had a much better experience with a standard (or even economy) cruise line. Scenic was not good value for the money. Read Less

We were somewhat pessimistic about booking a river cruise but after completing the trip we can only recommend the experience to others and, specifically Scenic cruises and the Scenic Ruby. The vessel is immaculate, the tour has plenty of options, the location and scenery is amazing, but what makes this cruise exceptional is the staff. Their professional approach and attentive service is beyond anything we imagined. We were fortunate that while all the rivers we cruised on were very high (water wise!), the team onboard were able to ensure our experience was as we planned, and beyond! You have the option to do as much as you wish or nothing, your call. But the planning is excellent and really allows for a vast variety of ages and fitness levels. As we were relatively younger than many, we still were able to find activities that suited us. The food was first class across the board, as was the service, which really makes this cruise exceptional. We cannot recommend Scenic enough. They are professional, friendly and ethical. You pay for what you get, and it’s worth every cent! Read Less

It seemed like it had the most to offer. The enclosed balconies with a sliding window worked out great with the cooler weather. The accommodations were excellent and the staff went above and beyond to satisfy their clients. Having all the gratuities included was so convenient. Our butler Marco attended promptly to our every need, always so courteous and with a smile. The bar staff, Young Marco and Sandy were exceptionally pleasant and a joy to see at our Happy Hour. The food servers, Goran and Percho were efficient and friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of our cabin maid, but she was also excellent. she went through the cabin at least twice a day, changing towels, cleaning the bathroom and tidying up, and leaving the yummy chocolates on our pillows every night. And the most important person on our cruise was our cruise director, Yvonne. She was so energetic, professional, and knowledgeable, and left no question unanswered. She went above and beyond to satisfy everyone. Although we have mentioned specific people, we want to emphasize that all of the staff and crew were excellent. Everyone gave us the opinion that they thoroughly enjoyed their job. The only part that could be improved upon, if possible, is being able to disembark closer to an excursion, in order to give us more time in the village etc. On two occasions, we had to travel an hour to one and a half hours by bus to get to our tour of a town or village. This left very little time to actually explore on one's own. Read Less

Trip of a lifetime. And it was made possible by the world class service of Scenic From the moment we were greeted by our chauffer at the airport in Zurich and driven by Mercedes to our hotel. To our butler service and comfortable cabin. To the unlimited beverages available 24 hrs between the lounge service and our mini bar. To the evening entertainment. To the white linen table service in the dining room as well as the snacks in the cafe. To the wide variety and choices of daily tours. To the tour device available on the ship and land for site discoveries. To the farewell dinner of lobster and the serenade by all the staff in the lounge. To the bus trip to the airport going home and being escorted to the proper airline desk. And it really was all inclusive!!! Kudos to Scenic. A wonderful memory to cherish. Read Less

Scenic arranged everything perfectly for us. From our pre stay at a hotel in Amsterdam to the departure transfers. The ship itself was immaculate! Although the cabins are understandably on the smaller side, they were very well appointed and did not lack any creature comforts. The shower was very good which was a plus. The food and wines were exceptional... every effort was made to ensure your dining experience was interesting, fulfilling and enjoyable. The entire staff looked after you as if you were family. From our own butler to the wait staff to the Cruise director, everyone was helpful, friendly and willing to assist in any manner they could. A perfect example of thoughtfulness was when we arrived back on ship after a particularly rainy morning, staff were waiting for us with hot Blueberry tea and warm towels! Thoughtfulness! The off ship excursions were well planned, timely and interesting. The Enrichment Concert was unbelievable! We will definitely make plans in the future to travel with them again. Read Less

Outstanding reviews and recommendations by friends.Kudos to the entire crew of our Rhein River cruise ship the Scenic Ruby. Each crew member from the captain to the dining room staff and service employees are gracious, accommodating and extremely generous with their time in the service of their 300 international visitors. Vikie Lofton Wetzel and I missed dinner by 15 minutes but the dining room staff set up a special location and prepared a wonderful dinner for us. We doubt that any other large cruise line would have been so accommodating or generous with their valuable time. We strongly encourage anyone who may be even remotely considering any cruise to check out Scenic cruises in Europe. The prices including airfare, unlimited drinks, no fee excursions and no tips whatsoever will be the best cruise investment that you will ever make. The entire staff is exceptional in every way. Their personal care and interest for the comfort of every passenger is unique and wonderful. Read Less

We chose this cruise line because everything was included, even airfare. We made the right choice! We talked to others who had sailed on other river cruise lines and they said Scenic was much better than the others. The crew went above and beyond, always putting the guests first. We couldn’t have asked for anything more. The rooms were nice and the showers were excellent. The food was also excellent. We wanted for nothing. From the housekeeping staff to the cruise director and captain, everyone went out of their way to make sure our vacation was what we dreamt of. My husband usually dislikes cruises, but he really enjoyed this one and is recommending Scenic to all of our friends. We hope to sail with Scenic again! The excursions were also excellent. We were provided with excellent tour guides, who made our tours very interesting. This will truly be a vacation to remember! Read Less

Just 24 hours before we were due to fly to Amsterdam to embark on the Jasper cruise (we were in the very north of Scotland at the time of being notified) we missed a phone call at 5am 16th October 2018 (Scotland time) which we didn’t answer only to receive an email at 8am from Scenic Sydney office to advise us that suddenly there were great concerns regarding water levels and that Scenic could no longer offer the trip as scheduled. We were offered to cancel with a full refund or proceed with a much reduced trip. We requested a 1-2 hour window to make a decision of which Scenic replied that they wouldn’t be in the office till the next morning at 9:45am Sydney time! This meant we had no one to communicate with from Scenic office and at the most crucial time which was extremely stressful and disappointing. There was no customer care involved at all. So given this situation we could NOT arrange anything else to fill in the two weeks of our pre-arranged two month holiday and reluctantly agreed to proceed with the reduced itinerary and a different boat. Offer of a sub-standard boat We specifically wanted to travel on a new boat and in a cabin with larger floor area with balcony (hence why we selected the Diamond Level and Balcony suite). We are both tall people and needed a good sized cabin for our supposed two week cruise/relaxation. Once we boarded the Scenic Ruby, we were horrified to find we had an older boat in much need of renovation and with a much smaller cabin plus our shower had a major leak. There was little privacy on the balcony from our neighbours (unfortunately a very loud couple hence we had little use of our balcony). We did ask the cruise director if we could be allocated another cabin but the choices were unacceptable. It was also galling that given half the people on our trip pulled out, it seemed that the remainder were allocated the same size cabins as we were (ie 95% of the people were on the top deck) even though a lot of them paid for smaller lower cabins. Scenic Ruby did NOT have a gym, which we were looking forward to using after our long travel periods in Europe. Half way through the cruise, we were in a bus for a day to arrive in Bonn for the night and then another full day again in a bus along the Rhine until we could be transferred to the Scenic Crystal (still not the boat we had paid for but cabin was slightly bigger). Once again, much packing & unpacking of large amounts of luggage, exactly why we wanted a two week cruise break (no unpacking!). Revised Itinerary Given the extremely low water levels we understand that we could not travel to Budapest. Despite the best efforts of Scenic to offer a fall back, it was vastly inferior in that we did not get to travel (in our view) the best part being the Rhine Valley and subsequent Danube (Austria/Melk area/Hungary, etc.) The absolute highlight for us in booking this trip was to visit Vienna & Budapest – neither of which we would see nor could we have any hope of rearranging the rest of our trip to include them from land. We also had to suffer visiting a number of second string ports where we could not tie up in the city centre and hence even more transportation in a bus to get anywhere. One of the ports we ended up being based for two nights (for even more bus trips) was Regensberg, where the Captain could not even get a single berth so we spent two days staring into another ships bedrooms from our balcony). At best I would say that we received 50% of the trip/experience we were promised and paid for. Read Less

Chose this cruise to see the scenery, castles, and towns as we cruised along the Danube and the Rhine and the fact we would not have to pack for all 15 days. Actually we only cruised 1 day total in the daytime, the rest was a series of long bus trips, 3 ship changes and a few night in hotels and some cruising at night. The Ruby was the last ship but no space to enter all 3. This was all due to low water levels in the rivers which Scenic knew about long before our departure date but failed to inform us. We were not given the option to cancel or change sailing dates. I tried to correspond with Scenic prior to our departure when I suspected a problem, but had no response. The city excursions were good and we had very good local guides. These were hard to enjoy after our long bus trips and room changes. The buses used for both the excursions and the shuttle service between port had poor visibility out of the side windows because of reflection. The washroom in the buses ranged from filthy to poor. One of the rest stops along the way was disgusting and we had to pay to use any of the Rest Rooms (WC's) - something Scenic should have covered. The main topic of conversation on the trip was how to get compensation from Scenic for our lost holiday not how we were enjoying the trip. There was little enjoyment just frustration on this trip. We are keeping in touch with each other to see what Scenic will offer us for not providing what we had signed up for. Read Less

My husband and I had been planning this particular cruise for almost 2 years. We have been with Scenic prior to this adventure but have never had to do a ship swap. Due to the water levels on our route from Basel to Amsterdam we were required to transfer to the Scenic Ruby. The entire adventure was handled very well by everyone and there was a little disruption as possible to disturb the usual seamless manner with which Scenic crews function. The weather was spectacular, certainly warmer than expected and Scenic did not disappoint with their chosen tours.Scenic attempts to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible from the welcome on board at check in to the final disembarkation. We had a balcony suite in the 2nd floor and have always been pleased with the amenities offered on the ship. Our tailor made guides have always been helpful especially on tours or just cruising along the rivers. Scenic will always be our first choice when planning another river cruise. Read Less

We sailed on a “Scenic Luxury Rhine Highlights River Tour from Amsterdam to Basel in late September. We are seasoned cruisers and this was our second Scenic River Cruise in three years (Danube in September 2015). We also have enjoyed Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises. Our experience with Scenic on the Danube in 2015 was indeed 5 star. Our experience this past month on the Rhine was the polar opposite. What a disappointment it was. We were told two days before the cruise that we would be on the Ruby, not the Jasper. The Ruby is 6 years older than the Jasper. We later learned that the Jasper had been on the Danube all summer but no passengers were informed of this. We stayed at Scenic’s designated Doubletree Hotel in Amsterdam the night before embarkation, and learned that the 10th floor was the designated floor for Scenic travellers. The rooms were bare bones to say the least. Two days into our time on Scenic Ruby, the Cruise Director informed us that ‘she just learned’ that we would have to be transferred to another ship (Scenic Crystal) because of low water levels. We felt like we weren’t treated like intelligent adults, as we now knew that this had happened to every Scenic ship for the entire summer. This deception did not sit well with us. We will not focus on the effects of the water levels, as we had the same problems in 2015. We will say, however, that the low water levels definitely impacted the quality time we could have spent on the ship (one ship change, two technical stops). The focus of this review is the significant deterioration in service, amount and quality of food and drinks. The following quotes from Scenic’s website marketing material were definitely not our experience: "Diverse and delicious food experiences…; ...a gastronomic masterpiece dining experience on our ships…; ...onboard luxury of one of our boutique 5-star state-of-the-art Space-Ships…; …extensive selection of complementary beverages all day…” FOOD: We dined in the upscale Portobello restaurant one night and it was excellent. Breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Crystal Dining room was far from a 'diverse, delicious, and gastronomic masterpiece’. This was a huge step down from our 2015 experience, which included meal themes according to where we sailed, an abundance of food, and delicious variations (not to mention far superior entertainment on board). The breakfast and lunch buffets in 2018 offered the same items every day with maybe 2 items changed per day to represent regional fare. Long lineups occurred for the hot specialty items as they ran out of food quickly and despite staff saying more would be ‘coming in 5 minutes’ - this rarely happened. There was simply not enough food for the amount of people to feed. Dinner didn’t offer a lot of choice, and portions were generally small, overcooked and underwhelming. For example, the much anticipated Surf-and-turf night consisted of a thin, tough piece of beef with a silver dollar size medallion of tough-as-leather Gulf Coast lobster tail (not a full tail, but merely a cross-section). BEVERAGES: Scenic cruises are marketed as 5 star, all inclusive with complementary beverages all day, every day. Our experience in 2015 was wonderful, with several varieties of quality wines to choose from; there was a table display of 4 types of red and white wines outside the dining room for guests to preview. This year, there was no display at all on the Scenic Ruby, and a very small one on the Crystal. Each night at dinner the same two (German and Italian) low quality red and white wines were offered. It was abundantly clear that staff were instructed to pour small portions.The staff did the best they could but were clearly understaffed and it seemed to be an imposition when we requested anything other than wine at dinner. Coffee was never offered following dinner as it was on our 2015 cruise; we had to ask for it. OVERALL: In summary, the predominant observation was that Scenic has cut back significantly on food, food quality, food selection, and staffing. We suspect management has implemented cost cutting measures as reflected in the decline in on board passenger experience. Our butler introduced herself the first day and from then on was consumed with taking on several other roles. Ship staff were clearly overworked and this was evident in their demeanor. In contrast, the staff in 2015 were friendly, interactive and appeared less stressed. Entertainment and excursions were below expectations as well. We so enjoyed the group of Bavarian slap dancers in 2015 that came on to the ship, whereas on the 2018 cruise there was only a pianist and violinist on board to entertain. While our 2015 Scenic experience was 5 star, our 2018 experience was a 2.5 star despite paying a 5 star price. We will not recommend Scenic nor will we ever cruise with this company again. A huge disappointment. Read Less

We took a scenic cruise from Basel to Amsterdam in September for our 40th wedding anniversary. It was wonderful to see so many beautiful places, and the tour guides were awesome. Due to low water levels we had to change ships on our second day, but the staff did their best to facilitate the transition. We were also given a credit for the day we had to use buses, which we appreciated. I thought that the food was good, portions were adequate, many different choices. The service was top notch in every way. Our cruise director was very well organized and kept her cool while dealing with the low river levels. I felt the cabin on the Ruby was adequate but smaller than the Jade, and the bathroom was not quite as updated. Also, the first balcony on the Jade had a permanent structure which was good for privacy, and on the Ruby, the balcony was separated by a thin partition. We did not use it much. That would probably be my only complaint. Thank you for a memorable trip. Read Less

We booked a river cruise but it felt like a bus tour with occasional stops on the river. We were on 3 different boats during a 15 day cruise. Not 5 Star Service on any of the three. We started on the Ruby, were then transferred to the Jade and then finished on the Pearl. Spent way too much time packing/unpacking and a ridiculous amount of time on buses vs the river. Definitely would not cruise with Scenic again. Dining was not what I would call 5 Star and the entertainment on board was meant to have you fall asleep. We got behind schedule from the beginning and it took us a week to get caught up, but in the meantime because we were behind schedule we spent a lot to time on buses getting us to our excursion locations. I felt sorry for the older cruisers as they were pretty well confined to the ship due to the fact that we never stopped where we were suppose to and as a result they had no way of getting off the ship, we weren't docked where they had accessibility to shore. Read Less

Friends recommended Scenic Jewels of Europe (Amsterdam to Budapest), we travelled Sept. 17-Oct.1, 2018. It was our first River Cruise so we had high expectations and we were not disappointed. We booked in April 2017 not knowing there would be a European drought in 2018 but we decided to see it as an adventure and that it was. Before we left Canada we were informed that there was a water level problem but the cruise was still on. The crew were fantastic and our cruise director Patrick went out of his way to keep everyone informed. Unfortunately we ended up having to change ships two times before we reached Budapest. Yes it was tiring to pack and unpack twice and leave our ships and crews but they did everything to keep us happy. We went twice by bus with a guide but that ended up as a bonus because we were able to see beautiful countryside that we couldn't have seen from the ship and we were put up in a 5 star hotel one night in Vienna. All the off ship tours were wonderful, the food and service were excellent. The onboard entertainment was beyond what we expected- string quartet,ballet,opera., folkloric show. We had 20 C. temps the entire time but it could have been constant rain or a total cancellation. We were quite tired listening to ship mates complaining about Scenic. I asked most of them if they had read the terms and conditions of the cruise(especially 5 and 7.1a) and no one answered yes. If they had they would have seen that Scenic was not responsible for the water levels and changes in itinerary were possible. Some people see the glass half empty and some see it half full, so sad that they couldn't adapt to the circumstances and were trying to make those around them miserable also. We have no regrets about our trip and would certainly book with Scenic again. Always take negative comments with a grain of salt, if you can't adapt to extenuating circumstances, then don't travel. Read Less

After cruising on Jewel in 2016 I decided to take my son and daughter in law on the same cruise as I was so impressed the first time. We were notified by our travel agent that we were changing from Ruby to Jade, no reason given but not an issue as the rooms were the same. The Rhine/Danube had extremely low water levels but fortunately we remained on the Jade for 11days. It was fantastic, service and staff were accommodating, friendly and professional.The onboard entertainment was fair but some enjoyed it. Excursions enjoyable. With knowledgable guides;facilities & communication all top class as promised. However then we had to change to Jasper via coach as we couldn't progress further up the river. When we arrived on board we were given smaller rooms as apparently there weren't enough deluxe balcony suites on the Jasper as on the Jade. No warning,no notification..a 6 hr coach trip in to a pokey little room that was way too small. The tour director had no idea why this had happened and was unable to do anything about it as the allocations had been decided from the European /Australian office. Our travel agent had not been informed about the low river levels but did everything she could to find out why our rooms had been downgraded. The scenic Australia rep told her that it was "unfortunate" that we were one of the 4 rooms that had been downgraded. My issue is with Scenic management. They don't keep their agents updated(others had the same issue) , they don't communicate with their onboard staff, and they just don't care. The enormous amount of money that is charged doesn't equate with the level of service given by the head offices, and if I can't TRUST the organisation I'll go elsewhere. Scenic have lost me and my next 3 cruises . BEWARE!!! Read Less

We chose this cruise because we were told it was all inclusive and fantastic. Our first five days were pretty good but we didn’t know that the river levels were an issue and we asked every day but no one would tell us anything finally we were told one night before dinner that the ship could no longer navigate the water. We were given three choices with no real plans to either of them. We were given two hours to make a decision after asking for days what was going to happen. The coach tour of the trip was a nightmare we went from five Star to three-star. We were given one drink at lunch only wine and beer at dinner and we would have to pay for all her other liquor food etc. other than breakfast lunch and dinner or 24 hour service and food and drink was done. I know I’m one of many who are unhappy. Scenic has not got back to me yet nor my tour guide as to what my compensation will be. They offered us $250 a day but I will not except that. I’m hoping soon scenic will get a hold of me But I’m sure it’s going to be me running after them. I will not be cruising with scenic again. Read Less

We choose Scenic Ruby as the itinerary covered all places of interest and activities that the 3 of us wanted to do. We congratulate Scenic Ruby and their top notch staff - especially our Tour Director Patrick for their incredible organisation of "everything" no matter how small. All our expectations were meet and then at times exceeded with lots of charm and humour. Enjoyed the fact that it appeared that the staff all got on well and really pulled as a Team. We miss Patrick (our Tour Director) for his fine handling of all our requests and his jokes what a great asset he is to Scenic) Marko was wonderful as our food and drinks waiter and everything else. Vladimir we voted the best bartender in the world. Eddie made the best omelettes, Marek was the best butler and Milica made our rooms up beautifully everyday, we miss them all, they were THE BEST. We will certainly travel with Scenic again. The 3 Musketeers Read Less

Our first river cruise, found Scenic to offer everything we wanted, rooms with full balconies, all inclusive price including meals, tours, entertainment, alcholic beverages. The tours were first class in every way, just fabulous, extremely well organized and coordinated. enjoyed every moment of every tour Once on the cruise we found this was all true, no restrictions whatsoever, and we also found the Scenic Ruby to be a fabulous ship, the cleanest ship possible in every way, the staff to be more than happy to please everyone at all times, couldn't do enough for us, the managremet team on board was the same, seemed to want to make certain everyone thoroughly enjoyed every moment with the Scenic Ruby and their staff. The cruise director, Weirney, was unbelievable, just fabulous, there cannot be anyone better on any other ship. He was fabulous, couldn't be more friendly, caring, entertaining, efficient, helpfiul, knowledgable, resourceful in any way. He was great. We cannot find the best words to convey how fabulous was everything and everyone associated with the Scenic Ruby. The cruise was unbelievable and beyond our expectations in every regard. Read Less

Recommended by my Travel Agent, several excellent discounts offered and the features available were what appealed to us. The all inclusive cruises (they advertise you could leave your credit card at home) were very appealing. The service provided by the housekeeping, personal butler services, food and beverage crews were without doubt the best we have experienced. Food at all meals was plentiful, well prepared and presented. The wait staff were attentive, and the beverage and wine wait staff were always present and your glass never empty. Our cabin was comfortable, and the balcony a valuable feature. There are cabins one deck below with out this feature. I wouldn't recommend these rooms. The cabin attendant was quick to replace our towels, water (still and sparkling) and the mini bar several time each day. The ship was spotlessly clean, and staff were vacuuming, shining and cleaning the common areas every morning before guests awoke. I'm an early-bird! Read Less