We’ve taken eight or nine ocean cruises but because this would be our first river cruise I spent quite a bit of time researching cruise lines to find what I thought would be our best choice. I looked at six or seven companies and compared prices & inclusions and decided that while Scenic certainly wasn’t the least expensive it looked like it offered the best value. I checked on their ships as well and decided I liked their newer ships better so I targeted the Opel or the Jasper. In the end I kept asking myself will this trip really be worth the money we’re spending? Yes indeed!
We spent two days in Budapest before boarding and enjoyed the services of a wonderful private guide. After that kind of pampering I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about sharing space and services with 160 other guests. Again my worries were unfounded. From the time we boarded the ship until we disembarked in Amsterdam, the entire staff went out of their way to pamper us and fulfill any request we had. I can’t say enough about the great people who took such good care of us. The cabin attendant, our butler, the wait staff, the bartenders, everyone was just wonderful.
We had a standard balcony cabin on the middle deck. While not spacious it had more than enough space for us. Storage was ample and the bathroom was very modern and spotless. We knew we would enjoy the Sun Lounge balcony but we discovered many little touches that we hadn’t imagined. Our cabin attendant was never underfoot yet she had everything in order every time we returned.
Our cabin was located mid-ship on the middle deck. We choose this location because it's far enough from the common areas toward the front and the engines to the stern so it would be quiet at night. 205 sq. ft was sufficient space and we found plenty of storage for our things. The bathroom was beautiful with a spacious shower that included a rainfall shower head & body spray.
The retractable Sun Lounge window on the balcony was appreciated on sunny days when we wanted to enjoy the outdoors without going up to the top deck.