Scenic Spirit Review

5.0 / 5.0
76 reviews

All-inclusive luxury cruise of Mekong River

Review for Asia River Cruise on Scenic Spirit
User Avatar
smars1
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Nov 2016
The novice monks at Wat Hanchey.
One of two beautiful arrangements of orchids in our cabin.
Fishing on the Mekong River.
Snake wine Cai Be.
Scenic Spirit. A most welcome sight after each excursion.

We have travelled with Scenic for 10 years and have completed 5 river cruises with them in addition to many land tours. We love the fact that everything is included, itineraries are varied and staff are so well-trained. The Scenic spirit is a truly luxurious ship and we were fortunate to be upgraded to one of the Royal Panorama Suites. Luxuriating in our own jacuzzi with a glass of wine at the end of each day's shore excursion was sheer bliss. I also highly recommend Shretty's massages in the Wellness centre. Twenty-four of the 60 passengers had already travelled together from Hanoi for 12 days on a land tour and had formed a tight knit "Sticky Rice" group with our fabulous Vietnamese tour director, Nghia. This meant we were together for most of the shore excursions with him and Dara, a local Cambodian tour guide. One afternoon Dara gave us a lesson on how to tie the Khmer (Cambodian scarf) which had us laughing for days. Paula, Joyce and Eric run the cruise smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. Everything happened exactly as they said and their staff are super organised, friendly and capable.The Captain and his crew had to dock in some 'interesting' places and were very creative in making sure we were able to step ashore safely for our excursions. Ario and his team never let us go hungry and introduced us to lots of local delicacies and the friendly, happy waiters were a bonus. Our gorgeous Cambodian butler, Sithat, anticipated our every need and brought us fruit after lunch and chocolates after dinner. Thanks to her we were able to have several pre-dinner drinks and canape evenings with some of our new friends in our cabin. An added bonus with our cabin allocation was being able to send bags of laundry to be done every day. With the high humidity we certainly took advantage of this. All shore excursions were interesting and educational, some such as tasting snake wine and holding a python more challenging than others and the Killing Fields were really confronting. Scenic are to be congratulated for their support of local communities and children's charities. It was such a wonderful week we were all sad to have to leave the ship.

Cabin Review

Cabin Royal Panorama Suite

301 is one of two 80 sq m cabins right at the front of the ship on deck 3. It has its own large balcony with a jacuzzi, lounger, table and 2 chairs and a swinging chair. Great area for taking in the evening breeze after a busy day and watching the sunrise in the morning. The sitting room has a sofa plus 2 chairs and can easily seat 5. Of course there is a well-stocked mini bar plus large selection of cookies, chips etc. It also has a large screen TV plus a gorgeous arrangement of orchids, as does the bedroom. Bed is super comfortable and there is plenty of room to walk around.The walk-in wardrobe is large enough to hold several suitcases full of clothes while the bathroom has 2 basins, plus a bath, separate shower and toilet.

10 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Scenic Spirit Cruise from $6,125

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.