Let's be fair. In absolute terms, the Scenic Spirit cruise down the Mekong was very pleasant and enjoyable. The Mekong is not a 'romantic' river of itself, with heavy commercial activity but travelling down it does facilitate access to a wide range of interesting and stimulating excursions. The ship, although just a year old, already shows signs of wear, with some obvious maintenance issues and carpets in public spaces and cabins in need of a good clean. We understand the turn around time between each cruise is only a matter of hours and this no doubt prejudices the capacity for staff to address such issues. The cabins are large, comfortable, with decent bedroom and lounge and the private glass balconies are excellent. Staff are extremely pleasant and engaged with us all throughout the trip. The majority are from Cambodia and have excellent language skills. Excursions are generally good - small villages and temples were delightful but some choices necessitated long journeys and short times at the actual destination.

Our major disappointment was the dining, in particular dinner. The lunch and breakfast buffets are good with a wide variety of dishes. Dinner on the other hand was a sit down, formal test of endurance. The evening menus were a mish mash of Asian and western food, with neither meeting expectations. On most evenings, there were five courses, which meant a long drawn out serving process which tested wait staff to the limit. Too much choice meant far too many compromises were made, and some dishes were just plain bizarre - baked bean ice cream anyone? Or dark chocolate and blue cheese ice Cream? We asked for vegetarian options on the cruise - at the final night gala dinner, we were offered 'breaded Brie' as those with broader palates dined on lobster. Unfortunately, several people were ill after said meal. Simple well prepared fare would have been perfectly acceptable, with no need for five courses. Regretably, the chef seems to have been carried away by the Scenic hype. And herein lies the problem. In real terms the cruise is just fine, but Scenic's promotions and onboard rhetoric hype the 'Spirit' as being the best of the best. It's not, particularly in regard to food. Given the cost, the Spirit does not present obvious value for money.