This was our first river cruise and we chose Scenic because it was all-inclusive, and because it had come highly recommended by friends. Everything Scenic did was seamless! They met us at the airport, took us to our hotel, then the next day picked us up and took us to the ship. As we waited for our cabins to be readied, we had our first impression...friendly welcoming crew and a beautiful, comfortable ship. From there, it only got better. Our cruise director, Werney told me that Scenic strived to do more than what you'd expect, and they did. I have an allergy to cow dairy products and he sent me to see Natalia, the maitre d'. She suggested that she would find me in the dining room every morning with a copy of the menu for the day's lunch and dinner. I would select what I hoped to have, and she would see if the chef could prepare it by substituting other products. She also sent staff out on bikes while in port to purchase goat milk for me, and even had the pastry chef prepare a few decadent desserts for me! As a result of her diligence, I had not one bad moment caused by this issue. Another passenger who was a vegetarian commented to Werney that she was sorry she couldn't have a bratwurst in Germany and he took it upon himself to go into port on a bike and purchased 3 types of vegetarian brats for her. The food was always well presented and delicious and there was plenty of good wine available at no extra cost. The wait staff in the dining room and lounge were lots of fun and again, nothing was too much trouble. All the staff worked very hard and had a lot of pride in their work and it shone!

Whenever we were returning from an excursion, whether we were the only ship or we had to go through other ships to get to ours, Werney or one of the senior officers was outside to greet us and welcome us back "home", something I didn't see with the other ships.

Werney also arranged for interested passengers to get tickets to a sold out Lipizzaner Stallion show in Vienna, and made sure a guide was arranged to ensure we got there. In all ports, the guides were exceptional. We had excellent excursions, and the extras added to the experience (dinner in a medieval castle, a classical concert in a palace, and a piano recital in a very surprising school). The on board entertainment was unique and, at 45 mins, a good length of time. We were offered the chance to do a 35 km bike ride between ports (fortunately e-bikes!) which we appreciated since it was something we would not otherwise get a chance to do. My suggestion here would be to make it more of an all day event with stops to look around, have lunch and take pictures and less like a 3 hour race! Read more