This was our fourth scenic cruise, although deferred twice due to covid. It was also the first time we'd been out of our country since the onset of the pandemic. We had a marvellous time both during the river cruise, as well as on our pre and post cruise stay in Bordeaux and the french riviera respectively.

We had some doubts about Scenic owing to the their persistent call centre problems. But having made our deposit years ago, we had to follow it through, and we were glad we did for the cruise lived up to our expectations of scenic, and in some ways even surpassed.

This cruise goes along the rivers Dordogne and the Garonne, as well as the Gironde, a body of water that connects these rivers to the Atlantic. As such the boat had two captains - who happened to be father and son -- and a pilot to guide the ship through the tricky currents. These rivers feature a tidal bore known as the "Mascaret", a twice daily phenomena that results in waves that can be quite high and that can damage large ships if they are moored. It also churns up the sediment so that the water looks quite dirty. You don't cruise a long way on this itinerary; and in fact spend a lot of time moored in Bordeaux. Since the attractions are all on land and close at hand, you don't miss the sailing experience. In truth the rivers themselves aren't very spectacular. Read more