For the first time ever, we actually got separation anxiety about disembarking the beautiful ship and it’s amazing crew. The cabin, 304, was spacious and extremely comfortable. Most excellent beds and facilities. Service with finesse and an ever present smile. Dietary requirements were no problem. Each detail of the cruise was managed with finesse. Our Tour Manager was brilliant in his knowledge, humor and understanding. Thank you Huy. Thanks to Tobias, Cruise Director for being ever present and always available to handle requests of all kinds. The food and beverage product was of a high standard and extremely varied. Did not encounter any disgruntled guests during our stay. Would have happily stayed on board to be looked after by our most excellent Butler, Vibol. Ports showed us real life on the Mekong and excursions provided enabled choices that helped to inform and entertain. Embarkation and disembarkation was handled seamlessly. The whole experience was one to be treasured. Note that the journey from disembarkation to Siem Reap is a long one. Do not recall seeing that mentioned anywhere in the brochure. However as with all other Scenic managed activities, it was managed very well. Praise to Scenic’s product on the Mekong. Read Less

We have been on several cruises both river and sea since 1980. This was the very best so far for many many reasons. The itinerary was spectacular. Sailing the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia. If you are thinking of doing this. DO IT NOW. 5 years from now you will not be able to experience the personal level of meeting local people doing what they do from working on the river, selling in markets or making silver or silk. The Scenic crew was one of the best. You could not want for anyone anytime. The ship was excellent and the staterooms were two times as big as any I have ever seen. We bought the regular fare not the premium but I cannot imagine what else you would need. The food was very different but if you wanted standard fare, it was always available. I could write 10,000 words describing each day but I won’t. JUST DO IT! Read Less

My wife & I chose Scenic & the Scenic Gem as a retirement celebration & going to places on our bucket list in France. The entire experience was superb starting from the pickup at our hotel in Paris at the time designated thru to the final disembarkation. The meals were well done with choices at every meal, great service, friendly polite & professional staff. Our cabin was very clean & looked after every day. The tours were as stated, on time, well organized, with very professional & knowledgeable guides. Off ship meals were well done & with no hiccups. The cruise director was on top of everything & kept the passengers updated daily on the next days activities, in addition to printed itineraries delivered each evening with the turn down service. There is entertainment every evening with some being a resident pianist & other nights bringing other groups on board. Scenic seems to aim at the retired market & hits the mark. Read Less

I believed that we were booking a 5 star cruise, we ended up on the worst experience in25 plus ocean cruises. Communication from Scenic was non existent. The day that we were flying to Budapest I called the Scenic office in Vancouver and the rep. Promised to call me when he got into the office. Well, he never called me, but I did receive a call from Nat. Geo. Who told me that we would be transferred from the airport in Budapest to a meeting room at the Marriott hotel where we would await others before we would be bussed to Vienna, a three hour bus ride after an overnight flight from North America. He told me that we would be on the Scenic Amber, which I knew was impossible as she was in Amsterdam, not Budapest. After that the cruise was downhill all the way. No daylight in the stateroom as we were moored to other ships in Vienna. The food was the worst I have experienced, poor choices, very poor quality. The farewell dinner was spaghetti with tomato sauce. I couldn’t believe it! We experienced only 3 hours of daylight sailing. The excursions were not what we were advised when we booked. The Butler was a joke as he was a butler/ waiter/ sailor. The Captain never showed for the Captains welcome cocktail party or the Captains farewell party, yet we did get to see him very often outside the wheelhouse on the sun deck having a smoke. This felt like a Mickey Mouse outfit, my apologies to the mouse, but it felt like we were sailing with a company that was in financial trouble. Read Less

Chose this cruise as I wanted to cruise on the Danube from Nuremburg to Budapest. When we got picked up at Munich aiprort we were told that due to low water we would be bused to Passau so missed a large part of the cruise down the Danube. Then the ship only cruised for half a day during daylight hours. I thought there would be a lot more cruising during the day not at night and the tour descriptor did not make it clear that 90% of the cruising would take place in darkness. Once we got to Vienna again we were told the water was low so we would have to be bussed to Budapest which meant we had to retire early at night to pack our luggage to be taken off the boat at 0800hrs and board the buses at 0830hrs for a three and a half hour drive to Budapest. At Budapest we were taken on a rushed bus tour of Budapest and then taken to a hotel. Our luggage arrived later and again we were rushed to go onto a boat on the Danube for an evening meal. The boat was poor as was the meal. To say we were disappointed from start to finish with this cruise is an understatement. I am sure Scenic would have known about the low water levels on the Danube, the water just does not drop overnight. Scenic should have cancelled this sailing or we should have been made aware that changes would take place before we left the UK with the option to arrange other dates. Very poor Scenic, you put money before your customers. Read Less

Water levels were low so we ‘swapped’ ships twice. Started on Scenic Pearl, then Scenic Opal then Scenic Amber. Opal and Amber were newer ships so larger rooms. Service was excellent. Food great. Tours organized very well and cruise director Andreea was amazing. The swaps were handled very well and pretty painlessly for us, with the exception we had to pack up twice but all luggage was handl d by the crew and in our rooms when we reached the new ship. Weather for October was well above normal so we were able to st on the top deck as we crises te rivers. Rm 234 at te back of the ship was very noisy on the Pearl but not so on the newer Opal ad Amber. Etertanmet rought on board was ver good. String quartet delightful. Would have enjiyed ports more had we been able to dock closer to town centres but low water levels found us needing to shuttle into centre of towns. Would definitely travel wt Scenic again. Read Less

This was our trip of a lifetime to enjoy the scenery, the people, the culture, the history and the food in a relaxing worry-free way. The crew on the Opal were a spectacular lively and charming group. The crew on the Pearl was charming as well but more reserved. We had an exceptional cruise activity director "J-J" who went above and beyond to make this cruise special for everyone while having to deal with the low levels of the rivers and changing ships. He made sure the transitions went smoothly and everyone was treated with utmost respect. It may have been a nightmare to organize new visits and make sure the travelers were satisfied. Service was excellent in the dining rooms and the choice of menus were appetizing and of perfect proportions. Ports and shore excursions were made interesting with knowledgeable guides and time to explore the areas was just the right length of time. The change of ships from the Opal to the Pearl was a surprise but again, JJ the cruise director made arrangements for a pleasant change over. The new crew was a little surprised to see us but we felt well received and they were as charming as the crew of the Opal. Things went really smoothly with the both crews and the trip was just so splendid. Read Less

We had been on one before and were very happy with it. The service is excellent and we wanted to see places that we had never been to before. We knew that the shore excursions would be interesting and the service on board would be good. There was only one little thing that we found fault with, and that was at breakfast we often had to wait some time before our tea and coffee was served. Other than that the service was excellent. The entire staff on the ship were always friendly, helpful and courteous. In fact one of the waiters, Marko went overboard in providing us with not only good service but he was always entertaining us with quick little stories. We were also always informed of any changes that had to be made and also were always given information about each day’s activities. All our wishes were met and we had a wonderful time. Read Less

Friends recommended Scenic Jewels of Europe (Amsterdam to Budapest), we travelled Sept. 17-Oct.1, 2018. It was our first River Cruise so we had high expectations and we were not disappointed. We booked in April 2017 not knowing there would be a European drought in 2018 but we decided to see it as an adventure and that it was. Before we left Canada we were informed that there was a water level problem but the cruise was still on. The crew were fantastic and our cruise director Patrick went out of his way to keep everyone informed. Unfortunately we ended up having to change ships two times before we reached Budapest. Yes it was tiring to pack and unpack twice and leave our ships and crews but they did everything to keep us happy. We went twice by bus with a guide but that ended up as a bonus because we were able to see beautiful countryside that we couldn't have seen from the ship and we were put up in a 5 star hotel one night in Vienna. All the off ship tours were wonderful, the food and service were excellent. The onboard entertainment was beyond what we expected- string quartet,ballet,opera., folkloric show. We had 20 C. temps the entire time but it could have been constant rain or a total cancellation. We were quite tired listening to ship mates complaining about Scenic. I asked most of them if they had read the terms and conditions of the cruise(especially 5 and 7.1a) and no one answered yes. If they had they would have seen that Scenic was not responsible for the water levels and changes in itinerary were possible. Some people see the glass half empty and some see it half full, so sad that they couldn't adapt to the circumstances and were trying to make those around them miserable also. We have no regrets about our trip and would certainly book with Scenic again. Always take negative comments with a grain of salt, if you can't adapt to extenuating circumstances, then don't travel. Read Less

We boarded the Scenic Jewel in Amsterdam for this 14 day itinerary. In each port, Scenic gives guests a choice from at least 2 excursions. First port was Antwerp, and we chose the excursion to Bruges. This town was quaint and interesting. Next stop was Veere, and we were quite impressed with the excursion to the Delta Works. We were treated to a "Dixie-land Band" after our Delta Works tour. In Arnhem, we found the Open Air Museum informative. In Maastricht we did a walking tour, then cruised the Maas River in the afternoon. When docked in Emmerich, the excursion to the Roman ruins of Xanten was awe-inspiring. Our next port was Koblenz, where we did a city tour. Then we headed down the Moselle River and delighted in the steep hills covered with vineyards and small towns along the way. First port on that river was Cochem, where we visited the fully-furnished Reichsburg Castle. We next briefly stopped at Traben-Trarbach to let the Electric-Bikers off the ship, as they were biking 15 miles to meet the ship in Bernkastel. While docked in Bernkastel, we took the excursion to Trier for an impressive city tour. We then headed back to the Rhine as quickly as possible as water levels were dropping. The ship diverted to Andernach until water levels rose enough we could enter the Rhine Gorge. The Rhine Gorge was dotted with hillside castles, impressive cathedrals, and riverfront towns. Gorgeous! Due to the delay from the low water, we had to skip our scheduled stop in Rudesheim. In Mannheim, we toured Heidelberg castle and the old town. The ship then docked in Rastatt, where guests toured Rastatt Palace and were entertained by a classical music concert. We docked next in Kehl, and took a city tour of Strasbourg and spent time in Le Petite France area. Next was Breisach, where we took coaches to the Black Forest. Unfortunately, it was windy that day, so we were unable to take the cable car gondolas to the top of the mountains. During our hike in the hills, we toured a farmhouse museum and sampled Black Forest cake. We disembarked in Basel. In addition to daytime excursions, we had 5 evenings where local musical entertainers came onboard. Overall, the excursion guides were top-notch, and Scenic arranged so only about 25 people were with each guide. We wore "Tailormade" devices, which were headsets to hear the guides. But these devices also serve as GPS locators, if you want to self-tour with the city maps they provided for each location. The food on the Jewel was excellent, with a wide variety of choices at each meal. All types of alcohol are included in Scenic's price, and with the well-stocked bar, drinks flowed generously. Regional red and while wines were offered at each meal. Service was prompt. The staff was always pleasant and welcoming. The electric-assist bikes make treks along the shore enjoyable. Also, while cruising, the "Tailormade" device clicks on to describe points of interest along the shore. Scenic also provided complimentary maps and a tour book of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers. The map showed landmarks and bridges, so it was easy to follow the ship's progress. The tour book detailed pertinent information about towns along the river. We had a butler to attend to our every need. Room service was complimentary. We were on the Sapphire deck, so included was one small bag of laundry per cabin. Those on the Diamond deck also had complimentary pressing services. We felt Scenic filled this 14 day trip with a satisfying blend of sightseeing and entertainment. There were 169 passengers onboard (majority being Australian & Canadian), and demographic was 60+. We met many lovely, outgoing, well-traveled people. Overall, Scenic really looked after their guests. I would not hesitate to cruise with this company again. Read Less