Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours - UK
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Not a Luxury Experience
I have just returned from a river cruise which we booked with friends. We have enjoyed ourselves but some aspects of the organisation of the holiday were disappointing. Scenic make a great deal of being a 5 star company and providing a chauffeur service to and from the airport. The taxi company was excellent however Scenic arranged for us to arrive over an hour before the gates opened. We flew with Ryanair and had to print our own luggage tags. Not terrible thing to have to do but not a luxury experience. Most customers were confused about what they needed to do and the situation in the airport was chaotic. During the cruise our itinerary was changed, Scenic was aware of the situation but did not inform us until the evening before the change. To visit the places on our itinerary we would have had to make two 3 hour journeys for a half day visit. We missed travelling to Regensberg and Nurenburg and travelled down the same portion of river we travelled up. I am sure this was beyond Scenic's control. However Scenic did not introduce any incredible excursions or luxury indulgences to make up for customer disappointment or the fact they would not be able to visit the places they expected. They arranged some buses to take us to a local town, no guides were provided. I couldn't understand why my cabin was so noisy and realised there was a metal staircase outside and gangway. I can only guess that staff used it at night and early morning. I would be woken at all hours by loud clanging. On the return journey to the airport we were dropped off at 11.45 whist our 'Scenic booked' return flight was not due to leave until 17.30. I thought that was a very poor way to treat clients. When I telephoned them on my return I was told any issues after the cruise have to be put in writing and I could wait 28 days for a response.