Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours - UK
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Excellent ship experience (Eclipse) - dreadful trip quality
So, Scenic UK… We’re currently on the Scenic Eclipse, Central American Cruise. It’s a lovely ship, the cabins are excellent (I’m on floor 8 & have no problem with brown water - unlike guests lower down); the food is superb (I have heard a few complaints but I’m not sure why, & the overwhelming majority love the food); staff are excellent (particularly in the restaurants) and there is service for drinks in almost every public space. Unlike some reviewers, I thought the entertainment was quite good (a young lady and man with excellent voices and a fabulous pianist) & with quizzes and simple games at other times of the day. Where this cruise is let down is the quality of the trips. And the cost of the submersible (795 dollars US per person) compared to the dreadful water quality & lack of interesting things (I have photos); the experience of diving in such a vessel was fabulous, but it was simply not worth that amount of money. The first day it was used, only the first people had much to see - subsequent passengers found that the sea had been too “whipped up” & visibility was abysmal. As for the trips, They weren’t badly organised, just very poor quality and didn’t match up to anyone’s expectations. Costa Rica - a short trip through part of a rainforest to an underwhelming cascade & the only wildlife to be seen were 2 brown birds & millions of leaf cutter ants (that was actually pretty cool). El Salvador was slightly better, with a few deer and 2 other small mammals added to the list. Guatemala- well, those who went to the volcano had an understandably strenuous hike, and thought it was great; those who went to Antigua were extremely disappointed to spend little time actually looking round the city, but were told we couldn’t leave the hotel we’d been taken into for lunch (why lunch, for the vast majority of the limited time?). We revolted, complaining to 2 Scenic staff and were allowed 25 mins outside (but were too far from the centre of the city to see busy streets). Nicaragua was cancelled, as was the final stop of Isla mujeres (we went to Puerta Vallarta instead). To sum up - Scenic’s offering is good, especially on the ship - but destinations need to be looked at seriously to improve the quality of customer experience, and I am seriously put off travelling with them again.