Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours - UK Reviews

My husband and I went onboard Scenic Spirit on the Mekong in November 2023 for a week to celebrate our honeymoon in style. We had the most amazing experience. From the cultural ports of call to the fantastic food and drink onboard, the whole cruise from start to finish was superb. I could talk about the wonderful crew onboard for hours. Timea our Hotel Director was phenomenal, you can see that she cares and looks after her crew onboard as it's like a floating family. They go above and beyond and I honestly can't speak any higher of the ship. We had the best time and would go back in a heartbeat just to see the beautiful ship and its crew. Highly recommend this cruise to anyone wanting to go to Vietnam and Cambodia.

My Daughter asked to Visit Paris for her 18th Birthday (She was doing her A levels when it was her birthday so we went in July), After weighing up the options Looking at Cost of flights, Accommodation, Meals, things to do etc we decided a river Cruises was our best option. We flew In/Out Paris and the ship sailed to Honfleur and Back to Paris. Direct flights from Manchester were included with Air France. Flight was delayed and we felt we were waiting for our bags for an age in Charles De Gaulle. However once we made it through Customs we came through into the Arrivals hall and there was a Scenic Representative waiting for us. She took our bags and led us to our transfer vehicle. She offered us water and asked us what kind of station we would like to listen to, Told us our approx journey duration and asked us if we were in a talkative mood or would prefer to not chat. She informed us that as our flight was delayed we were due to be sharing the transfer but that they were further delayed so instead of us waiting longer she said she would take us to the ship now and another transfer would be arranged for the others. We were in a chatty mood and she told us a few details about things we were passing and even sang along with us to a few songs. Which made the journey so much more enjoyable than just looking out the window. On arrival to the ship (Scenic Gem), they check your passport and completed the check in process, they do take your photo for your ship pass, not the most flattering so do be aware. We were given a glass of champagne and then shown to our cabin and introduced to our butler. Our cases had already been delivered to our cabin and were on the beds. Our butler then explained how to use the TV, shower etc, gave us the number to reach him on should we need anything. We unpacked and made our way to the lounge for the Port talk. During the Port talk we were advised that there would be a safety drill the following morning whilst we are sailing, to allow for all guests to be onboard. She explained to us that we dock further down the river due to sailing restriction in Paris. Day tripping cruises have priority over river cruises so they sail part way up the Seine and then turn around and sail back out of Paris towards Honfleur. We had some amazing Scenic Freechoice experiences, Mine and My daughters personal highlights were the D Day Landing sites. Not being a history buff myself i was amazed by how much effort went into the D Day landings and was a truly reflective experience. Another highlight was celebrating Bastille Day in Honfleur, The Captain was able to navigate us into a great position to view the fireworks and was lovely to see so many locals and visitors on the riverside watching them unfold too. I did celebrate my birthday whilst onboard and was lucky enough to be invited to L'Amour Restaurant that evening to enjoy my birthday and they even brought me cake and sang to me. My daughter got to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night (on the hour every hour for 2 mins btw after it goes dark) when we cruised back into Paris at the end of the cruise, But we made some very special memories and met some amazing people along the way. The crew onboard and the guests definitely made the cruise even more special. We are looking forward to the next one, Possibly on the Scenic Eclipse,

We booked a scenic all inclusive cruise down the Rhine in October 2023 we sailed out of Amsterdam and we noticed that the engine didn’t seem to be performing as it should at 5am the boat stopped and in the morning we were informed that the gearbox needed repairing . We then spent 3 days/ 2 nights in a hotel and had long coach journeys to cover the itinerary . For 3 days we had a coach holiday with poor food and only one drink in the hotel. Scenic response to my complaint was: Dear Mr Weaver I am sorry you are disappointed with our River Cruise Compensation offer. As I am sure you can appreciate, the situation was beyond our control and our aim was to keep disruption to an absolute minimum for you, whilst ensuring the excursions go ahead as planned, albeit from a different port with a longer travel time. The impact of high and low waters has on river cruising has been an issue since river cruising began, however, due to global warming and ice melting on the mountains, it is getting worse. During the summer months the rivers can sometimes drop below an acceptable level to sail on and in the winter with heavy rainfall and the rivers high, this stops the ships from sailing under the numerous bridges along the rivers. How can the height of the river cause a gearbox failure. Scenic then realised that they had sent out the wrong email so much for the promised detail investigation They offered compensation of £440 each for a holiday that cost £5000 each. I have complained to ABTA but to no avail The holiday was ok but not worth the money and I am disappointed with the treatment I have received to my complaint.

We have just had a similar experience to Jackie Rossiter, who posted her review in Aug 23. In January this year we booked a 25 day tour to New Zealand for Sep/Oct 2024 (so 21 months ahead) and paid the £2,500 deposit. As one of our daughters lives in Australia, we opted to arrange our own flights so that we could visit her after the tour and I booked them about 3 weeks ago; BA only releases flights 355 days before they take place. Last week, Scenic called to say that they were cancelling the NZ tour as not enough people had booked it, which seems very odd given that it is still 11 months away, so there is still plenty of time for more people to book, especially since they offered us an identical tour in February 2024! We are now looking to book a tour within our flight dates with another, more reliable company. This is the SECOND time that Scenic has cancelled a holiday that we had booked. In June 2017, we booked one of the first cruises on the Scenic Eclipse. The cruise was to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary in May 2019, so nearly 2 years later. We paid the full price of over £10,000 up front, to get the the “Early bird” savings offer. In February 2019, just 3 months before the cruise, Scenic cancelled it because the ship was still being built and would not be ready in time! We thought that this might be a one-off occurrence and, having had a good holiday in Australia with Scenic in 2013, we decided to booked the NZ tour. Never again with Scenic!

This is never a 5* experience Beer and wine tasting at 10am😳 If not for the staff I’d have come home early The entertainment director was more like a bingo caller! Food average noisy night time sailings and the smell of waste NEVER AGAIN

First of all this was advertised as having beautiful scenery and an intimate experience.. We floated along a muddy river and the ports were poverished run down villages with nothing to do .. When we entered the boat we did NOT get the room upgrade we paid for .. The boat was full of over 70 year old people with mobility issues .. Advertisement said average age 55 ! The excursions were short and boring took longer to drive there then the actual excursions! Then everyday back to the boring boat .. The pool was actually a hot tub , the gym had 3 treadmills and 1 bike ..we were very bored ! The evening meals were awful ( frog legs ) no thanks and the alternate meals were burgers , a cheap quality steak and chicken which got really old after a few meals .. The chef was not accommodating until we emailed scenic then they had an attitude because of the complaints. In the evenings it was so bad corny cruise director jokes and music trivia from my great grandmothers era .. We made the decision to leave the boat on day 4 of a 10 day vacation . Huge waste of our money . Would never recommend this cruise through Boudreaux .. It wasn't beautiful it was boring !

We took the river cruise from Budapest to Vienna and enjoyed every minute of it. J-J and his staff were so kind,from the moment we boarded to the moment we left. The food was very good and the city excursions were so good with very informative guides. A big thank you to all of you. We are now about to book for next year!!

Flights cancelled on way out to our jewels of the Danube and Rhine trip. The good points were generally the staff on board were good. Food very good. Main complaint is the customer service. Nothing was their fault, although we missed a full day of our cruise, plus all the orientation. We're told I was lying when I complained about some aspects! It's taken since we returned in June to get a response out of Scenic. And like others offers of vouchers off next trip only compensation. We can't afford to go with them, even if we wanted to. I would avoid unless you can guarantee all goes well with your trip. Don't expect help from Scenic if things go wrong.

We have just returned from a Scenic River Cruise on the Scenic Gem...Paris to Paris.... First the good points: Staff excellent.....helpful. pleasant and accomodating. Organisation...efficient and prompt. Other passengers......very nice,mostly from USA and Canada who had chosen this cruise so they could visit the Normandy landing beaches and cemetaries.... Other comments.... Food...middling to poor....steaks from Germany (who has steaks from Germany??)...salad bars very sparse and uninteresting.....portions minute....In their brochure when booking Scenic try to kid you that they have 4 restaurants....Rubbish!!! They have the main dining room.....a gourmet table at the back of the dining room where one can eat ONCE on the cruise, even if in a top cabin....an area at the back of the lounge with half a dozen tables where each guest gets invited ONCE on the cruise...and an extention to the bar where very sparse salads or snacks are served most of the day.... All drinks are included, which is a good point, but the wines they served for meals were just OK.... Stops.... The stop offs were mostly in places no one had ever heard of, except Rouen .Giverney and Honfleur.... Scenic made a big thing about being allowed to moor right inside the port at Honfleur.....but because the Normandy Beaches Tour started at 8-30 and did not return until 6 in the evening 90% of all the guests did not get a chance to see Honfleur as we moved on to the next unknown, unnecessary destination that evening. That was a pity as Honfleur was the nicest stop. Cabins.... We had a De Luxe Balcony Suite.....nicely furnished, very comfortable bed. The bathroom was very badly designed..too much room in a tiny space taken up by the shower.....and the basin and tap were a joke... The tap protruded so far in to basin one could not use it without flooding the floor!!! Ship condition.. Generally very clean but lounge furniture,where one sits for a good portion of the trip, needed re-upholstering, it looked very tired....The beds on the upper deck very uncomfortable.... All in all a disappointing cruise and the icing on the cake was the fact that my partner fell in the lounge and damaged her face, no bones broken, but very very bruised. Two waiters and a manager helped to get her to our cabin, gave her ice packs, and that was the last we saw of anyone from the cruise company. Not one Manager bothered to enquire after her health after that, there did not seem to be any qualified medical person on board......That was disgraceful..... Latter London

My wife and I have just returned from a 7 day Douro cruise on Scenic Azure.. This was delightful in every way. The river was enchanting, the ship was spotless and the crew and staff were uniformly caring, helpful and patient. They take pride in their work and went the extra mile when required. Food was of a high standard (barbecue apart) with a good range of choice at every meal. Wines were generally local but good. The bar was well stocked with a good range of cocktails on request. The cabins were compact but well thought out. We particularly liked that the balcony opened onto the cabin. The daily excursion programme was varied and enjoyable. One point of warning. Carefully select the tours that you want to make when booking. The ship travels full and you may not be able to change on board. The evening classical music concert in the magnificent St Francis Church in Porto was a highlight. The Scenic price point is high but worth it. Nothing was too much trouble for this wonderful crew and staff. As an example, my wife and I were responsible for our own flight arrangements. Our flight home to Manchester did not depart until 21.10. Scenic allowed us to stay on board until 15.00. providing us with lunch and drinks and a limousine to the airport at their expense. We could not have asked to be better treated. This was our third cruise with Scenic and we will come again. P.S. From reading other reviews, there seems to be a disconnect between poor on shore administration and outstanding on board service. If you select a travel agent with a large Scenic account, you will get a hassle free experience !

Went on gems of danube river cruise.home 6 days ago One and half days before start of cruise told by email water levels low so had a much longer journey to boat and 2nd day extra journey to do excursions in Nurumberg. Was kept waiting 3 hours at Munich Airport before our journey to the boat, without any proper explanation from scenic staff and rude when pressured. Only after phoning emergency uk number was travel resolved and eventually arrived at boat nearly in tears and nearly missing dinner. Two and half days moored overlooking dusty towpath out of a 7 day cruise. Once sailing things improved as food, cabin and staff good. Our journey home was awful. Delays, delays , long check in , racing to gates to catch flight from Paris then delays again,and heaven knows why but we had to fly to Paris then onwards to home airport in uk instead of a direct flight. Horrendous and stressful journey and then no cases when we arrived. This was not a 5 star holiday. No contact from scenic since arriving home , and no customer phone number or email on website to resolve complaints. We have been very let down by scenic.

Appalling company. Booked a trip to Aus/NZ in Feb 22 to travel in January 23. They Cancelled the trip due to low numbers and booked us on November 23 trip. This too was cancelled last week. Had monies from us and wasted 18months of my time. Now had to rebook using a different company at a premium. They refuse any sort of compensation just £500 voucher to use on a future holiday. As if.

Scenic Jade - Great river cruise but made exceptionally so by the brilliant staff who couldn't do enough for us. The ship was spotless. We were spoilt by the staff who catered to our every whim. Alex was the Hotel Manager - he was the BEST!!! He looked after me (I'm vegan and partially disabled) and he gave me 5 star treatment every night. He treated everyone with a smile and courtesy and made us all feel special. The restaurant ran like a dream and the chef cooked me lovely vegan meals. Jeaday (probably wrong spelling) the Cruise Director, again made us feel special and was always on hand with a smile looking after us. Our beautiful butler - Viktorya - always serving us breakfast in our room with a smile and getting anything we needed. Nothing was too much trouble. Vuk and Marko, the barmen, again always there to serve us and smiling all the time. Marco the manager of the speciality restaurant again looked after us and nothing too much trouble. If I have a criticism it would be that most of the excursions started too early in the morning. Scenic should consider giving a choice of times as other river cruises do. We definitely looking to go on another Scenic cruise,mainly due to the staff and cleanliness.

Went on Bordeaux cruise. Terrible food One morning for example had a boiled egg served with fried bread which had been cooked in the chip fryer , raspberry trifle with one raspberry, barbecue food had been sitting in Bain Marie for hours All food grey , fish frozen and not even from France . Ran out of gin on second day, We paid a year in advance £9.500 for two only to find other people had only paid £1000 each . The response from Scenic was £100 voucher each for booking again . We had been twice with Scenic before and were delighted with the food. Obviously Scenic does not want to retain customer loyalty . The staff tried their best whilst working for a company that really doesn’t care

We went on Emerald River Cruise on the Douro River in Portugal in 2022 and were so impressed that we decided to do another cruise in 2023. We have just returned from 11 days aboard the Scenic Diamond Cruise to Beautiful Bordeaux. 18--28 July 2023. The experience on the ship was 110%. We had 114 passengers with approx 30 crew. It is pretty obvious that the whole Team on board thoroughly enjoy working together to make the service given to passengers , of the highest order. The facilities on board are unlimited and the daily information given out by the Cruise Director (Yvonne) every evening were extremely helpful. Ryan covered much of the evening entertainment and daily tour arrangements with very accomplished Guides, Morgan & Natalie. Our only disappointment was the facilities at the French Railway Stations, but this is obviously out of the hands of Scenic. We are already planning our River Cruise with Scenic next year. Laurie Day.

The staff on the Scenic Gems of the Danube cruise are the best we have ever experienced on a cruise. Attentive and so thoughtful. They attend to your every need with a smile. The food has been delicious and the chefs have to be commended on the quality of the food. The ship is superb and the suites delightful. The cruise and destinations have been fantastic. Highly recommended.

We went on the Barcelona to Rome cruise on the new Eclipse 2 and it was all but faultless. Check in was almost a delight! We liked the light airy public areas, the great crew from serving staff to the guys on the tenders. The cabins were of high calibre but fairly standard in design. Food was great, we liked the Asian fusion the best and the "posh" Elements was over-hyped and the sommeliere over-bearing. The "entertainments" were not too great but the organisation of the excursions were very good. A most enjoyable experience.Would go again like a shot!

Unfortunately, it wasn't this time around. We booked this Scenic Grand Indochina and Luxury Mekong cruise months in advance, expecting a month-long of oriental charm and culture. It turned out a bureaucratic script, too rushed and with several unplanned and unpleasant situations. It started with a total lack of information and interactivity on the Scenic site. We didn't get the booking details and summary a week before the cruise started, and they changed the final flight schedule, which means our post-cruise private arrangement had to be adjusted as well. Stress!! During the arrangement, we had another huge delay, waiting hours in the airport of Hanoi, due to a mistake made by the Scenic main office, which just forgot to inform the tour director of the changed airline schedule. And, a third change of route this time, when we had to end up in Vientiane for a night instead of flying directly to Luang Prabang in Laos. This last change in the airline company triggered several unpleasant situations and confusions, like less allowed luggage, which nobody knew to inform in advance and the tour director did not have the expertise to deal with. We experienced this confusion on the way from Cambodia to Laos, as well as from Laos to Thailand. Propeller planes instead of jets, less allowed weight and no previous information. The local guide asked us not to worry because "he knew the guys at the airport" (!!!) and the tour director again looked with “no expertise” to solve the situation. Of the seven hotels we stayed in during this trip three were what we expected and what the company was selling us. The other three were beyond our expectations, and one was beyond any expectation or common sense possible. This last one was in Vientiane, Laos, which was not on our schedule; we just got there by a last-minute change of route. And last, but not least, the Halong Bay boat was far from a five-star experience. Closer to a 2-3 star, not very clean, poor quality food and drinks. Unbelievable choice of accommodation and some of the restaurants considering what we paid for the arrangement. The Scenic Spirit is a nice and comfortable boat, one of the pleasant experiences of this rather “adventurous” trip. Well-sized cabins, nicely decorated interiors and professionally managed by the Hungarian cruise director. The scenery around is not really wow, nor pulsating life and energy. After 25 days of traveling around old Indochina, we remember an interesting traditional dinner in Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam, and the gala dinner at the ruins of Prasat Kravan temple in Angkor Wat. Of course the Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi and the Killing Fields in Cambodia are very interesting sights. The rest faded away amid (many, very) early wake-up calls to start the activities, lots of them rather uninteresting, repetitive, or accompanied by less prepared guides. Heard lots of political nonsense chat about the region’s actual situation from most of the guides and the tour director; and very little historical art, political, and religious erudite knowledge. We did not have the energy anymore at the end of the trip, neither physical nor mental, to participate in the dawn ritual of the local monks in Luang Prabang to collect their daily alms. And this was one of the main highlights of this trip. Everybody was exhausted, nobody else from the group volunteered to participate and we gave up as well. Pathetic end of a long-awaited trip, with no goodbyes and a bitter aftertaste. Scenic never again, no cost benefit, no client value.

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.

I've been awaiting a refund for three years. YEARS. We had a trip booked for May 2020, and of course that was cancelled due to covid in March 2020. We had already paid thousands of dollars toward our trip, and as of March 2023 we are STILL awaiting our reimbursement. I've tried at least a dozen times to get in touch with their customer service and am always tossed around from office to office, auto response to auto response. It has been such a headache. We had really been looking forward to our trip but will unfortunately never book with them again.