Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours - UK Reviews

I had a lovely cruise with my wife and our friends, and we were about to book another one for next year. However on our cruise there was an issue with water levels and we were unable to dock at one place. We got home and Scenic offered us a refund, £110 per couple. It has now been three months since you said the finance team were releasing the funds. This is an absolute joke, why offer something if you aren’t going to fulfil it? These are the numbers for you to find me and my friend on your system: TVL/22/4709 and TVL/22/5166. We had a lovely time but this has ruined it and put us off ever travelling Scenic again.

Scenic group is Australian and also owns emerald cruises and evergreen tours operations They are very quick to take your money upfront and offer a 10% discount as incentive. If you want a trip they want payment up front for that too. They push hard to support their cash flow. Some advisors can be very nice and some abrupt bordering on rude. We later noted we were booked on an inconvenient flight yet much better options existed (without going to a budget airline), the flights were less than £50 in fact but to change we were to be charged with a transfer admin fee which was double the flight cost. The flight timings were not discussed with us before just booking them Later on the cruise was cancelled and we were not offered a refund as an option but we dug our heels in and did get a refund in full after a few weeks. Once the initial booking had been made it was not a comfortable experience , in fact it was stressful and I would not book with them again.

It’s interesting to read the reviews here. They are all too familiar. We were on Scenic Crystal, Rhine and Moselle 26th July 2022. It was very clear, even at the start that we were likely to experience problems with water levels. You only had to read the news!! Travel to Amsterdam by Eurostar was excellent and short trip to ship. Food onboard- disappointing. Constant unpleasant smell in the cabin. Had to be put up in hotels for last three nights. Very comfortable but no inclusive drinks. Coaches everywhere. Trip home by TGV to Paris was great but then had to pull our suitcases over Paris streets for approx 1 mile in 30c temps to reach the minibus transport. Just made connection at Gare du Nord. Offered small amount of compensation shortly after return. This figure then increased and confirmation received that payment had been input to finance dept on 5th October. Despite many emails, we are still waiting and receiving a variety of lame excuses. Am interested in comments about small claims court.

After a problematic Rhine cruise, Scenic offered compensation thro a third party they use to handle complaints. A partial refund was agreed and all went smoothly until until it came to Scenic actually making payment. Three months later they are still making excuses about non payment. Suspect they are trying to wear me down - unfortunately for them I about to recover through the small claims court. Its a shame they are so difficult to deal with.

A cruise line not to be trusted I have pushed the boat out, if you will pardon the pun, and booked a luxury cruise aboard the Emerald Azzurra around the Middle East. Five weeks prior to our upcoming departure the cruise line has cut one of the ports of call ( out of a total of six). No apology, no compensation and no right to cancel because they can hide behind their terms and conditions. It is perhaps no coincidence that the cancelled port is the most outlying so will save them a considerable amount in boat hours and fuel. The reason they give for the cancellation, the port that they booked has insufficient infrastructure and limited tourist opportunities. This is completely at odds with the glowing brochure description and did no one investigate the port prior to putting it onto the itinerary? What an absolute scam or total incompetence advertising something five weeks before departure they pull. Their attitude towards customers ( who have already paid) is dismissive and disgraceful verging on rude. Typical big company against unimportant individuals. This is not the type of company I would want to trust again. Date of experience: 22 December 2022

We were offered a refund for a missed trip during our Cruise, which we thought was generous, however we are still waiting 8 weeks later and 8 weeks of emails chasing. It doesn't take 8 weeks for an electronic transfer, when they have confirmed all of our Bank details. Apparently they are receiving a lot of emails in Finance, causing a delay, but how can that be when there was only 160 people on the boat? Mostly couples, so 80 emails in 8 weeks? It is seriously reducing their chances of us re-booking with Scenic.

What is Scenic doing? They used to provide a 5-star experience, but our latest 'Beautiful Bordeaux' cruise was anything but. Trying to contact anyone at Scenic by phone or email before, during or after travel was difficult to say the least. Tickets only arrived days before our holiday and, from the minute we left home, our journey to Bordeaux was a nightmare. By the time we arrived on board we were already severely stressed. Although many of the crew were friendly and helpful, the ship appeared to be understaffed. Enjoying the free drinks in the bar was virtually impossible when there were often long queues due to staff shortages. Some didn't even know how to mix well known cocktails. Our cabin balcony flooded regularly and required pumping out or mopping regularly. The ship's engineer was unable to seal the leak and no change of cabin was offered. Later, spending 5 days of Covid isolation with a balcony requiring us to mop up continually with towels, was horrendous. When we finally received a response to our complaints Scenic acknowledged many of the shortcomings, finding excuses rather than apologies for most. They did eventually offer us each £500 in travel vouchers rather than the cash refund we considered appropriate. These are unlikely to be used as there is no way we would be willing to pay Scenic for another overpriced and badly run cruise. What is equally galling is the continuing bombardment of marketing material, still promising a 5-star experience. We would not recommend Scenic to anyone.

We were in a cabin (C235) which suffered from excessive noise and vibration during the night. On going to reception staff they said there were no free cabins and that nobody had ever complained about it before. Reading these reviews I see that that is not the case! Lies, lies, lies. Eventually, after 4 nights we were moved to a different cabin. The passenger opposite us spent 3 nights sleeping in the lounge before being moved. This is a five star company (well 5 star prices) which seems to have no regard for its customers.

Having read a large number of negative reviews and this being our first river cruise we felt we needed to highlight our fantastic cruise experience. We recently returned from the “Gems of the Danube” cruise which was nothing short of superb and exceeded our expectations. However the admin and organisation can at times be frustrating as we had an issue with the taxi which we were trying to resolve 24 hours before we were scheduled to depart. We travelled on the Scenic Amber and from the time we boarded the ship to the day we departed the service we received was outstanding. The food choices and quality were excellent, the room was clean and well equipped albeit we would not bother with a balcony next time due to the busy schedule. Also if you value your sleep avoid cabins C236 & C237 as they are above the engines. The staff were brilliant and could not do enough for us, from our butler (Christina) bringing us our morning coffee, Sapto ensuring our room was spotless and our laundry done and ready to go home, to Alex and Branislav who ensured our food and drink choices were excellent. Marianna the Cruise Director was superb being witty and informative and always ready to provide help and support when needed. Last but not least Stan kept us all entertained. Whilst we have mentioned a few of the staff we found everyone extremely efficient and friendly as there are too many names to mention. Suffice to say we will be cruising with Scenic again next year

We are on a cruise round the Artic islands of Svalbard , Greenland and Iceland in 2023. Flight for our homeward journey from Reykjavik to Heathrow should take three hours and twenty minutes, As Scenic can’t get a direct flight we have to go via Frankfurt making our journey EIGHT HOURS , LEAVING REYKJAVIK 13.50 arriving HEATHROW 22.10 , just dreadful if we known no way would we have booked

Gems of the Danube - August/September 2022 - aboard Jasper Quite simply - an awful experience. Service was certainly below standard. We had a Deluxe Balcony Suite with butler . . who we never saw or heard from after showing us to our suite. Suite was cleaned daily, but they would not/did not remove dirty dishes and glassware. We had to put it on the floor outside our room. The towels provided were frayed. Not what I would expect from a “6 star” cruise. The staff never smiled. Nothing was ever said, but they did not seem happy. We took our concerns to the Hotel Manager on day 2, who after a couple of minutes listening to our concerns, simply walked away. We are not picky travellers, but we do expect value for the cost, and we did not receive this. The food! Not much of a selection, and what was available was sub-standard. I am not a chef, but the roast beef served at one meal . . . well I would be embarrassed to serve it to guests in my home. The customary survey at the end of the cruise was taken down online before we could complete it. We have contacted the head office after our return home, but have yet to hear a response from them. Sadly, our concerns were not alone, as several of the other guests had similar concerns/complaints. While this was our first cruise with Scenic, and also our last, other frequent clients of Scenic’s also said the service and food was well below par. It makes one wonder what the future holds in store for Scenic.

I booked the Danube river cruise in 2020 but because of the pandemic it actually took place July 2022. The tour cost over £9000 and was not at all what I booked, ended up being a very expensive coach holiday, a total mess from start to finish. Trying to deal with Scenic UK is useless! I have read a few reviews here saying it's not Scenic fault that the Danube river is low, but Scenic knew the situation in early July and should have offered to reschedule the dates when the river was higher. They were carrying on week after week with the same situation and in my opinion duping customers into paying a high price tag for something they weren't going to receive, which is totally shameful !

Scenic are absolutely useless. They are very good at selling you a holiday and taking your money but thereafter they just don’t care. Trying to contact them is hopeless and usually involves waiting up to an hour on the phone before speaking to anyone. I will never travel with them again and suggest you look elsewhere if you want a river cruise holiday.

As an update, I have since managed to get responses from Scenic Customer Services. This was achieved by firstly directing my correspondence to the Director in Manchester and most recently the CEO and Chairman in the Head Office Australia. The disappointing facts are that the replies have been dismissive, inaccurate, evasive and absolving Scenic of all responsibility. Not even offering payment for our “out of pocket” expenses incurred during our wait at Heathrow. During which time, the evening of the 21st, we should have been on the Ship enjoying the all inclusive hospitality

I’ve had a couple of weeks to reflect upon our Danube river cruise holiday on ‘Scenic Amber’ from July 21st until July 28th. In essence we were unlucky, as we couldn’t navigate to several of the locations which were on our itinerary because the water levels were too low. Instead, we were put on coaches to get to these places. This happened on several occasions, which was disappointing and very tiring because I felt at times we were on a glorified coach tour, rather then enjoying cruising down the Danube. The anti climax to our holiday was our last two days, as our boat literally couldn’t move, so we were stuck at Passau, near an industrial area, staring at a grey harbour wall. I can’t blame Scenic River Cruise holidays for the low level of the Danube waters, but our holiday got off to a really bad start as our flight from Heathrow to Budapest was put back three times - and instead of leaving Heathrow at 9:30 in the morning and arriving in Budapest at midday, our plane didn’t leave the airport until 3:15pm. Hence we didn’t arrive at our boat in Budapest until 8:30pm, which meant we missed all of the first afternoon and evening of our holiday, including a ‘meet and greet’ passenger party. We barely made dinner, which was hurriedly eaten because we were all exhausted! Nevertheless, the food was excellent on board the boat and the staff were brilliant. However, there was virtually no live entertainment aboard the boat in the evening, except for one night where we had a large group of male folk dancers, ‘slapping their thighs’ for an interminable length of time, until we were bored rigid. Surely, Scenic could employ a pianist and a singer to perform some live music. The highlights? We very much appreciated the delights of Vienna, spending a memorable evening in the city where we attended a classical musician concert. Also, Budapest was a joy to visit. However, our Danube river holiday experience was not the magical experience I expected. I wanted to go to Salzburg, but the coach journey there and back would have been well over four hours, so we declined to go. By the end of the cruise I was fed up with constantly going on long coach trips. I won’t be going on another river cruise. Also, when you are very close to so many other passengers, the chances of catching an infection like Covid is so much greater. Indeed, when my wife and I returned home from our river cruise, because we had Covid, we were at home self isolating for five days. Overall, I was disappointed with the cruise. It was nothing like I had imagined. Geoff McAuliffe

WALTZING DOWN THE DANUBE. I'm really sorry to read all the unhappy stories on this site. It seems very unfair of people to blame Scenic for low water levels in the Danube, from which we have just returned. We weren't able to dock at Nuremberg or Budapest, both of which we were looking forward to, but it really wasn't Scenic's fault. We were with four old friends, which obviously helped, but we all thought the food on board was excellent, and enjoyed the charming service from friendly and patient staff. J.J. the cruise director gave clear and cheerful instructions, Putro our Butler could not have been more attentive, and we got the impression that everyone on board was enjoying themselves and making the best of the necessary changes the drought imposed. I know Scenic have had IT problems (don't we all?) . I hope they survive all this, because I believe they did their best to give us all a good holiday.

HOLIDAY NIGHTMARE-Am just returning home from Scenic Amber Space Ship cruise on the Danube. Along with many other travellers have spent a week with no luggage just in the clothes we arrived with. Can’t get through to Scenic on any lines and no email response. No greeting at the airport not even on a passenger list to be picked up from airport. Cruise directors advised they can’t contact Scenic offices either. On board guides as you cruise don’t work as no coverage. Fine dining experience evening was very poor. We missed 2 ports and one day at the start of the cruise. For last 2 days docked by a derelict building, trailer park with cargo railway on other side. You may as well through your money down the sink - disgraceful. I wish they would just cancel the holidays rather than put anymore passengers through the experience we have endured.

Ignoring the late delivery of tickets and communication problems with Scenic, we embarked on our 2 week Jewels of Europe tour full of anticipation and ready to explore Europe. We were on the Jasper, only 75 passengers and the crew was attentive if a little inexperienced. Our first concern was the absence of any health concerns or hygiene routines on board. Our completed and signed health declaration forms were deemed unnecessary and at least a dozen of our fellow travelers were coughing from day 1. At the end of the first week, low water levels meant transferring to the Jade which meant a day away from the ship sightseeing followed by a 3-hour bus trip in 38C temperatures. Our new home had another friendly crew and all was well, apart from the 'ships cough' which had spread to many other travelers. We were wearing masks when possible, but very few others bothered and just coughed whilst dining, drinking, or sitting on the numerous bus journeys. By the end of week 2, we were glad to travel home, and almost inevitably, our subsequent positive tests confirmed that the ship was riddled with passengers with Covid. A sad end to our Scenic experience, but never again.

The actual Scenic Cruise, Food, accommodation, and staff I would give a rating of 5 stars. The reason for my 3 star rating, is that I had great difficulty in booking for the Jewels of Europe (absolutely great cruise) cruise this year, which at the time I put down to the company’s system having being hacked. The Reservations Consultant (whom I won’t name as it wasn’t her fault), advised me she was unable to telephone me to arrange my proposed booking as the system was all over the place, and could i ring her? I live in Ireland, at the moment, so I rang her in the end a few times, with regard to various add on’s and flight details etc., and the booking was made. However, early this week I again contacted my Consultant, in the UK with a request to book another cruise for 2023 on the Douro. She emailed me back yesterday three days later, advising that her phone system wouldn’t allow her to make calls to Ireland! So, the hacking last year, had nothing to do with the issues I had last time, after all. Bearing in mind when you Google Scenic Cruises, the site see you live in Ireland and redirects you to Scenic.eu and the contact details and pages are all Scenic.co.uk it makes no sense at all. Scenic UK have subsequently confirmed they are the correct office for UK, Ireland and European bookings Rather than waste my time, and pay for another 4 or so phone calls to them (the freephone number doesn’t work from Ireland), I looked on line for recommended Cruise Travel Agents. I chose Panache Cruises in Chorley. I did an online chat with Panache, and within 10 minutes, Georgia one of their Personal Cruise Connoisseurs rang me. Within the next hour or so, having discussed the options, I had chosen the Scenic Douro cruise for 2023, paid the deposit and received the email confirmation for the cruise. Great service. So, my recommendation would be definitely take a Scenic Cruise, they are excellent, but use another company for the booking. Try Panache.

Got a cruise booked for next Thursday Now 3 days before as had today’s post and no tickets Been on the phone numbers we have for many hours and no reply Tried all emails and no reply Getting stressful and don’t need it How to contact them and get a reply - who knows???