Scenic Tour & Cruise Reviews

The Scenic Eclipse 2 is a magnificent ship and the Captain and Crew are just amazing. We highly recommend travelling with them but perhaps not for this journey. We were disappointed to find there was no diving at all and only 4 opportunies to snorkel, each for a short period of time. Given Raja Ampat is known to be a marine wonderland and both diving ...read more and snorkeling were mentioned in the itinerary when we booked, we were suprised to find neither was adequately catered for. We chose this trip because we thought it enabled us to explore the wonders above the sea (which it did magnificently) and the wonders below the sea (which it did not).
We were told we had to organize our own diving (which is difficult on a discovery voyage as there is no itinerary). The Discovery team and Shore Excursion team onboard offered no assistance and we only got to dive after we went to the Captain, who gladly helped us to determine the best place and time to organize our own dive excursion.

Also, the ship only had onboard approx 45 snorkels/fins/masks for 200 people. We took our own equipment but were still lumped together with everyone else. One day we spent 2 hours waiting on the beach for a 30 min snorkel. If you are not a snorkeller or diver then this would have been a fabulous trip however for us, who like the below the water experience, we felt we did not optimize the time in Raja Ampat. Still had a great trip and enjoyed our time though.

This river cruise far exceeded our expectations. The service was unbelievable, we received consistent, excellent service throughout the cruise. Scenic are more expensive than other companies but it is truly all inclusive from food and drinks (not just at meal times) to all of you excursions. I can’t recommend this cruise highly enough.

Absolutely loved this whole trip. The service, food, staff, amenities 5 star. Each shore excursion was interesting and had to choose one each stop. Made friends easily and had dinner each night with them. Highly recommend Scenic river cruised - total luxury and everything paid for.

Scenic does it with class. The accommodation was first class. The tours were interesting, however a few less temples and a little bit more variety would have made the tour even better. Scenic is a great Australian company that ensures all aspects of the tour are very well organised. The local tour directors were very knowledgeable and helpful. ...read more You experience the local cuisine, albeit we could not eat all that was offered. The cruises were terrific and relaxing. You need to appropriately prepare for hot humid weather conditions. Light clothing and drinking plenty of water are highly recommended. There is very little additional expense which is different to a lot of other tour providers. Well done Scenic you have lived up to your reputation.

This was our second Scenic river cruise and it did not disappoint. The staff, the food and the itinerary were a high standard as usual. River cruising is a great way to experience the essence of a country as you sail right through the heart of the towns. Scenic are a very professional and experienced company and go out of their way to make you feel ...read more special. I would recommend this trip to anyone wanting to explore the best of Germany with spectacular scenery and be spoilt by the Scenic crew.

Booking was so easy with Hannah. Always quick to answer any queries and very helpful filling in excursions requests, especially for us not so good computer users! Couldn’t speak highly enough for this company, everything went smoothly, especially when having to cancel our first booking and transfer to a new booking. Have booked another tour with Azamara ...read more Cruises. Will always book with Global Journeys in future.

A pleasant 15 day cruise from Breisach (was supposed to be Basel, but high river levels prevented starting in Basel) to Amsterdam. Saw some lovely scenery, especially sailing the Moselle. Weather was great for walking around the various towns we docked at.
Thanks to Jemm and Hannah P who were our contacts at Global Journeys, as always they were quick ...read more to help sort out any issues for us and quickly pass on any correspondence from Scenic.

We had a wonderful cruise on the Scenic Gem from Paris to the beaches of Normandy and return to Paris. Crew were absolutely outstanding, they made us all feel like family. The free choice tours were very good, although we would have appreciated more time at the Sir John Monash Centre and Villers Bretonneux. Our guide, Ben who walked with us around Rouen ...read more and gave a couple of lectures on the cruise ship was excellent, one of the best guides we have ever had. He was also our guide when we toured the Palais Benedictine. A great tour, would recommend, especially those who are interested in WWI and WWII history.

The island has a volcanic core with beautiful cliffs & scenery. The people are welcoming & there is a good range of of tour options, otherwise a hire car is needed to get around. Our Scenic tour had a great tour guide + all the best tour options but we received no tour information with hotel name, no baggage assistance, no lunches, no evening meal beverages ...read more (2 complimentary drinks during week) & had 2 days of free time in our 7 available days. We had much better expectations from Scenic having travelled often with APT.

This cruise was very good. Spain and Portugal delightful countries to visit and good choice of included excursions. Compared well to Viking. Main (minor) disappointments were food related- no local regional food choices on menu (just usual restaurant menu), no fresh orange juice, no chocolates on turn-down. Overall 8/10.

Hannah was allocated as our ...read more GJ consultant and how lucky were we? She handled everything promptly and efficiently throughout both our tour bookings so far, and provided excellent service in arranging urgent change of flight plans. 10/10. Thanks sincerely Hannah.

My first ever European river cruise & I couldn’t have chosen a better company than Scenic. The ship Jasper and all the crew far exceeded my expectations. Nothing was too much trouble. The cleanliness of the ship was 100%. A big thank you to Hannah at Global Journeys for her assistance with this booking. I have booked another Scenic river cruise in ...read more November with Hannah and am very much looking forward to the experience.

Hi, we have just returned from Antarctica and the Chilean fjords. WOW!!!!!!!! Our holiday was organised by Georgie and she was amazing, we were told that we would be met at the airport Buenos Aires and we were. Everything from then on went like clock work. We were so impressed we have booked again with Georgie for our trip tp Cambodia and Vietnam next ...read more year. Thank you Georgie for all your hard work.

When I booked this I was hoping to get a true white Xmas and this trip met all of my expectations. Xmas Day in Lake Louise was perfect, enough snow to enjoy and play and blue skies to make it picturesque. Scenic Tours are always well structured, excellent in all aspects from accommodation to inclusions and options, pace of travel and most importantly ...read more staff- tour guide and driver.

From the moment we embarked on our scenic river adventure, it was evident that Scenic was committed to providing a level of luxury and enrichment that surpassed our expectations. The highlight of our trip was the private concert at Richitenstein Palace - the intimate performance In the opulent Palace setting was a prestigious event and was the epitome ...read more of the Scenic experience.

What stood out to us was the genuine commitment of the Scenic team to go above and beyond for their guests. Cathy, our cruise director was the most cheerful person I’ve ever met. She was full of positive energy which made us feel energized too. The bar staff, all of them were working hard. Ali and Luka were constantly offering drinks to guests. The restaurant staff, the housekeeping staff, the hotel manager, all of them were committed and made a very good team between themselves.

One of the standout features of the Scenic River Cruise was the comprehensive all-inclusive package, from meal to excursion, all day drink onboard to gratuity, everything was included and this made our vacation worry-free experience. In conclusion, we really enjoyed our river cruise. We are grateful for the memories created and can't wait to embark on another adventure with Scenic in the future. We booked our cruise through Georgie of Global Journeys. The booking process went on seamlessly and Georgie is a wonderful agent to deal with.

We had a fantastic time on our holiday. The extension at the beginning showed us some different countries and experiences and we enjoyed the scenery, excursions and the small group. Lake Bled was the highlight for me, the little boat to the island and costing the little church and ringing the bells was fun. The waterfalls were amazing but very busy ...read more at the big falls and not at all suitable for people with walking difficulties. As we walked further into the park the crowds were less and I enjoyed the smaller falls more, it was a lovely hike with amazing views. We were well looked after.

The first week and half of the river Cruise was really good, lots of amazing old fortresses, churches, cities to explore. Really enjoyed the enrich events especially the choir in St Sava. The Unfortunately the Danube ran out of water and we spent 3 days in a little Bulgarian port with some not so exciting day trips, we made the most of everything and enjoyed them but it was a bit disappointing. There we many elderly/not so fit people on board who struggled with the steep gang plank caused by the low water levels and couldn’t keep up with the walking on the tours. Crew and food was amazing, so much food and they would make you just about anything you wanted. Bar staff were constantly offering drinks.

We had the cheapest cabin down the bottom, it was fine. We only slept and showered there as you can see so much more from the decks or lounge areas. The seating in the lounge and dining room makes you mingle with other passengers and we made lots of friends and had lots of laughs as we shared photos and stories.

This was our first river cruise with Scenic and we found it enjoyable but a bit crowded. The food and service are amazing and the tours were great. Scenic's attention to detail is outstanding. The cruise director was absolutely awesome and went out of his way to make everything run like clockwork. We have done 2 Scenic Eclipse trips prior to this and ...read more found this trip to be not as good though.

The cabins are VERY small and the public spaces are limited and crowded. Dinner is at a set time and the usual stampede occurs to get there. We thought we would make more use of the sunroof area but did not as it was either pulled down to get under low bridges or the weather was not good. As we had to be disembarked due to weather we got to experience two different boats and were surprised to find the service levels not as good on the 2nd boat. If you can, get on the Scenic Crystal not the Scenic Ruby. Overall still a great experience though.

For this holiday, we travelled by luxury motor coach, train and cruise ship. On the motor coach portion of the holiday, we had two night stays in the famous Fairmont Hotels at Victoria, Whistler, Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff. Other than Lake Louise, we stayed in standard rooms at these hotels and, even though these are very old hotels, the rooms are ...read more nicely appointed and a comfortable size. At Lake Louise the travel package treats you to a stunning lakeview room, you really have to pinch yourself to realise that the view before you is real!

Between Whistler and Jasper we stayed at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel for one night as we were putting down kilometers to cross this huge country. The stops along the way and the journey itself was filled with absolutely stunning scenery and the experts, guides and presentations provided in the tour package were interestingly informative and very entertaining. All the meals provided by the hotels as part of the package were very nice and some were fabulous, so we tended to eat "in house" for the few evening meals the package didn't include, after all, the facilities in general and dining in particular at the Fairmonts, was second to none.

On the train part of the journey, we were pampered with two days of delicious drinks and food and more stunning scenery in the glass domed carriages of the Rocky Mountaineer's Goldleaf Service. Now in Vancouver, we had another two night stay at a Fairmont Hotel and, like the motorcoach part of the journey, the tours included in the package were very good.

On to the cruise and again we were treated to the best available, Holland America were the original cruise company to do Alaska and have available to them the best berths at all the ports and best access to the glaciers in the national parks. The rangers from these parks, as well as the ship's crew were very informative and and especially so when there was wildlife to be seen.

Where this holiday is at the top end pricewise for seeing Western Canada and Alaska, the two night stays while journeying into the interior, the Goldleaf service on the Rocky Mountaineer and the Holland America cruise to Alaska make it good value for money for such an immersive travel experience. Also with Scenic, the people we travelled with on this journey were simply a great bunch, enjoyable in every way and most had previously travelled with Scenic, describing the travel company as not only having the best itineraries, but having a knack of having happy travellers on their tours.

The tour director for this tour, Cathy was at the top of her game and this is yet another reason why we would travel with Scenic again. And to book such a holiday, we would be using the help and guidance of Jemma at Global Journeys again.

Scenic Budapest to Amsterdam plus the Croatia/Slovenia pre-tour was absolutely brilliant. Georgie at Global Journeys did her usual wonderful job of organising everything and sorting out a few pre-trip complexities. The trip itself had so many highlights: Lake Bled is paradise on Earth, the food on the cruise was top flight restaurant quality, and ...read more the service was basically perfect. We had feared that the river cruise would be all 'old people': in our early sixties, there seemed to be nearly as many people younger than us as older, and everyone got on famously and got into the experiences at all the (many) stops. The (included) Scenic Choice optionals were fantastic: so many memorable experiences.

Firstly, thank you to Georgie, who again helped us with the planning of this holiday and was always quick to answer any queries. We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and weren't disappointed. We got to sail 81 degrees north and see puffins, arctic terns, walrus and polar bears in their natural habitat. The ship was brand new and at first ...read more we thought it a bit too "glitzy" but we came to like its varied spaces, lighting, décor and the many dining options. The food and service was outstanding, and our deluxe veranda suite very comfortable.

Our only gripe was the flight from Oslo to Longyearbyen. We were divided into two groups, one group had a chartered direst flight to Longyearbyen and were served a meal. We were on a much longer, regular SAS flight which flew via Tromso, requiring us to go through security and immigration again. Any food or drink required payment, including water. We arrived at the ship much later in the afternoon than the other group.

Tastes of Southern France river cruise was excellent, and the presence of Gabriel Gate as host made a huge difference. He not only entertained us but educated us about French culture, food and wine. We enjoyed all the daily tours and appreciated the fact that they were all short bus trips or walking distance from the boat. Staff were all lovely, ...read more efficient and friendly. Our cruise director Andreaa was super organized and efficient. She was very aware of the limitations of the older guests and described tours in detail so people were well informed of walking conditions, toilets availability, weather. Highly recommended.