Scenic Opal

We are quite seasoned travelers, but this is our first European river cruise and it was magnificent. It was added on to our trip to Ireland, Scotland/UK. Scenic delivered a first class experience. There was lots of on-shore tours and on board activities that you could choose to participate in - or not, and I loved that we were seeing various countries... read more without having to pack and unpack.

The Global Journeys client support was great, the Scenic cruise and service exceeded our expectations and we made some new friends along the way. Think we may be hooked as we have been home just over a week and planning our next river cruise with Global Journeys assistance already!

We did Transylvania first with a scenic tour manager. She was a wonderful funny, helpful and very knowledgeable guide. Then the river cruise from Constanta to Vienna with scenic. The cruise was run by jay jay the tour manager. Excellent bloke. Organised and managed the cruise magnificently. Now the only let down was the two extra nights in Vienna which... read more was booked through scenic at the Hilton park. The time we left the boat everything was shambolic. To luggage transfer the checking in and they even forgot to turn up to transfer us to the airport. Not only us but other couples as well. Perhaps scenic should look for better ground support. Otherwise great trip.

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.

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.

If you only ever do one European river cruise, this is the one. Our ship, Scenic Opal, was in very good condition, both inside and outside. The cabin was very comfortable and clean and in excellent condition. The Scenic Crew were exceptional and could not be faulted. Nothing was a problem for them. The Tour Director was also exceptional, extremely organised... read more and provided useful information with good humour throughout the cruise.

The food was very good but serves are on the small side. They did however make the point a few times that if you wanted more, just ask. Either way you won't leave this cruise hungry. The drinks were free flowing both in the dining room and the lounge. The cruise itinerary is very good with lots of options when it comes to tours or the opportunity to do your own thing in many parts as we did because we had been to most of the towns / cities before.

There was about 144 passengers on board and the nationality mix was about 80 Australians and the rest were mainly Canadians and British with a handful of Americans and New Zealanders. This was our fourth Scenic Cruise and the nationality mix has been different on each cruise.

Our cruise started in early June and the weather was quite good, ranging from around 22 C with some showers at the beginning to 28 C and sunny at the end. The river water levels were OK and we had no problems but there was speculation that later cruises may encounter lower levels which could impact their cruise. Our advise for cabin choice is to get as far forward as you can so you can to avoid engine noise and vibration. It's also a long walk to the back of the ship if you just want to pop back to your cabin for something. Our Cabin 208 was very quiet. We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and highly recommend it.

Booking through Georgie at Global Journeys made our holiday seamless. Georgie was available to answer any of our questions in a timely and professional manner. Scenic were a great company to travel with. Accommodation on board the ship was really good. Staff and food were amazing. Other passengers were lovely. There were a number of excursions to choose... read more from to suit most needs. The only negative we have is that there was information overload. Would highly recommend a river cruise. 15 days was perfect length for us. Well done Georgie and Scenic.

We recently returned from the Scenic Christmas Markets River cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. The cruise was excellent with visits to many Christmas markets along the route. The markets usually opened around 11.00am until later that evening. Due to the short daylight hours the markets were twinkling with Christmas lights and many stalls to buy your... read more Christmas decorations. The excursions were also educational and entertaining. Scenic also provided entertainment locally sourced, these were themed on what we had seen or visited that day.

If you are willing to endure the cold temperatures, the highest temperature was a maximum of 7 degrees while the coldest day was maximum 1 degree, this is a cruise that is well worth while especially if you would like to experience how Christmas is celebrated in Europe.

We would like also to send many thanks to Hannah at Global Journeys for her detail to attention, help and support as this trip was booked pre-COVID and Hannah was able to keep us up to date and repeatedly rebooked for us when the cruise between 2019 to 2021 were cancelled. Thanks Hannah and your fellow colleagues. We will definitely book with Global again as we used them for our overseas trips before onset of COVID too.

Had a great time in Paris, the Lido was club fabulous. Found the ship & crew very accommodating, the excursions were rushed & if you weren’t one of the tour directors favourites you didn’t receive same service. Very disappointed with Xmas day, the food was ordinary & nothing different was offered. Except for 6 people all Australians on board, no entertainment... read more to accommodate them. Crew were great. Overall a good trip but not a great trip. Global Journeys did a great job of organising this trip thanks to Hannah.

We travelled from Zurich to Budapest by coach and then did a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam, both trips with Scenic Tours. We had a fabulous time on both trips. The scenery in Switzerland was amazing, particularly when we travelled through the Swiss Alps. Seeing the Matterhorn was one of the highlights, we had a magnificent view from our bedroom... read more window in Zermatt.

The river cruise was wonderful, although a little stressful as river levels were very low and we weren’t sure if we would be able to cruise all the way to Amsterdam. Our cruise director was very good and kept us informed daily. We were actually the first Scenic cruise ship in 3 months to make it to Amsterdam without needing to transfer to coaches or change ships, we were very fortunate. Made some lovely new friends who we are going to catch up with next year. Yvonne was always very helpful and prompt in returning any calls or emails I sent, we really appreciate all her help with our booking. We would certainly recommend this trip.

Truly indulgent luxury, every need catered for and thought of. Can't recommend Scenic enough for their excellence. Sightseeing was the major attraction, with streamline efficiency getting to each destination and a well thought out program with choice of options. Local guides enhance the understanding of each place and being able to hear them with the... read more Tailor Made device was wonderful.