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I know I’m not up to date on this board but you changed hotels!

It is interesting, the canapés were the only food that wasn’t vetted. I think that all suites, including our junior suite, get them automatically. The last day of canapé delivery we received a frantic call to our cabin for me not to eat them 😂. One look had already told me that. I was made a special dessert every night, made special soups and had changed ingredients. But these changes were never a lesser choice. I was given hot chocolate without whipped cream (or Bailey’s) and Dutch pea soup without cream, for two examples. Here are DH and I before our anniversary dinner in Portobello's and with chef Lora and chef Lynn.

Well that’s a wrap. Even though I fell the second day, I was able to stay onboard and DH went on all planned excursions. It didn’t ruin the vacation; it certainly changed it though. No fault of Scenic except I would recommend that they remove the astroturf on the stairs leading to the sun deck as it is extremely slippery when wet. There were 98 passengers onboard. The passenger breakdown was mostly Canadian and American but also included some Australians, English, Scottish, some from Malta. We were on the Scenic Jade. We stayed on the Sapphire Deck in a Junior Suite #201. I prefer the Sapphire Deck as it is one flight of steps up to the lounge or one flight down to the dining room. We booked the junior balcony suite a year in advance because it was 250 sq feet and there are no Deluxe Balcony suites on the Jade. Even though I asked Scenic directly if there was a bathtub in the bathroom and was told no after being on hold for over 5 minutes, there was a bathtub in the bathroom so a very small shower. This was a massive disappointment as the extra square footage was mostly taken up by that massive tub and there was little extra space in the cabin outside the bathroom. The toilet was squeezed between the tub and the shower wall…and I do mean squeezed; it was uncomfortable to use, especially after my accident. The shower was a square that didn’t allow me to bend over. There was an abundance of cabinets in the bathroom and a long counter with 1 sink. The hand soap and lotion were mounted on the wall too high so I could not see the pumps when standing so had to bend over. Finally, there were no hand towels, or what DH and I think of a hand towel, or a place to put one that is being used. The 2 towel racks were over the end of the bathtub. There was a large bath towel and a towel I would think was for my hair on each rack and 2 facecloths on the counter. We enjoyed both the location of the cabin and the cabin itself. We will sail again on Scenic but will not book the Junior Suite again unless there is absolutely no tub. We used the daily pressing that came with the cabin category and DH enjoyed the daily canapés (I don’t eat cream and most days they contained cream or raw fish which I don’t eat either but that is just preference). Because this was a special guest chef cruise, the onboard activities centred on the two chefs and food: oyster tasting, cooking with cheese, stroopwafel demonstration, cooking with chocolate , question and answer session. But it also had a tulip lecture and a general presentation on Scenic. Would we do a special voyage again - yes. Is it imperative-no. The planning has begun.

Bon voyage Jacqui and Debbie. Enjoy yourselves but watch those stairs…speaking from all-to-recent experience 😝 our flight from AMS was delayed 2.5 hours due to a catering strike in YYZ. It didn’t make the food any better!

I have hinted at the all you can drink alcohol, coffee (including specialty coffees) mock-tails, etc. since I hurt my foot I wasn’t able to get better pictures but these will give you an idea. The lounge has a very expensive coffee/hot chocolate machine making excellent drinks at a push of a button. It also has a tea making station with an instant hot tap and many selections of both tea bags and loose tea. The bar includes Remy-Martin, high end Scotch selection, champagne, etc. The dining room has a wine wall.

Thank you for following along and participating. I’m glad that, not only could I enjoy a second river boat vacation, that I could share the experience!

Arrived home Wednesday night after a 2.5 hour flight delay. Now real life begins! But before that emerges from the darkness as it is only 3:45 in the morning, I thought I would include the Scenic Enrich program. I couldn’t go, even if I hadn’t hurt my feet as it was an exclusive viewing of Dutch Masters projected on every surface of the old Gas Works building in Amsterdam. My vestibular issues would have had me on the floor…again!

Once per cruise Scenic includes a “Scenic Enrich” experience which is a private function just for Scenic guests. It is an art, music or cultural experience so could be a private classical concert or vocal performance but in our case it was an exclusive viewing of the Dutch Masters art exhibition in the historically significant Amsterdam gas works. Art was projected onto all room surfaces so I could not go with my vestibular issues. Here’s what my husband had to say: Scenic provided our cruise with exclusive access to the Fabrique des Lumieres show in Amsterdam. Fascinating display though at times kinda disorienting

Well it has come to an end. In about 10 hours we will depart the Scenic Jade for the final time. Here are departure instructions.

We are a bit wet and cold but the gardens were spectacular! It is a very windy, rainy day below 10 C or about 47 degrees F.

I get to get off the boat today! Woohoo! It is wet, windy and cold but hopefully the rain will stop by the time we get to Keukenhof Gardens. It’s 7.9 C or 46.2 F at the moment. Brrr

I believe it is only 1 bag of laundry once per voyage unless you are in the top suite.

Even reading our information sent by email a month before departure, Scenic pushes the suites and ties and cocktail outfits. Seasons may have some effect but on this cruise I would say nobody went by Scenic’s dress guidelines for dinner attire..

Regarding dress code. During the day it is casual. At dinners most change but not all. During the 3 more formal dinners we had (Portobellos, Table La Rive, and the dinner cooked by Chefs Lynn and Laura) only noticed a few blazers on men, one tie. Most men wore dress shirts or short sleeve button up shirts. Women wore everything from pants and sweater/blouse to yoga pants and sweater. Dresses would not be out of place. I only saw one sequin top.

In this case, we were tied up at the dock in low tide. here is inside a lock