Scenic Jewel Questions

Hi

 

 

 

We are in the very very early planning stages of our holiday - maybe 2015 or 2016 or sooner if we win the lottery :).

 

 

 

Let me give you a little back ground - we have never been to Europe -have been on one cruise with Princess to Alaska a few years ago - we are in our mid 40s and looking for a tour that shows us several different areas of Europe.

 

 

 

My wife and I like the Jewels of Europe cruise - Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

or is it better to go from Budapest to Amsterdam?

 

 

 

Do these trips ever go on sale or include the airfare in the price?

 

 

 

Any other tips or suggestions you can give would be appreciated.

 

 

 

As I mentioned we are very early in the planning stages.

 

 

 

thanks

 

Paul

 

 

 

We've been looking at river cruises with Scenic Tours for a while and booked earlier this year for a March 2015 sailing from Amsterdam to Budapest (with a few days in Paris and Prague at either end). We found that the Scenic Tours cruises sell very well and we've never heard of a sale being offered. The best prices are offered early in the year for the following year.

Do you have a travel agent? If so, contact them and pay a $250 deposit to be put on the early bird list with Scenic. If you book, the deposit goes towards the cost of your cruise. It is refunded to you if you don't book. This deposit means you'll be the first to see the cruises when they come out, I think that's February. It's before any ads appear in the paper or online. This will give you the best choice of rooms. They also honour any early bird specials that are available when the ads start. This year, those early bird offers included both airfares for some dates and one free airfare for other dates. I hope they'll do something similar next year for you.

I hope this helps.

Michelle.

River cruises book up well in advance, so I'm thinking you are most likely already out of luck for a 2015 cruise (but miracles do happen). We went on a Scenic cruise last year at this time and booked it 16 months ahead, getting the last cabins available.

I would highly recommend Scenic, all inclusive (sometimes they do include airfare).

We are currently onboard the Scenic Jade travelling Budapest to Amsterdam. We have just left Wurzburg.

Smitty, you don't say where you are from, but the cruises can be very heavily booked. We booked over 12 months ago and I couldn't get the cabin that I wanted but what I did get is perfect. This current boat has more Canadians than Aussies on board. There are a few US residents and about six Brits. Apparently this is the first Scenic River Cruise that Aussies have been outnumbered. It is a great atmosphere onboard, we have a marvellous Tour Director - we are really pleased with the whole experience.

Sorry I can't help you with the difference between amsterdam-Budapest or vice versa.

...This current boat has more Canadians than Aussies on board. There are a few US residents and about six Brits. Apparently this is the first Scenic River Cruise that Aussies have been outnumbered. It is a great atmosphere onboard, we have a marvellous Tour Director - we are really pleased with the whole experience.

 

Sorry I can't help you with the difference between amsterdam-Budapest or vice versa.

Hi Strath, our Scenic Jade Amsterdam to Budapest cruise ending right before your return trip also had more Canadians than Aussies, so maybe ours was the first :). Only 6 of us from USA. We also were very pleased. I don't think you can go wrong going either direction.

We booked about 15 months in advance. At that time we had a lot of choices and got one of the Royal Panoramic suites, but it sold out soon after.

We went on the Scenic Jewel in August last year and booked 13 months in advance and got the last deluxe balcony cabin. I know you want to do as much research as you can, but I can't stress enough how popular Scenic are, you really need to book soon for 2016 to get the cabin you want. I Don't know about the airfares as we were already in Europe. We loved the cruise with Scenic. All inclusive, luxury and great all weather balconies.:)

Thanks everyone - looks like I should get moving soon on booking something lol.

We are from Canada.

Smitty

Hi

 

We are in the very very early planning stages of our holiday - maybe 2015 or 2016 or sooner if we win the lottery :).

 

Let me give you a little back ground - we have never been to Europe -have been on one cruise with Princess to Alaska a few years ago - we are in our mid 40s and looking for a tour that shows us several different areas of Europe.

 

My wife and I like the Jewels of Europe cruise - Amsterdam to Budapest.

or is it better to go from Budapest to Amsterdam?

 

Do these trips ever go on sale or include the airfare in the price?

 

Any other tips or suggestions you can give would be appreciated.

 

As I mentioned we are very early in the planning stages.

 

thanks

Paul

 

Howdy Smitty 251 ( Paul )

This is LoneStarCruisinCouple ( Lisa and Gary ) from Sugar Land, Texas just outside of Houston and like most we booked our Jewels of Europe trip back in November of 2013 for a sailing on The Brand New Scenic Opal currently under construction. Our sailing is September the 2,2015 and like most just can't wait for all the Fun and Excitement to begin.

Yes this is going to be our first ever river cruise and really don't know what to expect but all I can say is with all the reading and all the reviews I don't think that we can go wrong.

Lisa and I are booked into a Royal Panorama Suite and have been told by most that is the best cabin on the ship. Don't know as if this is true or not but I will say for sure we are certainly going to have one heck of a Dramatic View that's for certain.

Lisa and I are leaving out of Houston on August 30th and arriving in Amsterdam the 31 and shall be staying at The Toren Hotel. Is one of those European Boutique Hotels and dates back to 1618. In Budapest we are staying at The Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel and have already arranged for a Day for a walking Tour and also have arranged for a Car and Guide as to take us for a day to some of the wineries, as we do love Hungarian wines.

Yes the cruise itself is going to be FUNTASTIC but it is also the planning of this adventure that is also fun as with being a member of Cruise Critic you get to meet a lot of Great and Wonderful folks and ask of those that have already been as to help and advice in the planning as to make it an Enjoyable and Memorable experience.

Yes we are still a little under a year away but counting down the days and looking forward to:

Just a Photo of our ship that is still being built. Will have some new and improved items included, one is the swimming pool..

Yes I am excited and have been following since they first started building her.

Gary