Review Scenic Gem 5/20 to 5/30

We are a couple in our early 60's who just returned from a Scenic Gem cruise on the river Seine and we had an outstanding time. We have been on three Viking River cruises and enjoyed them all but this cruise was a cut above.

We left Boston on Air france and enjoyed an upgrade to premium economy which made the flight so much better. We were met at the gate and they greeter assisted us in getting our luggage out since there was an error, so. icy easier when someone speaks the language.

After a nice ride we arrived at the ship and were warmly greeted by our cruise director Mandy

Scenic Gem in port in Paris

A tethered balloon which was never opened for business.

The view a short walk from the boat.

We rested that afternoon and then discovered that the Scenic a Gem had ebikes, which is a regular bike which had a electric assist which we loved.

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Nice photos! Thanks for sharing!

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Looking forward to more!

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Following along!

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The first night we had an open buffet for supper, since people were still arriving.

The butler reviewed the features of the room, which included a stocked mini bar, a balcony which could be opened up, a shower that put on a light show. We were concerned since we were in the very back of the ship and engine noise, which there was none.

We left Paris around 10pm and we had a great night sleep. The next day we has. late start and we pulled into Les Andelys a sleepy town, we went on walking tour.

We had a first sit down dinner in the crystal dining room while the service was good i think Viking has a nicer dining room, brighter and larger windows. I did like they had tables for two.

Some more photos

Our tour guide was into flowers so she highlighted the gardens

Half timbered houses,

We felt the pace of this day was perfect and had a great day.

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Day three and four Rouen

The main event was a day trip to Somme Battlefields. we opted to sleep in, and then we took a long bike ride on the river shore. We really enjoyed the ebikes. We also walked into town which did not impress us.

The next day we went on a tour of the Saint Joan of Arc museum, and another bike ride.

The folks who went to Sommes really enjoyed the day, this ship's composition mostly Australians then British and 6 Americans .

There have been some issues with internet which was disappointing since I thought Scenic was supposed to have a better connection then Viking. But the infotainment system was quite good.

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Honfleur and D day tours

This was the destination we were looking forward and we were not disappointed.

Honfleur is totally delightful

We enjoyed walking around this town and we were right downtown.

We chose a tour of the beach town Deauville.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170601/030c7a809dbc3d9fe49adaa236925505.

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We really enjoyed this cruise, service was outstanding. Scenic is a wonderful cruise line which loyal customers

Highlights were

• ebikes, a wonderful tool to get around.
  
• numerous choices for excursions
  
• fantastic service
  
• truly all inclusive
  

Things that could be improved

• internet
  

We will book again with Scenic

We have just returned from this cruise on the Scenic Gem, it was our third cruise with scenic and we and other passengers were very disappointed. As we indicated to the crew if this had been our first cruise we would not have booked another one with Scenic. Many issues with the cruise and the common theme was that passengers felt the standards on Scenic had dropped, certainly lacked a variety on the menu and the meals were very small. Often we had the need to source food from off the ship. For those of us with food intolerance issues we also found that unlike previous cruises this cruise had limited options and on two occasions the wrong information resulted in intolerance reactions and therefore lost a day each time.

It was so bad we talked to the management about leaving the ship on day 4.

Still waiting for scenic to respond to the more than 10 issues we formally raised with their quality manager and also injuries that we suffered. We are now looking at what options we have to follow up in a more formal manner.

I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. We have been on Gem twice, most recently out of Bordeaux just before it redeployed to the Seine. We did the Seine cruise last year on Scenic Diamond. In fact, we enjoyed Diamond more, but Scenic is just wonderful and we will do it again. We are looking at a Rhone cruise or perhaps a Loire itinerary, maybe in 2019. But definitely Scenic.

We are going on Scenic Gem in a few weeks. We have never been on Scenic but this will be our 3rd river cruise. We have sailed with Emerald Waterways and AMA. We are looking forward to this cruise as we will stay a night in Paris and visit Normandy.

Thanks for the review. The pictures look amazing.

I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. We have been on Gem twice, most recently out of Bordeaux just before it redeployed to the Seine. We did the Seine cruise last year on Scenic Diamond. In fact, we enjoyed Diamond more, but Scenic is just wonderful and we will do it again. We are looking at a Rhone cruise or perhaps a Loire itinerary, maybe in 2019. But definitely Scenic.

Texsailor. My wife and I have cruised many times, but have never been on a river cruise. We are looking at the Scenic Diamond Bordeaux cruise (8 days). Since you have been both on the Diamond and done Bordeaux, i'd love to hear more about the ship, itinerary, service, etc.

I am 62 and my wife 60 and we are fairly active, long distance walkers. Love great food and wine. Our trip would include a number of friends and college alumni.

Thanks. ..Chathamman:cool:

We have just returned home from two BtB cruises on Scenic. We did the 10 day Gems of the Seine cruise on the Gem and then the 10 day Beautiful Bordeaux on the Diamond.

This was our first experience of River Cruising after doing 30+ Ocean cruises, and it will be our last as we know for certain now that River Cruising is not for us. We prefer the laid back style of Ocean cruising where you can please yourself and do as much as you want or as little as you want each day. We found the two River Cruises were jolly hard work with the early mornings and the long bus rides.

We found the staff and service to be excellent and we had wonderful guides and bus drivers. We just felt that we were really on a Bus Trip and the only difference was that we came back to the same hotel room each night. We certainly didn't go very far on the rivers and we did expect more free time. Perhaps we hadn't received the correct information but I know we did get a huge shock when once on board, we discovered there was very little free time.

Even at night, we had to be up in the lounge at 6.45pm for the next day's briefing immediately followed by 7pm dinner.Some nights we only returned to the boat at 6pm. No wonder, the night life was practically non existent as everyone was so tired they were in bed by 9.30-10pm.

We were also disappointed with the food. It certainly wasn't gourmet food, I would put the food below the standard of a Princess cruise. We found the portions to be very small, very few vegetables were provided and on one night when my husband ordered fish, he received two very small pieces of 1" x 2". Our table companions on that night couldn't believe their eyes when they saw how small the fish portion was. We did put this complaint into our survey at the end of the cruise as we felt what he received was an insult to anyone. We couldn't believe that after seeing so many fresh fish at the markets around Bordeaux that we weren't served up any white fish.

We much preferred the smaller Gem to the Diamond. We loved the larger rooms, the bigger bathrooms and the more compact feel to the boat. The beds on both boats were very comfortable but we were disappointed in that the we really didn't do much cruising when in Bordeaux and only went to 3 or 4 ports. I just wish that we had been told about this type of cruising as we did expect to be going up and down the rivers and not spending multiple nights in one town.

Also, being on the starboard side, we were against the dock each time we tied up which was disappointing and we felt that the Captain could have been more fair and occasionally put the portside against the dock as with the 15ft tides each day, our view was often of what people had dropped into the river such as old tyres, rusty metal etc. It would have been nicer to have been looking out at the river.

Overall, we really don't feel that we received value for money. The cost of the two cruises was high and for the money we spent, we could have had a wonderful cruise on one of the luxury cruise lines such as Oceania, Silverseas or Seabourn. We had been referred to Scenic by friends who had done the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise which may or may not be completely different to our two cruises.

Welcome to the River Cruising forum. Sorry you had a bad first experience. You chose the two itineraries with the least amount of actual cruising, but your other issues are a basic part of river cruising so your conclusion that it isn't your style of travel is probably right. That's why we suggest that first time river cruisers do a 7-night cruise as a test of the style.

The harbor master decides where boats dock. So the captain may have no control over where and how a boat is docked.

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The harbor master has a role at some point, but in Amsterdam and Basel the docks are assigned two or more weeks in advance.

https://www.portofamsterdam.nl/Ned/Ligplaatsenreserveringen.html

http://www.portof.ch/wAssets/docs/Steigerplan/import/wAssets/docs/Steigerplan/import/Steigerplan.pdf

I suspect there are other such lists.

The harbor master decides where boats dock. So the captain may have no control over where and how a boat is docked.Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I can concur with that, but to just turn the boat around and face the other way, I am sure that wouldn't affect the Harbour Master.

We weren't the only passengers who were upset that we were always facing the dock. I spoke to loads of others who were also on the Starboard side and they said that was one of the complaints that they were putting into the survey which we all filled out before we disembarked for the final time. I felt so sorry for those on the bottom deck as it would have been far worse for them.

Does anyone recall how the ships are docked? As I recall, all the prows were in the same direction. I don't think the captain can dock just any which way.

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I can concur with that, but to just turn the boat around and face the other way, I am sure that wouldn't affect the Harbour Master.

 

We weren't the only passengers who were upset that we were always facing the dock. I spoke to loads of others who were also on the Starboard side and they said that was one of the complaints that they were putting into the survey which we all filled out before we disembarked for the final time. I felt so sorry for those on the bottom deck as it would have been far worse for them.

Generally speaking you will always find that ships dock with the bow facing upstream, thus which side of the ship is against the dock is purely a function of which side of the river it moors on.

This isn't something the captain gets to choose.

I can concur with that, but to just turn the boat around and face the other way, I am sure that wouldn't affect the Harbour Master.

 

 

 

We weren't the only passengers who were upset that we were always facing the dock. I spoke to loads of others who were also on the Starboard side and they said that was one of the complaints that they were putting into the survey which we all filled out before we disembarked for the final time. I felt so sorry for those on the bottom deck as it would have been far worse for them.

Don't feel sorry for all of the passengers on the lower deck. My party of 8 chose the lower deck knowing we wouldn't get a view. We also knew that the upper deck passengers wouldn't always have a view when moored due to being rafted or next to the dock. We asked the hotel manager to show us an upper deck cabin since we were considering a future cruise. He showed us an empty cabin and the 5 of us who viewed it agreed that our lower deck cabin was just fine.

That was my 2nd aquarium class cruise.

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A boat - for sheer physical reasons, the physics of flowing water - is always docked against the current which means the prow faces upstream I have been told. So, depending on which side of the embankment you dock you either see river or town. An enclosed dock or sheltered harbour area is a different matter.

I am sorry to read that river cruising is not for you. Good to have made your opinion known in the survey for (hopefully) the benefit of future guests.

May all your future ocean trips be very enjoyable.

notamermaid

On the Danube, Rhine, Main, Elbe, and Rhone the ships dock with the bow facing upstream.

On the Danube, Rhine, Main, Elbe, and Rhone the ships dock with the bow facing upstream.

That is the rule pretty much anywhere that you have a ship and a river :)

If you moor stern first you put greatly increased pressure on the moorings and make it harder to manoeuvre safely.