Review of Beautiful Bordeaux 11 day cruise on Scenic Diamond from 17 August to 27 August 2022 with comparisons to Viking

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What you should know if considering this cruise. 

 

The three rivers sailed on are tidal and at Bordeaux, some 50 miles from the sea, the river level rises and falls by 20 feet, meaning the gangways can be at a steep angle.

 

The scenery is nothing much compared with the Rhine, Mosel, Danube and Douro and the rivers and estuary in particular are wide, meaning that the banks are far away. The left bank is very flat and most of the time nothing is visible apart from the trees lining the bank.

 

Bordeaux is the world’s largest fine wine region, so there are several tours to wineries and included wine tastings.

 

Times are shown on board using the 24 hour clock.

[pontac]

Before the Cruise

 

Two weeks before the cruise start date a large parcel was delivered. It contained two backpacks of good quality and a wallet with air–tickets, cruise details, earpieces and bag tags. Except there were no tickets and no information, instead a card said the documents would be emailed.

 

I then got an email with multiple PDF documents attached, including flight details, taxi arrangements, a health form and a 28 page document of information which I read through twice. Second time I used a highlighter on the important bits, mainly Scenic’s emergency number in Switzerland. The document waffled on telling us that few hotels in Europe had airconditioning, that there was a charge for public toilets etc.

 

It also told us to download the Scenic Tailormade App, but we wouldn’t  be able to download the data for our trip until we were on the boat.

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Cruise Day Minus 1 – 16AUG22 Tuesday - Travel

 

Travel from home to Heathrow airport was included. Scenic had booked a 09:00 departure to Paris where we had to connect with another Air France flight to Bordeaux. The driver came for a 05:00 departure, and the motorway that early was fast moving. Despite all the bad news in the media, we quickly checked in and passed through security, getting into the departure hall by 06:10 and had an early breakfast.

 

The plane was late departing (due to late inbound arrival), and there was a very long line at Charles De Gaulle airport for immigration and we thought we’d miss the connection. But even though we had to queue again for security we just managed to get to the departure gate by ‘gate-closed’ time.

 

But the incoming plane hadn’t arrived so we had to wait. However our plan to grab a quick lunch at CDG was not possible. Air France fed us with a biscuit (cookie) and paper cup of water.

 

The good news was our hold luggage was booked through to Bordeaux. At Bordeaux we saw no customs officers and easily met the Scenic rep. There was one other Scenic couple on that flight so we were quickly taken to a people carrier for the 30 minute drive to the Intercontinental Bordeaux Grand Hotel where we were to spend the night

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Why Scenic had booked an indirect flight when there are non-stop flights to Bordeaux from London I don’t know, neither do I know why they flew us out a day early.

 

We were aggrieved with Scenic for putting us through the stress of making a tight connection, and making our journey so much longer.

 

The hotel was very nice; the room was well equipped and quiet. The hotel is centrally located, opposite the Grand Théâtre, adjacent to the pedestrianised Rue St Christiane, the longest shopping street in Europe, and a very short walk to the river.

 

We had dinner in Le Noailles, a brasserie we’d been to before that’s two minutes walk from the hotel. There, after a long and stressful day we had a good meal and an excellent bottle of wine, the fifth growth Ch Batailley 2007, followed tarte tatin and a glass of Sauternes.

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Cruise Day 1 17AUG22 Wednesday – Bordeaux

 

The hotel breakfast buffet had everything and we had a table by the window overlooking the Grand Théâtre. Pick up to take us to the boat was 14:00.

 

Scenic had arranged a 90 minute tour of Bordeaux by 2CV departing at 09:30. We were tempted to give this a miss and are glad we didn’t because it was great fun. The small basic two horsepower 2CV (aka Deux Chevaux = Two Horses) car was first built in 1948. Ours was built in the 1960s. It has a canvas roof that can – and was – opened. We rattled around the city while our driver, who was younger than the car, chatted to us and showed us the sights. We were following a 2CV carrying the other Scenic couple, but their car was built in the 1970s and didn’t keep stalling at red lights so it was in front.

 

We lunched at Le Noailles, and got back to the hotel for transfer to the boat.

 

Check in at the boat was straightforward. We were given a lanyard with a small plastic rectangle bearing our name on one side and a QR code on the other which was used to scan us off and on the boat. We also got a room key card (On Viking the room key card is printed with your name and is used to scan you off and on the boat.)

 

Mrs P has forgotten to bring her health declaration, and I asked for a blank one for her to fill in, but they say it’s OK, they didn’t need it. Neither do they want to see the Covid inoculation certificate.

 

We were told to wait in the lounge as our rooms were not ready yet. The lounge came full of waiting people. An hour passed and then another. No one came to update us on the delay. Finally our rooms were ready at 17:30.

 

In our cabin we started to download data into the app on our phones, but the file sizes are huge and I decided not to download everything.

 

The tour manager’s talk was before dinner but didn’t contain anything useful, except that daily schedules weren’t printed but a copy would be on reception desk each morning and we should photograph it so we had a copy. Also to photograph the gate code of the landing jetty so we could get on board if the gate was closed. (We are used to the Viking daily schedule on a four page sheet of information about where we are that is placed on our bed the evening before.)

 

Meal menus were not placed outside the dining room (unlike Viking); they appeared on the in cabin TV at the bottom of the daily schedule which would very slowly scroll down. Sometimes this wasn’t updated so the lunch menu would still be showing as you went to dinner.

 

One interesting fact given at the briefing was the total number of passengers 132 and the nationality breakdown. That was

 

UK – 68

Australia – 24

Canada -18

USA – 10

Ireland – 1

 

Which only adds up to 121 so I don’t know which is correct. The departure list has 56 cabins so if there are two people per cabin then there were 126 passengers.

 

And so to dinner. There were no tablecloths. Menus handed out had the recommended wines selected by the restaurant manager to match the food. Since there were many possible dishes, matching seems optimistic, but waiters were coming to tables asking ‘red or white’ and pouring them.

 

The white was Chardonnay, the red Gamay. Neither variety is grown in the Bordeaux region. I asked if I could have a Bordeaux wine and after a time the waiter brought another bottle which I could tell from a distance was not Bordeaux as it was a Burgundy shaped bottle. Finally I we got a Bordeaux red, and a waitress showed me the wine list is after the food menu.  For later meals we chose Bordeaux wines from that list, but nearly everyone went with the recommended wines which were mostly cheap branded wines from the South of France.

 

The boat stayed in Bordeaux overnight.

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Cruise Day 2 18AUG22 Thursday – Bordeaux to Libourne

 

At 06:00 the boat sailed up the Dordogne River. As it has to pass under the Pont de pierre, meaning Stone Bridge, ordered by Napoleon I and finished in 1822. There are about 30 minutes at low tide when river boats can pass under the bridge, so schedules have to take that into account. There are 17 arches which legend has represents the 17 letters in the name Napoleon Bonaparte.

 

We arrived in Libourne shortly before 13:30 while we were lunching. Lunch is a self-serve buffet.

 

Only one tour today. At 14:00 coaches left for St Emilion. This name is very famous to wine lovers for its Merlot based wines, and the hill town is attractive too. There’s only one narrow one-way road through the town for motor traffic so coaches have to park at the bottom and passengers walk up the hill to a square where you can look down on the terracotta tiled roofs of the houses.

 

There was a visit to the underground cell where the monk Émilion lived in the 700s. Apparently women who couldn’t have children visited him for a ‘blessing’ and by a miracle afterwards found they were pregnant.....

 

This was followed by a visit to the monolithic church carved from the limestone beneath the town.

 

The coach drove back though the vineyards of Pomerol, which are famed for Merlot and two exceptionally expensive wines – Chateaux Petrus and Le Pin. (Petrus 2020 retails at an average price of over £4,000 ex tax a bottle, and Le Pin not much less). Our guide told us that we were in the centre of Merlot country, so it was a surprise that the recommended red wine at dinner was a Merlot from the Languedoc. We chose a St Emilion from the wine list

 

Evening entertainment in lounge from guest musicians Jazz River Trio.

 

Ship stayed overnight moored at Libourne.

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Cruise Day 3 19AUG22 Friday – Libourne to Medoc

 

Ship stayed moored at Libourne till after lunch.

 

There were four excursions this morning: a walking tour of Libourne, a sightseeing tour of Bergerac, or a tour and wine tasting at Ch Riviere, one group going by e-bicycle and the other coach. We took the latter. The Chateau is at the top of a hill and its driveway twists and turns up the hill and exhausted one cyclist who came back with us on the coach. The Chateau has 7km of tunnels and cellars carved in the hill and we toured some of them, before having a tasting of three wines.

 

After lunch the boat departed for the Medoc. It moored at Fort Medoc at around 19:00. I learned that previously it had moored at the small town Pauillac which is where the Viking ship moored when I was on it in 2016.

 

The boat stayed at Fort Medoc overnight.

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Cruise Day 4 - 20AUG22-Saturday – Fort Medoc

 

There were two tours in the morning, a guided cycling tour of the Medoc or a coach tour of the Medoc, both with a wine tasting. The Medoc is a very famous wine region and the small Pauillac appellation has three of the five 1^st Growths.  These prestigious wineries don’t take visitors, we drove past them and stopped to take pictures of Ch Lafite Rothschild, but our visit and tasting was at Ch Lagrange, a 3^rd Growth in St Julian. The tour was good with an excellent guide at the Chateau.

 

Lunch was a barbecue on the sundeck. Food ran out, when I asked for chicken chef had to search through the discarded carcasses to see what meat he could scrape from bones. The Executive Chef was cutting the three or four remaining baked potatoes into 4 wedges and covering them in sour cream to make them look bigger. There was no lettuce or tomatoes left, and other empty bowls and no bread. Though some additional bread appeared, the salads weren’t restocked. Not luxury, Scenic.

 

The afternoon was free, and there was a serendipitous event. The ship was moored at Fort Medoc, an old moated castle and in its central green was a sheepdog trial, sheep shearing, and stalls selling local goods and snacks. We spent time looking at how the competing shepherds used commands to get their dog to herd a flock of sheep into various pens.

 

After an early dinner we all got in coaches to be taken to Ch d’Argassac where we were greeted with a glass of fizz and taken, not into the splendid Chateau, but a neighbouring hall (Mrs P said afterwards she thought it was the barrel cellar) for a 50 minute concert by a quartet comprising two violins, one cello and one clarinet. The repertoire had music from the classics to Gershwin.

 

The boat stayed at Fort Medoc overnight.

 

Photo's, from top

Ch Lagrange

Vines at Ch Lagrange

Barrel Cellar

Tasting Ch Lagrange

Landside Entrance Gate to Fort Medoc

Sheepdog Contestant

Sheep Shearing

Ch d'Argassac

Concert Musicians

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by pontac

[pontac]

Cruise Day 5 21AUG22 Sunday – Fort Medoc to Cadillac

 

At around 07:00 the ship departed for Cadillac. It had to wait at Pont de pierre until the water was low enough at pass under it. The Viking Forsetti was also waiting, and both ships passed under the bridge one after another.

 

After lunch was a guided walking tour for everyone of the town of Cadillac named after the dukes who founded it and the restored Château des ducs d'Épernon à Cadillac, variously the duke’s residence, a prison and a girl offenders and orphan’s home. We also heard how the name Cadillac was appropriated by a con-man who went to America where he founded Detroit and after whom the car is named.

 

After dinner was dancing to the sound of guest entertainers Audrey & Julien.

 

Photo's from Top

 

Viking Forsetti passing under Pont du Pierre

Cadillac City Gate

Château des ducs d'Épernon à Cadillac

Fortifications at Château des ducs d'Épernon à Cadillac

 

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Cruise Day 6 22AUG22 Monday – Cadillac to Bordeaux

 

In the morning were two tours; cycling with a wine tasting, and a coach tour to Sauternes with a wine tasting. There were four coaches and the one we were in went to Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey, a 1^st Growth Sauternes wine now owned by Silvio Denz, CEO of Lalique luxury crystal brand. The building dates from 1618 and now also houses a luxury hotel and a Michelin starred restaurant.

 

The winery guide was excellent and if English wasn’t her native language she’d spent a long time in English speaking countries. She showed us the vineyards, the old part of the chateau including the ancient chapel and the barrel cellar with is unique crystal barrique filled with Sauternes, before leading us in a tasting of their dry white and luscious sweet Sauternes. (93% Semillon, 6% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Muscadelle).

 

(The other two coaches went to Ch Mayne le Merci which the current owners bought in 2017 and are farming organically. This is not so grand, not classified, and thus their wine is less expensive.)

 

After lunch on the ship there were three afternoon tours: a visit to a truffle farm with tasting, a guided cycle tour to and tasting at Ch Faugas or a tour by coach to Chateau Roquetillade. We went on the latter.

 

The chateau is built on a promontory and is a classic style of square castle with round towers on each four corners and a deep dry moat. Inside the walls is a tall keep. The castle is privately owned and family members are among those who show visitors around.

 

After the tours got back the boat sailed to Bordeaux where it moored over night. 

 

Evening entertainment was by the resident pianist.

 

Photo's from Top

 

Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey

Semillon Grapes just showing the first signs of 'Noble Rot'

Crystal Barrel at Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey,

 Chateau Roquetillade

 Entrance to Chateau Roquetillade

 

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Cruise Day 7 23AUG22 Tuesday - Bordeaux

 

In the morning there was the choice of three tours: shopping with the chef followed by a Culinaire Class. A bike tour of Bordeaux or a coach and guided walking tour of Bordeaux – there was also a ‘gentle’ walkers option. We went on the walking tour but bailed out when the group was to enter a cathedral.

 

We walked back to the ship, along the shopping street which ended at the Intercontinental Bordeaux Grand Hotel. Here we joined the gentle walkers tour with a guide we’d had before who was a wine expert. He was taking the group to the nearby wine school where they could use the toilets for free, or taste and buy wine and snacks. I’d been there before but he explained symbolism on the large illuminated glass panels inside which added a whole new layer.

 

Back at the ship there was a tasting of fresh oysters brought from the sea at Arcachon. We had an early dinner at 17:45 because there was a tour to the Bassins de Lumiere. It was a short coach ride to the old submarine pens. The massive concrete walls and roof resisted allied bombing and it was not possible to demolish it after the war. Built by *** occupiers between 1941-43 the massive ugly structure housed U-Boats of the German and Italian Navies, giving them access to the Gironde and out into the Atlantic. As it was impossible to demolish, it has been repurposed as an arts venue.

 

Currently there are light shows. Scenic had an exclusive evening for us. After entering we were given a glass of fizz and invited to sit in raised concrete steps facing the water of one of the pens – tip, sit on the wooden seating parts. The show started in total darkness, then as the theme from the TV/movie ‘Das Boot’ blared out, the blackness in front of us opened as doors parted and the prow of a submarine came towards us. Unfortunately that was the end of any reference to the reason the structure was built. The works of two artist’s paintings of Venice were projected covering walls and floors. After perhaps 20 minutes we were told that there were different shows in other pens and at least half the people got up and wandered about the pens.

 

The ship remained in Bordeaux overnight.

 

Photo's from Top

My favourite lunch of the cruise ordered from waiter, lightly battered cod and crispy chips

One of the light shows at the submarine pens

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by pontac

[pontac]

Cruise Day 8 24AUG22 Wednesday – Bordeaux to Bourg

 

Three tours this morning: seaside resort of Arcachon, Dune de Pylat (the tallest sand dune in Europe), or by tram to Cite Du Vin, the newish wine museum. We went on the latter and were given tram and entrance tickets. Our guide showed us how to validate the tram ticket on board and we walked past the short queue at Cite Du Vin waiting to buy a ticket.

 

The ground floor of this temple of wine is free to all and contains an extensive shop of wine related goods, a restaurant and a wine shop with both local and international wines. Up one level is the hands-on wine museum. One scanned the ticket to gain entrance and then was given a listening device on a lanyard and earphone. One chose the language wanted and the exhibit soundtracks came in your language. You could select to listen to winemakers from around the world explain their terroir and wine. You could just wander around where your fancy took, or use the machine to guide you based on your interest and how long you had.

 

Also your ticket entitled you to a glass of wine on the top floor. I chose a rare Humagne Rouge from Switzerland.  As you wandered with your glass on the 8^th floor there were great views of the city from both inside and an outside walkway.

 

At 18:00 there was a sundowner on the sun deck and the ship departed for Bourg.

 

Evening entertainment in the lounge was by a guest guitarist Jeremy Dupuoy.

 

The boat moored overnight at Bourg.

 

Photos' from Top

Cite du Vin - the building is designed to represent the swirl of wine in a glass

Grey concrete submarine pens as seen from the top flor of Cite di Vin

Scenic Diamond dining room as seen from the entrance

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Cruise Day 9 25AUG22 Thursday - Bourg

 

Two tours today: an all day visit with a long coach drive to the town of Cognac and the Remy Martin distillery, or a morning walking tour of the ancient hill town of Bourg. We took the latter.

 

The walking tour leaves at 10:00 and returns at 12:00, visiting the old town of Bourg, its Citadel and carriage museum and the historic surprise kept to the end. (I'll keep it a surprise so as not to spoil it for future cruisers.) As usual, there was free time at the end and the guide suggested a street of shops that led off the square where she released us. We continued up that road to the top where in another square at the highest point was the Boutique Vins de Bourg. They spoke English,  gave a free tasting of the wines of the day and below was a light arched limestone cellar with almost 200 different Bourg wines for sale.

 

The disembarkation talk was that night, followed by the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail and a Gala Dinner, the disco night with the ships musician. The recommended red was a Bordeaux, huzzah! It was the grandly titled Dourthe La Grand Cuvee Bordeaux Rouge, a negotiants wine as sold at Carrefour for €7.20.

 

We received, at last, our invitation for dinner on Friday at the gourmet L’Amour. Every passenger is promised at least one invitation to L’Amour during this trip. Passengers on the top deck also receive invites to La Rive.

 

The boat remained moored overnight at Bourg.

 

Photo's from top

Bourg City Gate

Bourg Vins de Bourg cellar

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Cruise Day 10 26AUG22 Friday – Bourg to Blaye to Bordeaux

 

Our last full day. At 07:00 the boat sailed to Blaye and moored beneath the ramparts of this huge castle at 08:00. There were four tours; most people went to Chateau la Roche Courbon, there was an active bike tour from Blaye, and two guided walking tours of the fortress, one active and the one we took.

 

Blaye castle was built to control the estuary to defend Bordeaux and to tax passing merchant ships. But cannons of that time didn’t have the range to shoot the width of the estuary, so another fortress, Fort Medoc faced it on the other bank, and on a island in the middle was a third fortress. Between them their cannons could cover the entire width of the estuary. We had moored at Fort Medoc on day 3 and  4 of the cruise.

 

The castle was impressive with dry moats and layers of defences, and our guide knew its history. Afterwards we walked a short distance back to the boat.

 

At 13:30 the ship sailed back to Bordeaux. We waited mid-river with other boats till we could pass under Pont de pierre. The Viking Forsetti went first.

 

The invitation to dine at L’Amour didn’t say where it was and we had to ask at reception. It turned out to be some tables behind the lounge bar. We were greeted with a glass of what we were told was Champagne, but it wasn’t – it was Limoux from the Languedoc. Scenic’s website promises “Five-course menu with regional specialities, paired with wines from the region’s best wineries.”

 

Like much of Scenic’s hyperbole the actuality falls short unless one thinks that a branded white Bordeaux (€12.60) and Perrin’s Ventoux red, shown on the wine pairing list as a Bordeaux wine but actually from the Rhone, are   the best the region can produce. Only one wine came from the local Bordeaux region and none could be said to have come from the ‘best wineries’.

 

The boat remained moored overnight at Bordeaux.

 

Photo's from Top

 

Blaye fortress defences

Blay Fortress walls - look how small walkers in the dry most appear

Blaye Fortress

Pontac with a glass of Champagne on the ship, Blaye Fortress in background

 

 

[pontac]

Cruise Day 11 – 27AUG22 Saturday - Disembarkation

 

We receive a printed sheet with the departure time for each cabin and a colour coded tag for bags. Rooms were to be vacated at 08:30 with bags left outside. Our departure time was 14:00, so we thought to take a leisurely breakfast, but the breakfast buffet ended at 08:30 and the tables we mostly cleared 30 minutes before. Our intention to have buttered toast and marmalade came to nothing as they had run out of butter. How can a place that bills itself on its cuisine run out of butter when it is moored in the centre of a city with shops and supermarkets a short walk away? 

 

The staff were laying tables for dinner, chatting among themselves and generally making us feel unwelcome.

 

We sat in the lounge reading, and then enjoyed the dis/embarkation lunch and a last glass of Champagne before being driven to the airport. Check-in and security didn’t delay us long. Scenic had booked us home with KLM via Amsterdam. Because of the chaos we experienced at Amsterdam Schiphol in April, we paid €11 each to move our seats to nearer the front, but the connection at Schiphol was – apart from a long walk – painless. There was no hand baggage security and only a very short line at immigration to get the important Schengen exit stamp in our passports.

 

Our Scenic driver was waiting in the arrivals hall and we arrived home about midnight.

 

Photo - Bordeaux from Air

[pontac]

Comparing Scenic with Viking

 

I had been led to believe by reading the CruiseCritic forum that Scenic was much superior to Viking. I didn’t find it so. In many ways they are very similar, but overall I prefer Viking.

 

Now, cruises change from year to year but I’d taken a Viking cruise in April 2022, and I’d had the rearmost  cabin in the middle deck on both cruises.

 

Also, we have different requirements. The only alcohol we drink is wine, and we don’t drink Coca-Cola or other soft drinks. So unlimited beers, cocktails, whisky etc were of no interest to us.

 

Scenic offered services we didn’t need or use, such as a hairdresser salon, a spa and a salt room. I don’t know whether these services were chargeable or included as no mention of them was made at the briefing talk.

 

Also unwanted by us is a ‘pool’; this is really a large bath with moulded seats so 6 or 8 people can sit. I only saw it used once, but I wasn’t on the sun-deck all the time.

 

Scenic have e-bikes that are used on some tours and can be borrowed at other times. Since Mrs P can’t ride a bicycle we didn’t use them, but I’d have been tempted to book a guided ride through vineyards. The bikes still needed pedalling as the battery wasn’t powerful enough, and some people found the bikes too much work.

 

A butler was also available but the only time we used him was to bring coffee to our room when the sole public coffee machine had a long line of people who’d just returned from a tour.

 

There were also  Culinaire classes you could book to watch a chef prepare a dish. There were six Culinaire classes on this cruise and each was limited to a maximum of 10 people, which meant that at most 60 passengers, i.e. fewer than half the ships maximum of 149, could attend.

[pontac]

What I liked about Scenic

 

Scenic’s balconies are fully glazed, by pushing a button the top half slides down leaving the upper half open. This meant we could stay on the balcony when it rained and lower the upper half part of the way if it was too windy. The Viking balcony is half glazed, and is thus open to the elements.

 

Scenic include tips for coach drivers and guides, so there isn’t the hassle of finding coins and tipping at the end of each tour that there is on Viking.

 

Scenic offered a free laundry service to middle and lower deck passengers, though this is limited to a single wash of no more than 1kg per cabin, using a small laundry bag in the cabin.

 

The ship’s Captain was in the dining room and about ship, always happy to speak with passengers. This may be because his first language was English, being a Briton who now lived in France. He also pitched in with the crew, one time on the river bank offloading bags of waste, another pushing containers of new supplies along a gangplank. The Viking Captains made appearances at the introductory and farewell meetings but otherwise they weren’t a presence. This may be because they weren’t at ease speaking English.

 

All tours are available at no extra cost. On Viking one tour at each port is free, others are chargeable.

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What I disliked about Scenic

 

The restaurant and lounge/reception were mid deck so there were steps to both. The mid-deck placing of reception meant the boat didn’t line up with other boats reception when moored next to another, so instead of striding through the other boats reception from yours, you had to go up to the sundeck, cross to the other ship and climb down their stairs

 

There was only one coffee machine and one hot water dispenser for public use, so when one was being serviced you couldn’t get a drink, and when a tour returned and decided they’d like a coffee there was a long queue. Viking had two machines, both dispense coffees and hot water for tea. I never experienced such a delay for a coffee on Viking that I did on Scenic. Also Viking has two cold water dispensers, both offering still and sparkling water. To get sparkling water on Scenic you have to ask at the bar.

 

Tour guides had to carry a large box to transmit their talk, this was unreliable, often cut out, and the range was not as long as  Viking’s. Too often the device stopped working so part of the talk was missed, other times altogether and so the tour group had to stick closely to the guide to hear them.

 

Scenic bills itself as luxury, but there are no tablecloths as per Viking, and lunch was self-serve buffet unlike Viking.

 

Scenic ran out of food twice, chicken, salad and baked potatoes at the barbecue and butter at breakfast on the last day.

 

Tomato ketchup, mustard etc were supplied in a small glass pot. There was about a spoonful in each. On Viking ketchup is Heinz is a small bottle

 

Scenic routinely poured Limoux when asked for Champagne. Scenic promises “an outstanding selection of international wines.” The wines disappointed by being not outstanding.

 

Scenic also offered Champagne but served sparkling wine from Languedoc instead. When I queried this at the bar I was told they didn’t serve Champagne. The bar menu lists two sparkling wines, Drappier Champagne and Maschio Treviso Prosecco so next day I spoke with the restaurant manager who confirmed they did have Champagne so I asked again at the bar and again was poured Limoux sparkling wine from Languedoc. When I said I wanted Champagne the barman told me this was the same thing; he pointed at the word ‘Cremant’ on the bottle and said it meant is was the same as Champagne. When I persisted he asked a colleague to go down and bring up a bottle of Champagne, and he poured me a glass of Duval-Leroy Champagne. Whenever I wanted a glass of Champagne I went to the bar where I could see the bottle because otherwise they were serving Limoux.

 

 

I felt Scenic expected passengers to do too much, it felt very self-service and down market. You were expected to download Scenic apps to your phone to listen to guides, and you were responsible for charging your phone to do so – the app drained batteries. Charging two phones used two sockets. Viking supplies a hearing devices and a charger for both that uses only one socket. I got fed up and borrowed a phone with the app from reception.

 

Two refillable water bottles were in the bedroom. If passengers wanted water on tours they had to remember to fill and take the bottles with them and bring them back. As the bottles didn’t have a lanyard, a bag was needed to carry them. Viking hands out bottled water to passengers leaving the ship for a tour.

 

You were expected to photo the daily schedule in order to know when tours were departing (there are no announcements), whereas Viking supply a following day’s schedule on a four page sheet of local information, placed on beds during dinner time and announces when coaches are ready to be boarded.

[pontac]

What I like about Viking

 

The Viking Longships and Scenic Spaceships are the same length, but the design of the Viking ship is much better. On the Viking boat you can sit right at the front of the bow. On Scenic there were winches, ropes, a dinghy and hatches in front. When a hatch is left open it blocks the view.

 

Viking has a maximum of 190 passengers against 149 with Scenic and the prevailing view on the forum is fewer passengers offer a better experience, yet the Viking Longboat seems more spacious compared with Scenic. There is a spacious seating area, library and two internet connected computers, plus more seating at the side of the stairs on Viking, The additional space saved on Scenic by having fewer cabins is mostly used by the hairdresser, salt room and spa.

 

Comparing middle deck balcony cabins, both are the same size at 205 sq ft, so the designers have to wrestle with the same problems. The Viking cabin is better designed. Scenic has the wardrobes alongside the bed with opening doors that block the space between bed and wardrobe meaning that if the door near the end of the bed is open, the wardrobes near the head of the bed can’t be accessed. Viking places the wardrobe on the wall facing the beds and uses sliding doors. And a wardrobe light comes on when the doors are opened. Scenic place the safe on the ground; it needs a six digit number to lock and that number is not shown when the door is locked. Viking places the safe at chest height, uses a four digit number which is shown as the door locks.

 

Vikings bathroom has a floor level nightlight which is sorely lacking on Scenic.

 

Vikings bathroom has a shaving mirror and the main mirror is heated so it doesn’t mist. Scenic has neither.

 

On Viking both lunch and dinner are waiter served in the restaurant. For a lighter lunch one can eat at the front of the lounge under glass or in the open. On fine days a chef at a barbecue in the open griddles hamburgers, steaks, etc.

 

Viking is one class, anyone can eat anywhere, unlike Scenic’s La Rive which is restricted to those in cabins on the top deck, or L’Amour limited to those with invitations.

 

Viking’s engines are quieter. Although we had the rearmost cabin in the middle-desk on both Viking and Scenic this year, Scenic’s engines made

more noise and at times the room rattled.

Edited September 6, 2022 by pontac

[pontac]

Conclusion.

 

I would travel with Scenic again if the price was competitive but I wouldn’t pay more than Viking. However, it’s complicated as Viking have been giving their Silver Spirits package free, which equates to Scenic’s free bar, and both offer discounts at various times.

 

The price for a mid deck balcony cabin on the 8 day Bordeaux cruise with Viking departing 26 August 2023  is  (at time of writing) £3445, with Scenic departing 27 August 2023 is (at time of writing) normally £4815 but currently has an earlybird booking discount bringing it down to  £3449.

 

Both include travel from the UK and gratuities on board, however Scenic also include gratuities for tour guides and drivers, and free travel to/from home/airport is a real plus.

 

If Scenic is the same price as Viking then Scenic offers more, although a lot  of what extra is offered we don’t want. Now we have travelled with Scenic and learned not to believe their hyperbole we won’t be disappointed.

 

[pontac]

Note about Bordeaux wine.

 

 

Bordeaux is a huge fine wine area of 300,000 acres of vineyards producing 450 million bottles each year and guides will mention several aspects even on non-winery tours.

 

Only approved grape varieties can be used to make Bordeaux wines, either as a single varietal or a blend of some or all. Reds can only be made from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Carmenere. The last two are rare. Merlot makes up around 60% of all plantings.  Most reds are blends of Merlot and one of the Cabs.

 

White wines can be made only from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle and three other white varieties of which very small quantities are planted, All type of white wines are made, most common are crisp and dry. Luscious sweet and expensive wines are made in Sauternes (final ‘s’ is silent).  Sauternes is made from grapes that have been affected by a natural fungus – botrytis cinerea, known as noble rot – that drains water from grapes shrivelling them in the process and leaving just the sugary essence of the grape. To make one glass needs one vine, and berries are individually picked when rotted, explaining why Sauternes is so expensive.

 

Chateau – Your French guide will translate Chateau as castle, but Chateau can mean castle, grand mansion or winery. A winery named Chateau needs no castle or mansion; it means a winery that grows grapes in its own vineyards, makes and bottles its own wines. Thus it cannot buy in grapes to increase production. A wine that doesn’t use the word Chateau in its name is usually a negotiants brand or co-operative wine.

 

Negotiant is a company which buys grapes or wines from others to blend and sell under a brand name. Some negotiants are owned by famous wineries and they – or those selling their wines - use the famous name to make customers think the wine is more special than it is. Mouton Rothschild – who own the First Growth Chateau of the same name, own a negotiant company which markets Mouton Cadet. Scenic have several wines from the negotiant arm of Lafite Rothschild who own the First Growth Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

 

Left & Right Bank – the side of the Gironde when facing down river. Merlot is the chief variety grown on the Right Bank because of its clay soil. Left Bank is the Medoc, a low lying area with gravelly soil suitable for Cabernet Sauvignon. The Left Bank is from where some of the world’s top wines come.

 

1855 Classification. Emperor Napoleon III wanted top wines from Bordeaux to be shown at the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris and asked Bordeaux merchants to rate Chateaux. A list of around 60 red wines from the Medoc, split into 5 levels, known as Cru or Growths and sweet wines of Sauternes, in two levels plus one wine – Ch d’Yquem  - in a class off its own at the top. Over the 160 years since names have changed, some have amalgamated but the list is still a good guide to the price and prestige of the wines.

 

Bottles. Still Bordeaux wines come in a distinctively shaped bottle, known world-wide as the Bordeaux bottle. It is a glass cylinder with straight sides that sharply narrows at the neck to hold a cork.

 

[pontac]

Postscript – The Magic Champagne Bottle

 

At breakfast there were two Moet et Chandon NV Champagne bottles in a silver bowl for passengers to have or to make Buck’s Fizz and Mimosas.

 

Only one bottle was open and each morning the bubbles were just as strong as the previous day even though I was convinced it was the same bottle. So I marked the bottle and sure enough the following day, and the next and the next  the same bottle was there with bubbles flowing just as fiercely and some days there was more wine in the bottle than I’d seen the previous day.

 

Truly magic Champagne

[Gourmet Gal]

1 hour ago, pontac said:

Postscript – The Magic Champagne Bottle

 

At breakfast there were two Moet et Chandon NV Champagne bottles in a silver bowl for passengers to have or to make Buck’s Fizz and Mimosas.

 

Only one bottle was open and each morning the bubbles were just as strong as the previous day even though I was convinced it was the same bottle. So I marked the bottle and sure enough the following day, and the next and the next  the same bottle was there with bubbles flowing just as fiercely and some days there was more wine in the bottle than I’d seen the previous day.

 

Truly magic Champagne

So wonder what they were refilling it with?!

[Gourmet Gal]

Thanks for the very informative review!

[Roz]

@pontac, thank you for posting such a lengthy and informative review.  I especially enjoyed the comparison between Scenic and Viking.  Great photos too.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Several of your complaints (no printed dailies or menus, metal water bottles) are signs of Green-ness, not cutbacks.  I don't like them either, but watch out:  they are surely coming to Viking too.