I hope my cruise will be better than my experience so far…

[makai 7]

We Booked a NZ trip on Scenic Eclipse II back in January.  As part of our booking, we requested 2 additional nights prior to the one night provided pre-cruise in Queenstown.  We checked the hotel web site and they had plenty of availability.

Scenic added the two nights to my booking, and we paid in full back in February.  The payment included the two extra hotel nights.  We also had our flights booked through Scenic, as they were offering a fantastic price for business class at the time.

 

Two weeks ago, Scenic notified my TA that the first night at the hotel was not available…. The first night that my flight arrives in NZ.  Apparently, they DID NOT book and pay for the hotel, even though I paid them directly for it ain’t February.  They will eventually (7-8 weeks!) send me a check for the one night, but told my TA that the first night hotel is my problem to resolve.  Or I could just sleep on the street.

 

fortunately I have a good TA that found another hotel nearby for the first night, which I have paid for, but now I have to change hotels after one night… a major PIA.  So far Scenic says that they will still provide transportation to the first hotel after the flight (but not showing up on the trip personaliser), but I have to get to their hotel for the second and third night on my own.

 

Not a good first impression.  I am now going to waste part of my first day in NZ moving between hotels with hours between check out and check in, instead of enjoying the sights.

 

Please tell me that the on board experience is better than the crappy performance of the shoreside team.   We were so frustrated at their uncaring attitude that we were considering canceling the entire trip, but we would have lost too much $$.

[Redking]

I'm so sad to read this. I really have hesitated as to how to respond to you in order not to add to your concerns and disappointment. I've opted for  disclosure of our experience to provide objective feedback of Scenic as a company and of Scenic Eclipse II.

 

Based on our experience of Scenic and our recent voyage on SEII we will not step foot on one of their vessels again. Our cruise was disrupted by maintenance work and what to us appeared to be defects remedies on a vessel that wasn't even a year old. The outdoor areas were closed for the majority of the voyage whilst contractors who had been flown in from Europe undertook work. The senior management's communication about the work was almost non-existent and there appeared to have been no planning as to how to minimise impacts on guests, nor how to compensate guests when impacts could not be minimsed. If you check the reviews for SEII here on CC you will find further feedback on this and other issues from guests. We made a formal complaint to Scenic on our return from holiday. In response, Scenic committed to undertaking a full investigation and to respond to us on the outcome. A month later, and we still have not received that response nor any remedy for the disruption that we experienced.

 

I have found Scenic's customer service to be completely non-existent. They rarely reply to emails and are extremely difficult to contact by phone. Thankfully you have a travel agent.

 

Regarding the SEII, our experience was far from the six star ultra-luxury touted in their marketing. 

 

I totally understand your wanting to cancel and concern about the $$ you would loose. Maybe there are other avenues you could explore with your TA? I wish I could've provided feedback to put your mind at ease, but unfortunately I can't. I would hate for someone else to experience not only the disruption to a cruise that we did but also the complete lack of customer service from Scenic.

 

Hoping you find a solution.

[Redking]

@makai 7 I just noticed that you were following my Live-ish. 

 

My response here will explain why it's taken so long to come back and complete. Busy dealing with Scenic 😬

[makai 7]

Hello Redking

I’m sorry to hear that you had such a disappointing experience with SEIICHI.  Was is all based on the maintenance issues?  Were there any positive experiences for you?

 

After several disappointing cruises on other lines, we decided to give Scenic a try.  I will say that they have fulfilled their promise to repay us for the unbooked hotel night, and the extra expense to move to another hotel after our first night in Queenstown.  Our TA has been very proactive with this issue and seems to be able to get a response from them in a reasonable amount of time.

 

we are keeping an open mind about the cruise and will judge it once on board.