Scenic River Scenic Jewel Cruise Reviews

Really regimented agenda so didn't allow for much "downtime". For example, no time to sit up top and have a cocktail at the end of the day, as the excursions returned at 5 or later, and port talk was at 6 and dinner at 7. Hard to shower, dress for dinner and have some downtime in the space of an hour. Food was ok, not great. Worst part was that the Danube is so busy that 5 nights out of 7 we ...

Every day since we left, our ship docks next to at least one other. Sometimes there are 3 abreast - this, in the low season. As a result, our view from our balcony (which we paid extra for ~silly us!) is into the window of the cabin of the other ship. So, no view. One night, we were apparently near the exhaust vent of another ship and so for days after, our room and all others on this side smelled ...

We were told Scenic was top of the range with excellent food. Not true. Food was poor to mediocre - dry chicken, leathery veal, limited fruit selection, uninspiring lunch buffets, watery wines. Also evening meals took 2 to 2.5 hours as everyone had to be served at the same pace. The crew were as helpful as they could be, given they had to serve 165 people with drinks and food ...

We choose Scenic for the all-inclusive option, where tips and alcoholic beverages outside of meals are included in the price. We also chose them because of their 5-star rating, as most in the group were seasoned travellers with discriminating tastes. Scenic met our expectations in all respects, with only a few exceptions. The design of the Jewel (not sure about their other ships) is flawed in the ...

We have travelled with Scenic previously and had a wonderful time. This cruise was from Belgrade to Bucharest, a stretch of the Danube which was new to us. Scenic lived up to our expectations and we can’t fault a thing. Everything was perfect. The initial cost may seem a lot but it is worth every penny. A new ship with well appointed cabins, a very comfortable lounge and bar and a great sun deck ...

First river cruise, in new area coupled with excellent speakers. Very high quality overall on the ship with excellent service. Two speakers who travelled with us, Kate Adie and Martin Bell, were very friendly, open and certainly knowledgeable. Their presence made the holiday due to their vast experiences in the area. The shore visits were well managed with very good local tour leaders who ...

We chose this cruise as a 50th birthday treat for my wife. We could not have chosen better. The ship, the crew and the staff made our holiday such an amazing experience. The presence of the correspondents John Simpson, Martin Bell and Kate Adie added a new dimension to a holiday giving us memories of their Balkans experiences in the 1990's. The food was 5-star with extensive choices at ...

The list of lecturers first attracted us to this cruise and also the destinations as we had been to Eastern Europe before but not to Bulgaria or Rumania or Serbia and not to the parts of Croatia included in the tour. We had to change ships after four days but that was very well managed although our cabin seemed slightly smaller on Pearl. We would criticise the first evening's arrangements--there ...

I chose this cruise because the price I paid was all I paid (no staff tipping, alcohol was "free", trips were all included) and because I liked the itinerary. Every single aspect worked perfectly from the pick up from our house to the airport, the flight left on time (RyanAir), the pick up from Budapest to the ship, the welcome, the trips, etc etc. I cannot fault a single aspect of this ...

We cruised along the Danube towards the Black Sea having previously sailed in the opposite direction from Vienna to Nuremberg. We were fortunate to encounter wall to wall sunshine in early to mid-October. Scenic Jewel is well up to the job of cruising with visibility from all aspects and dining second to none. The crew were superb and our tour manager, Nikola, was an accomplished host from start ...