Scenic Pearl Review

4.5 / 5.0
116 reviews

5 star treatment all the way

Review for Europe Cruise on Scenic Pearl
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RikkiRules
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Sail Date: Jun 2018

We figured we were old enough now to do one of these river cruises - being in our early 60's. We splurged & chose one of the Royal Suites. Best decision ever! The cabins are relatively compact on these river cruises, so the added bonus of a little sitting room & a bathroom with a bath was very much appreciated. Not that you spend a huge amount of time in your cabin but when we did we really enjoyed the space. Included in this level of cabin is free laundry which was great. (one downside was that a couple of pieces of clothing shrunk (maybe very hot water).....and no it wasn't the copius food & alcohol consumed :-) the pants I put in actually shrunk in the leg length by about 4-5 cms unfortunately. And they had a smoky smell when returned - which I worked out was probably the chemicals used in the wash??). Also included was $200 on board credit which no one reminded me about until we were 1/2 way into the cruise. I ended up having 3 massages - if I had been paying directly out of my pocket it would have stopped at one. The room was really stark & she played this god awful music that was not in the least bit restful (at one stage it went into rap!) And she was a personality free zone. I put it down to language difficulties, but not so sure tbh. She came across as very stern. Like all cabins we had butler service & I have to say our butler - Chris went above & beyond the whole time, as did our room attendant but his name escapes me. Both were from Indonesia. They were absolutely delightful & made the cruise that much more enjoyable. Could not fault any of the staff who were assigned to look after us. Exemplary! There was only one female butler who could be a bit grumpy but by the end we even managed to get a smile from her. The bar staff were so much fun, the executives who oversaw the running of the ship were professional & courteous & it was really obvious they wanted everyone to have the best time. We had dinner with the captain on the 2nd night of the cruise, which we really enjoyed. He was a lovely fellow & very interesting. We had 167 passengers on board & for the most part they were friendly & wanted to chat. We met up & became fast friends with a bunch of Canadians. Had such a good time with them. There were a few we steered clear of, but all in all it was great. The staff work every hour god made & yet they stayed cheerful & were always willing to engage. I would do another Scenic cruise in a heartbeat as I think they do 5 star really well.(except for the pathetic fitness centre)

Cabin Review

Cabin Royal suite

roomier than most on the ship. V comfortable kind size bed. Top notch

Port Reviews

Budapest

Excellent tour but incredibly expensive.

Vienna

Was amazed at the amount of graffiti. Loved the city centre though.

Melk

Was underwhelmed to be honest. Felt like we were in a sausage factory. And again could not take photos inside. I get that flash can be destructive, but not with just a phone. Over zealous. The library was interesting

Linz (Salzburg)

loved this place. Such a cute town to walk around.

Regensburg

beautiful architecture

Nuremberg

mmm.....wasn't overly impressed.. Happy to get back on the boat.

Bamberg

One of our favourite little towns.

Wurzburg

interesting tour & learning the history - esp about the bombings.

Rudesheim

It was blowing a gale when we went up the cable car. Freezing. Being someone who is scared of heights, I had to grit my teeth the whole way up. But glad I braved it. Interesting going over the vines. Fab views over the town & the river.

Cologne

Great guide - again a cold blustery day which spoiled it a bit. Our guide knew his stuff.

Amsterdam

Saw all the sights, and then went & did our own thing.

Amsterdam

We took a trip out to the countryside with Mark. This day was probably a highlight of the whole time. We visited places where there were no other tourists ( quite a feat in Amsterdam!) Did 2 canal trips. Loved this city.

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