We sailed on a “Scenic Luxury Rhine Highlights River Tour from Amsterdam to Basel in late September. We are seasoned cruisers and this was our second Scenic River Cruise in three years (Danube in September 2015). We also have enjoyed Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises.

Our experience with Scenic on the Danube in 2015 was indeed 5 star. Our experience this past month on the Rhine was the polar opposite. What a disappointment it was. We were told two days before the cruise that we would be on the Ruby, not the Jasper. The Ruby is 6 years older than the Jasper. We later learned that the Jasper had been on the Danube all summer but no passengers were informed of this. We stayed at Scenic’s designated Doubletree Hotel in Amsterdam the night before embarkation, and learned that the 10th floor was the designated floor for Scenic travellers. The rooms were bare bones to say the least.

Two days into our time on Scenic Ruby, the Cruise Director informed us that ‘she just learned’ that we would have to be transferred to another ship (Scenic Crystal) because of low water levels. We felt like we weren’t treated like intelligent adults, as we now knew that this had happened to every Scenic ship for the entire summer. This deception did not sit well with us. Read more