Scenic Sapphire Review
4.5 / 5.0
Amazing Spectacular South of France - Great time and perfect staff!!
Review for Europe River Cruise on Scenic Sapphire
DentGarden
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s
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Sail Date: Oct 2018
We have sailed with Scenic once before and our experience was extremely positive, so we decided to take the plunge and do another one. We were not disappointed on any level. We did the Spectacular South of France cruise because this one involved no nighttime cruising, and was a little slower paced in the afternoons for the most part, which appealed to us
NEGATIVES: The things that could have been better are few and far between, but there's always room for better. Scenic did our flight arrangements, and we found out a month or two before leaving (after setting it up well in advance), that our flight out of Nice was too early and could not get to the airport in time. To their credit, they did fix it, but it was a little disconcerting to be up in the air (so to speak) for a while. We arrived in Paris, and the next morning took a bus to the train station, and then the high speed train to the Sapphire. It's a little nicer on other cruises to arrive in the embarkation city and be on the ship right away. Can't be helped in this case since there's no large airport in Chalon-sur-Saone where it starts.
A couple of the excursions had tour guides who were very slow at finding the English word for explanations, which was a slight hassle. The ship has been redecorated well, but the toilet roll holders are attached with one screw and are all coming loose or tearing from the wall. (Nit picky, I know.) Beer selection is fair, although I kind of fell in love with a french beer, so it really didn't matter.
Cabin Review
Cabin Royal Panorama Suite
This cabin costs a little more, but wonderful. You are right over the engines in the back, but I truly don't mind the noise....soothing to me. This particular cruise it doesn't matter anyway, because all the cruising is during the day!
There's a very comfortable queen bed. No sore back, and both sides are fully adjustable with a corded remote. It has the balcony, which is narrow and long, with a small table and two chairs. The window goes up so you can sit "inside" and still watch the view, or push a button and it goes down, making you "outside". This room is on the stern, so there's a very large floor to ceiling window on the back, which I personally loved to look out while relaxing on the bed in the afternoon.
The TV is a very large Apple TV that can swing out from the wall. There are movies to watch, and news and some TV stations. The TV also will exhibit the plan for the day, the menu, a map of where you are, Scenic information, and map of where the WiFi is the best, a life shot from the bow, and much more. It also is a computer with a keyboard to roam the internet, although we were too busy to use that.
There's a safe of course, and two nice closets with plenty of drawer space. The closet also had extra blankets, earplugs, two collapsible walking sticks, robes (heavy and light), a long shoehorn and an umbrella. We needed extra hangars and they arrived quickly.
The snack bar/fridge area is stocked with a nice red wine, pringles, candy bars, multiple types of liquor (small bottles) and orange juice, apple juice, white wine, coke, diet coke and more. As you use things up, they notice just what you like, and overstock those items. Chocolates are left in the room, and the turndown service is thoughtful.
The bed has two small nightstands, each with a lamp, light switches and a outlet. We each had one of the new cube adapters that will stick out a plug for any country, and also has USB ports. They are great. Outlets are everywhere.
The bathroom had a walk-in shower with multiple heads/ports, which took a few minutes to figure out, but worked wonderfully. the L'Occitaine products were great, and they weren't skimpy with them. No need to bring shower gel, shampoo, lotion, etc.
We loved the room, the layout, etc.
12 Helpful Votes
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