We chose the 14 day river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest with 3 days in Paris (Westin Hotel) at the start and 3 days in Prague (Art Deco Imperial Hotel) at the end. This was our first river cruise but we have been on 5 ocean cruises in the last 3 years. Scenic was pitched to us as 5 star all the way and it simply did not live up to its reputation. The Paris and Prague portions were excellent with great tour directors, hotels and excursions. We had free time and could walk most places. The high speed train from Paris to Amsterdam was excellent with good food and drink service as well as a comfortable seat. The transfer to Prague was via a long coach ride and we got stuck in two traffic jams due to accidents. A train transfer should be considered by Scenic.

The cruise itself was underwhelming. The cabin was small but well appointed and comfortable. Our room steward was phenomenal and kept our room clean and well stocked including the mini bar. The balcony was nice but the window was loud to open and took about 15 seconds each way. Unfortunately due to the vast number of ships sailing this route we ended up tied alongside another ship for half of our time in Port. This meant that you couldn't really use the balcony and needed to keep the curtains closed which meant that you basically had an inside room. Balcony was a waste of time money.

The food was a mixed bag. Both breakfast and lunch was served buffet style in the main dining room with an option for a la carte from a menu. The layout of the buffet was terrible with people not knowing which way to go and line ups for omelettes etc longer than I've experienced before and there was only 160+ onboard. Read more