A Scenic River Cruise

I recently had the pleasure, for the 1st time, to experience a River Cruise with Scenic Tours. To add to this pleasure the ship itself, The Scenic jasper was brand new and had never had passengers sail on her so I was expecting some very glitzy glamorous features.

The trip started a few days earlier when I received a parcel from Scenic, Inside this parcel was my Scenic Tours rucksack, ticket wallet and all the info I needed to make my travel from Stansted airport to the port of Amsterdam and easy as possible.

I left a very sunny UK and arrived into Amsterdam some 40 minutes later, wet and cold, I did not know this but Amsterdam rains 260 days a year!!!

On arrival at Amsterdam I was met by our Scenic Tours rep as well as an Avalon and AMAWaterways reps also stood there waiting for their clients, it did all seem very professional.

I was transferred to the ship some 20 minutes away and was faced immediately with 2 different thoughts.

1) The ship looked stunning, I had seen plenty in brochures and on the net but to see 1 up close was great.

2) The ship was docked in an industrial area and 100 yards from the Amsterdam main ring road (not that you could hear anything). i was always led to believe that the ships are docked in the heart of the cities.

There was an explanation to this, in the heart of Amsterdam the dock was completely full with other river cruise ships.

So what did the ship have to offer.

As soon as I boarded I was met by a host of ship staff offering me hot towels, champagne and assistance.

I quickly checked in and then stepped straight into the lounge where some of my colleagues had already arrived. i was looking forward to a good coffee and was not disappointed, the self service machine made the most amazing coffees and hot chocolate, the machine itself cost £12,000 and yet was no beast.

Also on hand were waiters or I could just go to the bar and order directly to the barman, it was quite clear though that I could be as lazy as it suited me. Even in the cheapest outside cabins there is a butler service.

In the lounge was a light snack bar, everything prepared fresh and if not on show they could make you whatever snack you was after.

Dinner is waiter served with a great menu, again everything is prepared and cooked on board.

Breakfast and lunch is buffet style which I found great as there was so much choice I wanted to try it all, and I did my best.

For the record I made this waffle presentation.

During this short cruise we visited 2 towns, Antwerp in Belgium and Hoorn in Holland, in my next blog i will give you an insight into how visiting these places worked, I will also go through the cabins and what type of excursions are available and when you can book them.

For now though, Would I pay to do a River Cruise? Definitely a yes and I would like to do it Scenic Tours Style, i like the All inclusive no bill at the end style.