Tag Archives: Scenic Cruises

Scenic Cruises unveils new pool concept for upcoming river ships

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By Michelle Baran
Scenic Cruises plans to christen two river cruise ships in Europe next year, the 169-passenger Scenic Opal and Scenic Jasper.

The Opal and Jasper will introduce a new pool concept — a relaxation pool filled with warm water on one side, and a pool with a jet stream (enabling lap-like swimming) on the other.

The vessels will also feature a redesigned bar and lounge area and an indoor/outdoor extension of the Portobello restaurant, with the ability to enclose the area with a moving glass wall of windows.

The two new vessels will bring Scenic’s Europe fleet to 12, including the Scenic Gem, which is launching this year on the Seine in France.

In addition to launching two more ships, Scenic is adding several new itineraries in 2015, including a Bordeaux sailing and a Rhone-only sailing in France.

Other new sailings in 2015 will include a 16-day Vienna to the Danube Delta itinerary that traverses six countries, and a 21-day Jewels of Europe adventure that adds three nights each in Prague and Berlin to a 15-day Amsterdam-to-Budapest river cruise.

Scenic’s river cruises include complimentary beverages, wines and spirits at any time; open bar service in the lounges; complimentary mini-bar items; personal butler service in all cabins; a personal GPS commentary device, which serves as on onboard tour guide service; all airport transfers; all meals; all gratuities; and free WiFi throughout the ship.

Scenic Cruises is owned by Australian parent company Scenic Tours.

No break in river lines’ France fever

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By Michelle Baran
InsightThere appears to be no end in sight to the growth in demand for river cruising in France. Last fall, I wrote about river cruise companies that were adding more capacity throughout the country for 2014, and the trend is continuing into 2015.

Avalon Waterways announced this week that it will increase its France capacity for 2015 by 95%. The company is putting its 128-passenger Avalon Poetry II, christened last month in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on the Saone and Rhone rivers in 2015; and the 128-passenger Avalon Tapestry II, launching next year, will sail France’s Seine River.

That comes after an already huge christening season in France that saw Viking put three new ships in Provence, Uniworld launch its new S.S. Catherine there as well, and both companies introduce one vessel each in Bordeaux (Viking a newbuild and Uniworld a repositioned vessel).MichelleBaran

“We are very excited about the growth opportunity in France,” said Richard Marnell, Viking’s senior vice president of marketing. “Because of strong demand already this season, we have decided to increase capacity on those two itineraries in 2015. We will add a second ship, Viking Rinda, in Bordeaux, and a fourth ship on Portraits of Southern France, Viking Delling, which will be new for 2015.

“We also continue to see strong demand for our other itineraries in France and are nearly sold out for the entire summer season,” added Marnell.

AmaWaterways, Tauck and Scenic Cruises all repositioned vessels to France this year as well.

Direct-to-consumer operator Grand Circle Cruise Line announced last month that it was getting in on the France action too, having acquired the River Cloud II (from Sea Cloud Cruises), a 90-passenger ship that will operate a new itinerary in Bordeaux beginning in March.

And let’s not forget the little 96-passenger paddlewheeler, Loire Princess, that French river cruise company CroisiEurope plans on introducing on France’s Loire River next April.

So, what’s the deal? Are river cruise lines running out of space on the Danube? Or are river cruise passengers just embracing France with a new fervor? Guessing it might be a bit of both.

What about the ships on the Nile?

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What about the ships on the Nile?

By Michelle Baran
InsightEgypt’s current political crisis cannot be good for tourism, but the fact that it is taking place during the hot summer months means that the escalation in violence will affect fewer Nile sailings, as many river cruise lines don’t offer Egypt departures during the summer.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, one of the only U.S. river cruise lines that owns and operates its own ship on the Nile, the 82-passenger River Tosca, does not offer Tosca sailings during July and August, and thus has not yet had to cancel any departures due to the unrest.

Viking River Cruises also puts its Nile departures on hold during the summer, with its last chartered Nile cruise having taken place on April 30, and the next one slated to depart on Sept. 3. The company has not yet said how it plans to handle the remainder of its 2013 departures.MichelleBaran

Neither AmaWaterways nor Scenic Cruises offer Egypt sailings, and Tauck’s next Egypt itinerary that includes the Nile doesn’t head out until October.

Avalon Waterways, one of the few river cruise operators that did have scheduled departures on the Nile in July and August, has canceled all its departures on the 148-passenger Mayfair (a ship built by Cairo-based Mayfair Cruises in 2010) through August, “given the current unstable situation in Cairo,” according to the Globus Family of Brands, Avalon’s parent company.

“We are working closely with our operations team in Egypt to monitor the situation, including assessment of cruises and tours beyond August,” Globus said in a statement. “We will make any adjustments or cancellations necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our customers.”

Affected Avalon passengers have the choice of either canceling with no penalty and receiving a full cash refund or rebooking on any Globus vacation, applying the full amount of their original Egypt booking.