Scenic Eclipse II Raja Cruise

[luxury-lizard]

We just completed a 2 week Scenic cruise (Darwin-Darwin) to Raja Ampat. Here are a few comments regarding both Scenic and this specific itinerary:-

• Scenic back office / administration is totally hopeless - the phone is never answered and e-mails are totally ignored
• The Eclipse II is a lovely ship with large cabins (e.g. 50% larger than Ponant) - with about 220 passengers - there are several dining venues + 3 speciality restaurants which you must book but at no additional charge
• The F&B is of a very high standard (albeit the included wines could use an up-lift -( e.g. $10-15 per bottle) - however wines at the speciality restaurants are better
• There is a high ratio of staff to guests and the service was excellent from the service staff
• The expedition staff were a mixed bag - some seemed quite inexperienced
• Our disappointment came with the outdoor activities - the itinerary implied there would be lots of snorkelling - this did not happen - over 2 weeks there were only 4 excellent snorkelling opportunities - there were 2 more "off the beach" ones which were poor. (Many passengers felt the same way). There were several cultural activities - visits to villages/towns with a local song and dance show - some passengers enjoyed this - others felt it was just "filler".

So the net of it is - in our opinion - if you want to do a snorkelling trip in the Indonesian islands - you really need a much smaller boat - the snorkelling (and diving) can be amazing.

 

[k_sheep]

Thanks for the mini review!

Their Antarctic cruise fits well with some dates I have in mind, but I have heard similar things about the expedition crew which I think is a huge requirement in the Antarctic, so have been reluctant.

 

[luxury-lizard]

RE Antarctica - IMO (having done this trip about 10 years ago on the National Geographic Orion) - if you can find a suitable cruise with no more than 100 passengers, I would go for this. Up to 100 passengers are permitted on shore at a time - this way there is no "waiting around for your slot". While the NG Orion was/is much less luxurious than some of the larger ships - the cruise was absolutely fantastic - our itinerary included South Georgia and the Falklands - both of which are must do!!

 

[RooFlyer]

our itinerary included South Georgia and the Falklands - both of which are must do!!

Totally agree with this. Going without those really isn’t worth it IMO

 

[drron]

We went to the West Antarctic on the Orion which was then still Australian owned. We got to see Mawson's hut on it's 99th birthday.
About 6 years ago we were on the Silver whisper berthed in Tallinn. The National Geographic Orion pulled in on the other side of the dock. The crew hadn't changed in 9 years.
Although most of the Expedition staff left after it's sale National geographic is well known for it;s Expedition staffing. On our cruise was a Nationl Geographic Captain. Obviously in retrospect giving it a look over before they bought it. He was a fantastic guy so we hosted him into the QF international lounge in AKL.