The widest 2026 calendar on the Rhine and the Danube
Our inventory on 26 August 2026 counted 187 departure dates for Scenic Opal, 72
of them in 2026 alone. Among the line's ships assigned to the Rhine and the
Danube, that is the largest number of dates available at short notice.
That counts for more than it appears. A wide calendar means you choose your
date rather than take the one left over, which changes everything when the voyage
has to fit a holiday, an anniversary or a particular flight connection. On a ship
with a tight calendar, the date dictates the rest of the file.
Danube, Rhine and Moselle
The ship alternates between the three. Its most frequent routes link Budapest
to Amsterdam, or Nuremberg to Budapest through the canal. The Moselle appears on
some of the programmes.
That alternation is worth looking at before booking: two departures of the same
ship three weeks apart can serve entirely different countries.
The hull
Delivered in 2015 by the Den Breejen yard, it is 135 metres long and carries
169 guests in 85 suites, in sixteen categories. It was named by the travel
broadcaster Claire Newell.
The lower-deck suites open onto a high fixed window; those on the upper decks
receive the line's retractable glass balcony.
The other ships in the fleet
Scenic Amber and Scenic Jasper are its contemporaries. Scenic Crystal pushes further toward the lower Danube,
and Scenic Pearl works up the Moselle more often.
The fare, line by line
Gratuities are included. That is the first difference noticed by travellers
used to lines where the end-of-cruise envelope is part of the ritual. Here
nothing is added to your bill on that account, not for the crew, not for the
guides, not for the drivers.
Meals are included, with the wines and standard spirits served at table.
Wi-Fi is included. Every suite has a butler. Freechoice excursions give you a
choice at each port, which beats one outing imposed on a hundred and sixty
people. Enrich events open places closed to the public, and the Sundowners set
up a reception at dusk somewhere along the way.
Air travel depends on the package. Depending on the market and the season,
the line sells the same itinerary with or without the flight. Ask your advisor
to confirm which of the two carries the date you are considering.
What life aboard assumes
An adult clientele, a day shaped by the port calls, and short evenings. There
is no children's club and no childcare; the practical threshold is around twelve
years. Saying otherwise would sell a voyage that disappoints the family before
the first week is out.
The lift serves the main decks and stops short of the sun deck. Suites fitted
for reduced mobility sit near reception on every ship. Their number varies from
hull to hull and is worth checking on the deck plan.
What a Quebec agency protects
A licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, a trust
account for the sums received, and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel
Agents. Three verifiable things, and the licence number appears on your contract.
A booking made outside Quebec gives no right to them.
To that add something the law does not provide: someone who answers when a
connection collapses in Frankfurt on a Sunday night and the ship leaves the next
morning.
