Five of TravelManagers’ personal travel managers were among those who were recently invited to attend the christening ceremony of Scenic’s new next-generation Space Ship, the RV Scenic Jasper.
The ceremony itself took place in the beautiful city of Vienna and was performed by the ship’s godmother, Australian author Kathy Lette.
The guests were then treated to a bespoke week-long cruise aboard the newly-christened ship from Vienna to Budapest.
For TravelManagers’ Kelly Savka, representative for Balga, Western Australia, the trip was an opportunity to experience Europe from a fresh perspective.
“I love Europe and have a soft spot for it as my husband is from Slovakia, which was one of the stops on the cruise. This was my fourth visit to Europe but from this perspective, it was more beautiful than ever.”
Savka says the cruise was packed with highlights, ranging from waking up in Budapest with a view outside her stateroom window, to riding an electric bike for 32 kilometres from Durnstein to Melk in Austria.
Savka also valued the opportunity to experience a Scenic European River Cruise in the same way that her customers would, giving her the utmost confidence in recommending it.
“As far as the food on the ship is concerned, everything we experienced while on board would also be offered to our Scenic clients. One of my highlight dinners was the Portobello Restaurant, where we enjoyed a multi-course degustation delight.”
TravelManagers’ Maria Miller, representative for Parkes, NSW, also joined the cruise.
She says the famil has made it easy to recommend European river cruises in general because she is now familiar with the day-to-day experiences and finer details that make it such a memorable experience.
“From the free bottles of water that were handed out as we left the ship each day to the hot towels we were greeted with on our return and the umbrellas and walking sticks in our cabins, every detail had been thoughtfully considered. Our fabulous butler, Peter, even delivered a pot of tea to our cabin each morning.”
For Scenic, the cruise was a great opportunity to show off the RV Scenic Jasper, the latest addition to the company’s fleet of eleven ships.
Scenic’s chairman, Glen Moroney, says the company is proud of the innovations that have been made.
“We’ve taken what was already an exceptional design and are now able to offer our guests a real heightened sense of luxury with the largest suites on Europe’s rivers,” he said.
“We were thrilled to be able to offer our travel industry partners the opportunity to experience her first, as we’re sure they will have returned home singing her praises to their clients.”