May 13, 2020
OPERATIONAL UPDATES – EMERALD WATERWAYS
We hope that you are all well and adapting to the ongoing health and safety restrictions, required to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The continued Government travel restrictions and border closures in many countries has made it impossible for us to operate our scheduled departures and we have been forced to further suspend departures up to 31 August 2020 for River Cruise, Ocean Cruise and Land Tours.
Our flexible policy for guests with River Cruise, Ocean Cruise and Land Tour bookings departing from 1 July to 31 August 2020:
To ensure your future travel plans will be protected, if you hold a:
The flexible conditions for your FTC Voucher are as follows:
If you choose not to take up the option of the FTC Voucher, you can opt to cancel your booking under our standard terms and conditions.
Our flexible booking and cancellation policy for guests with bookings departing from 1 September to 31 December 2020:
All guests with a booking to depart from 1 September 2020 and guests considering a booking after that date, have the option to transfer their booking to an alternate date without a Scenic fee up to 31 December 2021 (or 31 December 2022 for Scenic Eclipse), up to 30 days prior to departure. Scenic will waive all cancellation fees with the value of the booking applied as a Future Travel Credit and we will review the timing for the full payment when re-booking. Please note, if you choose to cancel or transfer there may be third party fees applicable, which will be at the guests own expense.
This allows guests more time to make decisions about their future travel plans. This policy will apply to all brands within the Scenic Group: Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Scenic Eclipse and Emerald Waterways.
Most governments have implemented strict travel restrictions and border controls that limit the arrival of people who have travelled, visited or transited through other countries, beyond those currently within the Scenic Group policy as outlined above.
We will continue to monitor the changing global situation and remain committed to doing our best to assist with your concerns and adjusting travel plans.
On behalf of the Emerald Waterways team, we are here to support you during this challenging time and we look forward to exploring our precious world with you again very soon.
We are closely monitoring the changing global situation and we continue to take guidance from government restrictions and advisories, including port and border closures. All our land tour and river cruise operations are temporarily suspended until 31 August 2020 and ocean cruise operations temporarily suspended until 30 September 2020.
The Future Travel Credit (FTC) provides flexibility for you to re-book a land tour, river or ocean cruise for travel in 2021 - 2023 as outlined in the policy applied for the date of departure for the reservation you are holding.
To provide additional flexibility you can choose to travel up to the following dates;
• 1 May to 30 June 2020 suspended departures, rebook and travel up to 31 December 2022
• 1 July to 31 August 2020 suspended departures, rebook and travel up to 30 June 2023
• 1 to 30 September 2020 Scenic Eclipse suspended departures, rebook and travel up to 30 June 2023
These Future Travel Credit vouchers are also fully transferrable to another guest, booking or another brand within the Scenic Group (including Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Scenic Eclipse and Emerald Waterways).
Deposit Protection Plan is strictly for new bookings only, these Reservations are suspended and funds on file are being transferred to an alternate departure prior to travel prior to December 2022/June 2023.
Although Deposit Protection Plan is not applicable, if you transfer funds to a new departure, and at a later date are no longer able to travel on selected departure, we will provide a one-time option of transferring to an alternate departure without being charged any Scenic change fees, third party fees may still apply (travel still needs to occur prior to Future Travel Credit deadline).
Scenic will ensure that we adhere to the highest of hygiene and cleaning protocol on all ships and all tours when operating. Thorough cleaning will be conducted regularly, and hand sanitisers are located throughout the ship to ensure the highest level of personal hygiene whilst on board.
Read our statement from the Scenic Group Chairman and Founder, Glen Moroney, here.
We appreciate that the situation is constantly evolving and it can be quite overwhelming. We will continue to update you as much as possible through our websites. If you have any further questions please contact our Reservations Centre and we appreciate your patience as there may be delays due to the unusual higher volume of calls.