The luxury travel brand Scenic Cruises & Tours announced its new Southeast Asia vacation offerings, detailed in the 2021-2022 “Exotic Wonders of Southeast Asia River Cruising” brochure.
Coupled with the offers is the Scenic’s Book with Confidence program, providing passengers with additional booking flexibility, along with a free Deposit Protection Plan (US$125) and deposits reduced 50%; as well as its Cruise in Confidence plan, detailing the new health and safety policies in place to keep passengers and crew members safe while sailing.
Scenic is the only river cruise company to build, design, own and operate their Southeast Asia-deployed riverboats to strict European safety standards. Scenic's two 5-star Asian ships - the 68-passenger Scenic Spirit (on Mekong River) and the 44-passenger Scenic Aura (on Irrawaddy River) - act as a sanctuary for relaxing after cultural discovery.
Highlights on a Mekong adventure include making use of multiple transport forms - ox carts, Tuk Tuks, bicycles, long-tail boats, speed boats, sampans; learning the art of Cambodian and Vietnamese cooking; meeting with Buddhist monks; sitting with survivors of Khmer Rouge, and enjoying lunch at a local NGO restaurant.
Along Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River, passengers spend time with locals on the ‘Circle’ train; take in Salay’s mix of Burmese and British architecture; visit Youqson Kyaung teak monastery; partake in morning alms for the local monks, as well as learn about life at home with a visit to Intha family for lunch at Inle Lake.
The company's Scenic Enrich are exclusive-to-Scenic trips and make every journey memorable. Possibilities feature a themed gala dinner at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat (Siem Reap); Vespas rides in Vietnam’s Saigon (Ho Chi Minh); and an opportunity to interact with nuns, monks, and orphans at a monastic-supported school in Myanmar.