This was our third cruise with Scenic. Our first was in 2014, sailing from Budapest to Amsterdam, coincidentally aboard the very same ship, the Scenic Diamond. We returned to Scenic in 2023, this time aboard Scenic Azure, exploring Portugal's Douro Valley.

We thoroughly enjoyed both previous cruises, although the experience was quite different from our trips with another favourite company, Noble Caledonia. Both offer a luxury experience, but each has its own distinctive style and approach. We hope to travel with both companies again in the future.

This particular trip focused on a relatively small area of France, giving us the opportunity to really immerse ourselves in the local culture and way of life, not to mention enjoy the region's excellent food and wine.

During our eleven-day cruise, we covered just 189 miles by river, which is very little compared with some of the cruises we have taken in the past. When we did sail, it was almost always during daylight hours and generally for only a few hours at a time. This left us with plenty of time to go ashore and explore whenever we were docked.

Our route is highlighted in yellow on the map. Click on it to see a larger image. Although it might look fairly straightforward, navigating these waterways is heavily influenced by the tides. As a result, the route is carefully planned and, we were told, can sometimes differ from the published itinerary. However, we were reassured that we would still visit every destination advertised, which suited us perfectly. In our case, the route we actually sailed was as follows:-

Bordeaux – Libourne – Pauillac – Cadillac – Bordeaux – Bourg – Blaye – Bordeaux