River cruise lines have disputed several claims made in the inaugural edition of ‘Berlitz: River Cruising in Europe’ (CU 05 Jun), labelling some sections “inaccurate” and “disappointing”.
Among the hardest hit is Scenic Tours, with the majority of its ship reviews containing factual errors.
Aside from two vessels, Berlitz lists various other companies, from Tauck to Transocean Flussreisen, as the manager/operator of Scenic ships. Scenic Tours has confirmed to TD Cruise Update that it owns, manages and operates all of its ships sailing in Europe.
Other alleged errors, according to Scenic Tours, include the classification of its outdoor balconies as French balconies, wrong cabin totals for six vessels (Scenic Jade and Scenic Jewel are the most “off”, listed at 63 instead of 85), while the Scenic Gem is incorrectly reported to have a indoor heated pool and movie screen.
Justin Brown, Scenic Tours Australia’s general manager operations and administration, said the company would be addressing “a number of inaccuracies” with the book’s author and publisher.
“The guide has been published without any verification from us and it is disappointing that it is now in the public domain,” Brown told TD Cruise Update.“We look forward to the next edition with the errors amended,” he added.
Descriptions of several other lines’ cabin layouts are also lacking in detail, another spokesperson suggested, with little distinction between the positioning of beds, bathrooms and balconies.
While cruise lines welcomed the concept of the independent Berlitz guide, many expressed concerns about the level of fact-checking but all anticipated an improved second edition to be published next year.