The new, exclusive pre-cruise experiences – which include a luxury city centre hotel stay in addition to savings of up to £1,300 per couple – can be sold by agents booking next year’s river cruise before August 30, 2023. They do not apply over the Olympic period, from July 23-August 12, 2024, and certain blackout dates.
Normandy and the Seine
Passengers joining either the eight-day ‘Highlights of Normandy & the Seine’ itinerary or the 11-day ‘Normandy & Gems of the Seine’ programme can take to the streets of Paris in a classic Citroën 2CV for a private guided tour. From the backseat of the 1940s French car, they will peruse the capital’s must-see locations, from the Eiffel Tower to the Champs Elysée. While driving through the Maraise district, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and into Montmarte, the local driver guide will share insider tips on the best locations to explore inside the city.
A complimentary stay at the Paris Marriot Opera Ambassador Hotel is included.
The journeys continue with further locations of interest. After the private Paris tour for two, the Highlights of Normandy & the Seine voyage, for example, leaves from Paris, with calls at Conflans, Rouen, Honfleur, Caudebec-en-Caux and Vernon, concluding back in Paris. During the sailing, passengers will step inside Conflans’ Chantilly Castle for a guided tour of the château set amid parklands, take a walking tour of Rouen where they can visit a memorial to Joan of Arc and the historic Rouen Cathedral, and watch an exclusive classical concert in the medieval Château de La Roche-Guyon in Vernon.
Prices start from £3,995 per person based on an E grade suite departing April 28, 2024. This price includes return flights in addition to the Citroën tour and hotel stay.
Rhône, Bordeaux and South of France
Before passengers depart from Lyon or Bordeaux, they can join a local cookery class and learn the art of French patisserie from one of the regions’ top pastry chefs. Demonstrating a variety of techniques, passengers will leave their exclusive session with a collection of tried-and-tested recipes.
The experience is only available to Scenic passengers sailing on the eight-day ‘Idyllic Rhône’ or ‘Bordeaux Affair’ itineraries and the 11-day ‘Beautiful Bordeaux’ and ‘South of France’ itineraries.
A complimentary stay at either the Intercontinental Lyon - Hotel Dieu or InterContinental Bordeaux – Le Grand Hotêl is also included.
Those sailing the South of France itinerary will follow their patisserie class with another culinary experience when joining trained hounds and their owners in locating and sampling French truffles in Tournus. In Avignon, after the doors of the Palais des Papes close to the public, they will join an exclusive dinner and concert in one of its grand dining halls - an experience that Scenic says is available only to its guests.
Next, passengers will travel through the artistic Arles and tour a family-run olive farm, then learn and sample local recipes. Over the following days the cruise ventures from the Ardèche National Park to another private performance, this time an Acapella choir in Lyon’s Baroque Trinity Chapel.
The cruise sails roundtrip from Lyon, calling at Tournus, Chalon-sur-Saône, Tain l’Hermitage, Avignon, Arles, and Viviers. Prices start from £4,545 per person based on an E grade suite departing April 8, 2024, and includes return flights, cookery class and hotel stay.
All Scenic river cruises are all-inclusive with transfers, fine dining experiences, premium branded beverages and excursions included in the price.  
