Scenic (cruise line)

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Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours is a privately held Cruise Line and Touring Company, established by Australian businessman Glen Moroney in 1986. The company opened its first United Kingdom office in 2007, its headquarters in Manchester.^[1] Scenic's inaugural European river cruise occurred in 2008 with the debut of its first river ship, "Scenic Sapphire".^[2]

As of January 2024, Scenic operates 15 river cruise ships, providing services in Europe and Southeast Asia, and previously including Russia.^[2] On August 15, Scenic introduced its first purpose-built ocean cruise ship, Scenic Eclipse, which operates in the Americas, Europe, the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Norwegian fjords.^[3] In April 2023, Scenic launched Scenic Eclipse II, a nearly identical sister ship.^[4]

Scenic was established by Glen Moroney in 1986.^[5] The company first offered river cruises in Europe in 2008 with the launch of Scenic Sapphire, followed by Scenic Emerald, Scenic Diamond, and Scenic Ruby in 2009.^[6]

In 2012, Scenic launched the Scenic Tsar, which operated on the Moscow-St Petersburg route. In 2013, Scenic established Emerald Waterways as a lower-cost river cruise line.^[7] In 2014, Scenic expanded its fleet with the addition of the 169-passenger Scenic Jade, operating on the River Danube, and the 126-passenger Scenic Gem, servicing the River Seine.^[8]

In 2016, Scenic launched several new ships: Scenic Azure for the River Douro in Portugal; Scenic Amber for Europe's major rivers, and Scenic Aura and Scenic Spirit for the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers in Southeast Asia.^[9][10] In January 2016, Scenic announced plans to enter the ocean cruise market with the launch of Scenic Eclipse, a 228-passenger ocean liner, which began service in August 2019.^[11]

As of 2019, Scenic is redesigning 10 ships, including Scenic Diamond, Scenic Sapphire, Scenic Ruby, Scenic Pearl, Scenic Jasper, Scenic Opal, Scenic Amber, Scenic Crystal, Scenic Jade, and Scenic Jewel.^[12] In March 2022, Scenic suspended all Russian operations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[13]

Scenic operates on nine rivers, covering major rivers in Europe and Southeast Asia, and formerly the Volga in Russia.^[14]

With the introduction of their ocean cruise ships, Scenic now also operates in Antarctica, the Arctic, the Americas, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the British Isles, and the Norwegian Fjords.^[15]

Expedition ship