A ship changing rivers
Scenic Aura was built in 2016 for the Irrawaddy, in Myanmar. It no longer
sails there. The ship stayed inactive from 2020, and the line has not resumed
that programme since.
It returns to service elsewhere. Our inventory on 26 August 2026 shows 74
departure dates for this ship, all in India, on the Hooghly, between New Delhi
and Kolkata as combined journeys. The first date measured is 19 September 2027.
Press announcements speak of October 2027; our own calendar starts a few weeks
earlier, and that is the one we sell.
What is particular about the Hooghly
It is an arm of the Ganges crossing West Bengal to Kolkata. The river sees few
cruise ships, the banks are continuously inhabited, and the stops open onto
potters' villages, terracotta temples and former European trading posts. This is
not a cruise of monuments: it is a cruise of daily life at the water's edge.
The journeys sold combine a river portion with substantial land segments, which
explains durations of seventeen to twenty-five days. The ship does not cover the
whole distance between New Delhi and Kolkata: that stretch is travelled by road
and by rail.
The ship
Forty-four guests, 22 suites. It is the smallest ship in the fleet, by a wide
margin. An interior refit is planned before the return to service; its content
has not been published in detail, and we prefer to write that rather than
describe fittings we have not verified.
The other ships in the fleet
Scenic Spirit serves the Mekong under a comparable constraint. Scenic Azure holds the Douro. Scenic Eclipse and
Scenic Eclipse II are the line's ocean expedition ships.
What is included, and what is not
Included: gratuities aboard and ashore, meals, standard wines and spirits at
table, Wi-Fi, a butler for every suite, Freechoice excursions, Enrich events and
Sundowner receptions. The European ships also carry electrically assisted
bicycles, free to use during port calls.
Not included: rare vintages and champagnes outside the standard selection,
spa treatments, and gratuities given away from the official route, in a taxi or
a restaurant in town.
That leaves air travel, which varies with the package. The line builds
arrangements with flights and others without, depending on the market and the
period. Your advisor will tell you which applies to the date you are looking at,
and it is a question to ask early rather than at signature.
The Quebec framework
Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du
consommateur. Your payments go into a trust account, and the Compensation Fund
for Customers of Travel Agents covers the situations set out in the Travel Agents
Act, including a supplier's failure. The cover has defined limits, best explained
to you before you pay a deposit.
The ship is the simple part of the file. The flight, the connection, the hotel
night before embarkation and the transfer to the pier make up the rest, and that
is where the real comfort of a departure is decided.
