Scenic Group Cyber Attack & Russia/Ukraine Travel Advisor Information Due to issues caused by unauthorised access to our IT systems, many of our clients and travel advisors are experiencing difficulties contacting us in relation to upcoming bookings and other general enquiries. We are also receiving a high volume of enquiries regarding the operation of our Russia cruises and land journeys. We will continue to provide updates on this page as information becomes available.
Update as of Wednesday 16 March We are pleased to advise ExpressBook is now available again for external use at this link https://bookings.scenicglobal.com Please refer to this user guide for instructions on how to access and use ExpressBook, including viewing or amending existing reservations, searching availability and making a new reservation. Your agent login and password will remain the same, if you need a reminder for your login please click the link at the bottom of the screen to retrieve.
To help you provide faster responses to your clients we recommend self-servicing online. TripPersonaliser is also available to use today. Your clients will be able to self-service to fill out their remaining information pre-trip.
Update as of Monday 14 March Thank you for your support as we work toward bringing our systems back online. We’re pleased to share that our IT Team and cyber security response team have made significant progress. Based on current testing, ExpressBook should be available for use by our Travel Agency partners by Wednesday 16 March 2022. Our Reservations Team currently have internal access and have started processing enquiries received since the incident occurred. We appreciate your patience as there is a significant backlog, and we are prioritising these changes in order of departure date. Will ExpressBook be safe to use? As part of bringing our booking systems back online we have built a new cloud environment to host ExpressBook and added additional security controls. Combined with the way ExpressBook works as an online platform, this means that we can provide the application back to you safely.
How do I minimise delays in my client’s booking requests and updates being actioned? Please be assured that we are committed to looking after your client's travel arrangements. As a priority, our Reservations Team are methodically working through and actioning all queries received by phone and email since this incident occurred in order of departure date. To avoid delays in responses, we encourage you to use the online functions available to you in ExpressBook once you can access them. How do I make payments? We are now able to process payments as per our regular methods, as stated on your client’s invoice. For credit card payments, please call us on: Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk Please note there may be a delay in the final payments showing on your client’s booking in ExpressBook as the payment receipts were processed manually while our systems were offline. Our team are currently working to update bookings with the payments made during this period. When do you expect TripPersonaliser will be back online? We expect Trip Personaliser to be available again from later this next week. Further updates will be provided in this FAQ and on our websites once available.
Should I still expect delays in receiving a response, and what is the estimated response time? We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Now that are booking systems are back online, we are working through processing and responding to the enquiries received over the past few weeks. To avoid further delays in responses, we encourage you to use the online functions available to you in ExpressBook once you can access them. Will there still be delays in receiving travel documentation for upcoming departures? Whilst our booking system is back online, we are still expecting some delays in sending documentation. We will be finalising travel documentation and prioritising departures in the next 60 days. If you have questions regarding your client’s travel documentation for an upcoming departure within the next 60 days, please contact our Reservations Team who will be able to assist you. If your client's departure is outside 60days please email with your query. Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk
Your full website is still down – when will it be available? We have prioritised bringing ExpressBook back online, so you can manage your clients’ bookings as a priority. In good news, with our booking systems coming back online, the next phase will be to restore our websites for our Scenic, Emerald Cruises and Evergreen brands. We will provide further updates and a timeline as this progresses. Our priority is to re-establish the service levels you and our guests are accustomed to, as soon as possible Has there been a data breach? There is currently no evidence to indicate that any client, partner or personal information has been impacted, if this changes we will inform the impacted directly.
Update as of Wednesday 2 March We are making progress in investigating the impact on our IT systems and we are working towards bringing our systems back online. As we progress our recovery efforts, it is our number one priority to ensure that that ensure delivery of our guest experience is not impacted and that our Reservations Team is available to support booking enquiries.
Travel Documentation for Upcoming Departures We are currently finalising travel documentation for the below upcoming departures: Scenic Eclipse Antarctica & South Georgia (Journey Code: 301S departing on 10 March 2022) Emerald Azzurra Best of the Red Sea (Journey Code: E01P departing on11 March 2022) If you have a booking for these ocean cruises, please contact our Reservations Team who will be able to assist you. Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk
Russia River Cruises & Land Journeys The health and safety of all guests and crew continues to be at the forefront of all decisions. We have therefore made the decision to cancel all 2022 and 2023 Russia river cruises, including any connecting land journeys. For guests/clients with affected bookings, a Future Travel Credit (FTC) will be applied. Our Reservations Team will be in contact by phone with you, or your travel advisor, to discuss your alternative travel arrangements once our systems are back online.
Update as of 28 February 2022 Scenic Group wishes to provide an update and information on the current IT issues we are experiencing. Scenic Group IT Cyber Security Incident Scenic Group (which includes Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Emerald Cruises and Evergreen Tours) has experienced a cyber security incident, involving unauthorised access to our IT systems. As per our cyber security protocols, we have ring-fenced our IT systems to minimise any further impact and immediately started to conduct an investigation into this breach. We have engaged the services of an external cyber security company and their forensic experts, to assist our internal IT team to resolve this situation and bring our systems back online to full capacity. What are we doing in response? Investigations by our IT department and the cyber security experts are ongoing and we continue to work in collaboration with the relevant authorities. Including compliance with all relevant laws and reporting obligations as well as co-operate with regulatory bodies as required. As this risk assessment continues our IT systems will remain offline, including the Scenic Group websites. Once the dedicated incident response team is satisfied that the threat has been mitigated, our priority will be to re-establish the service levels for our guests and partners. There is currently no evidence to indicate that any client, partner or personal information has been impacted, if this changes we will inform the impacted directly. Is Scenic Group still operating? Is my cruise or land tour still scheduled to proceed? Whilst this incident has impacted our IT systems, we are continuing to operate our cruise and tour programs as scheduled. Scenic Group will work closely with our partners to ensure delivery of our guest experience is not impacted. Can I speak to someone about my upcoming departure if I have specific questions about my client's travel arrangements or need to make changes to my booking? For all clients with upcoming departures or those wishing to make a new booking, our reservations team can be contacted using the following Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk
How do I make a booking for my client and can I access Expressbook? For clients wishing to make a new booking, we have arranged dedicated resources within our reservations team who can be contacted using the following – Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk Expressbook is currently inaccessible for making new quotes and bookings, or amendments to existing bookings. What happens if I need to make a deposit or full payment for my client's booking? If you have an existing invoice, payment can be made via our usual payment methods reflected on your Booking Advice. Once payment has been made, please email our reservations team – Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk Please include: • Surname • Departure date • Booking number • Journey code (E.G. STC100822, EWPA2004222) • Email address A confirmation of payment will be sent by return email. Will my client's booking be auto cancelled if I am awaiting a receipt for payment of the deposit? We have turned off our automated cancellation feature during this time, your client's booking is secure. How do I make amendments to an upcoming cruise for my client? Please contact us if an urgent amendment is required for your client's booking for departures within the next 60 days. We have arranged dedicated resources within our reservations team who can be contacted via the following – Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk
For departures outside of 60 days, please email our reservations team. Please include: • Surname • Departure date • Booking number • Journey / tour code (E.G. STC100822) • Email address If required, how do I to cancel my client's 2022 cruise or tour? Cancellations will be applied based on the date of notification which should be made via email. Please email our reservations team – Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk Please include: • • • • •
Surname Departure date Booking number Journey / tour code (E.G. STC100822) Email address
For departures outside of 60 days where the Flexible Booking Policy applies, clients can defer their travel plans to a later date or a Future Travel Credit will be applied.
When will we be able to access Trip Personaliser to enter client details and finalise their bookings including flights for airport transfers? During this time, for departures within 60 days, please call us to provide client's travel details. For departures outside of 60 days, please email us and include: • Surname • Departure date • Booking number • Journey / tour code (E.G. STC100822) • Email address Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk Our flight booking systems are online, and our reservations team will process flights based on departure date with priority being those departing in the next 60 days.
How and when will documentation for my client's upcoming cruise or tour be sent? We are expecting delays in sending documentation until our systems are fully operational. If your client has a cruise or tour departing in March 2022, please call or email our Reservations Team who will be able to assist you. Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk If your cruise or tour departs in April 2022 onwards, please email your client's details and include • Surname • Departure date • Booking number • Journey / tour code (E.G. STC100822) • Email address • Documentation delivery address (PO Boxes not accepted) Do I need to advise my clients? At this stage there is no need to inform or alert your clients. Scenic Group continues to operate and will ensure there is no impact on your client's travel arrangements. There is currently no evidence to indicate that any guest, staff data or personal information has been impacted. Is the sales team available for assistance and appointments? There is no change to the sales team account servicing. Our team are here to support you and plan upcoming events and promotional activities with your agency. For all booking amendments, please contact reservations, following the guidance in this FAQ document. Should I expect delays in receiving a response and what is the estimated response time? We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time, as there will be delays in responding to your enquiries. This is due to us having limited access to our core systems.
When do you expect I can access your website and when will your reservations team be back to normal operations? While we are continuing to assess this situation, our systems will remain offline, including the Scenic Group websites. Our priority will be to re-establish the service levels for our guests and partners as soon as possible.
How is Scenic Group responding to this challenge? With over 37 years' experience and having dealt with many challenges, we continue to be focused on future growth opportunities, including the upcoming launch of Emerald Azzurra and the addition of Scenic Eclipse II to our ocean fleet in early 2023. We are continuing to operate our global cruise and tour itineraries as scheduled. Who do I contact with further queries? If you have any further questions after reading these FAQs, please contact us. Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours Telephone – 0808 115 3270 Email – ukoffice@scenic.co.uk Emerald Cruises Telephone – 0808 278 7205 Email – hello@emeraldcruises.co.uk