Emerald River Cruises

River Cruises

Marseille

Nice

Paris

Europe - All

Europe - River Cruise

France

France River

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Mediterranean

Europe River

Europe - British Isles & Western

Seine River

Portugal

Douro River

Spain

Portugal River

Germany

Netherlands

Switzerland

Rhine River

Excellent

Very Good

Average

Terrible

Poor

Emerald Sky

Emerald Sun

Emerald Dawn

Emerald Liberte

Emerald Star

Emerald Radiance

Emerald Destiny

Emerald Azzurra

Emerald Luna

Emerald Harmony

Cruise was great - Air France was not!!

Took cruise to see the iconic sights of France- Province regions. Great seeing France. Lovely wineries and scenes.  Great history.  Overall a lot of money for having to serve myself twice a day with buffet.  Standing in a lineup to get food everyday and jostling for seating each meal.  Food seemed rationed.  Continental Breakfast for early birds was small muffins and croissant and a couple of juices.  Good with complimentary wine beverages at lunch and dinner.  Our cabin cleaner was a gem! The tours were great.  Well organized with herding us all in Paris for extended days before heading to take bus and train to Lyon to start trip.   Water machines and some air conditioning on ship were broken.  People had to wait to get carafes of water each morning to top up their water bottles before a tour.  Boat travels river at night so don't always see what is along river.  Crappy Wifi.

Vineyards of France

We wanted to experience a river cruise and the price was reasonable.   Got off to a bad start as we were left sitting on the bus from airport to the ship for more than two and half hours while waiting for late arrivals.   Even suggested we got off and walk a good distance back to the terminal if we wanted to use the facilities as there was still no word of moving off.

We did and bought water etc.   It was 4.30 pm by the time we got to the boat so we felt we had lost most of our first day.

However tried to forget about it and we were very happy with the ship and our cabin. The food was ok, the lunches better as the cold buffet was very good.  Very regimented meal times which we got used to, no lie ins as the tours start at 9am.

We found the afternoons very quiet but we didn't mind.  It is a holiday for the morning sightseeing, with very good guides, and relaxing the rest of the day.   The staff were very friendly and helpful.  We might do one more river cruise but it won't become a habit!!

Arle to Lyon   

Dates fitted in with rest of our trip.  The food, staff, quality of the meals was excellent.  However, there was no beautiful scenery to admire. Lots of industrial buildings and plain countryside.  I’d recommend Danube to this trip.  The entertainment was just right, everyone on board seemed to enjoy. Lots of dancing the night of the live band. Aida and Darren had spectacular voices, very much enjoyed that night’s entertainment too.  Silk show more or less a sales pitch for silk scarves.  Unfortunately temperatures reached 41 on our trip and never dropped below 35, most days hover around 39.  Made it hard.  The staff couldn’t be more helpful on this ship.  Went beyond for passengers.  Air conditioning in the canines was spot on. Our room was directly above engine room could have been moved but it wasn’t suggested. The ship had only 77 passengers so empty cabins (not above engine). An excellent trip for those who just needed to eat, sleep and not worry about seeing gorgeous villages, which we hoped to, only 2 impressed us. Avignon and Arles right at the end.

Boring scenery on river, only Avignon and Arles were worth being on the trip for.

Emerald Liberte was a slightly smaller ship to those that Emerald have on the Rhine and Danube - but still had the covered swimming pool at the back end of Horizon Deck and the relaxing area around it.  My favourite place on these ships and one reason I prefer Emerald.  The schedule also included a tour to Beaune from Chalon-sur-Saone, with a visit to its amazing Hospices de Beaune. Not offered on many other cruises on the Rhone.    

The use of electric bikes was also a bonus.  I took full advantage while alongside and not 'on tour' to 'explore more'.  

The multi-national crew were easy to get to know.  Kudo's to the Restaurant Manager who noticed my disappointment at the selection of preserves on the breakfast buffet.  He was quick to recognise that I might have preferred marmalade (any ship that has Brits as passengers should offer marmalade at breakfast) and personally made sure that I had a small dish of marmalade every morning.  

Disappointingly, the self-serve coffee stations by the pool and in the main lounge were not always well maintained and machine 'break-downs' were regular.  

I am in favour of reducing environmental impact - but would have preferred an option on having a paper version of the daily routines.  Yes they were on the TV - but I don't do 'techy' where it was suggested one took a photo of the daily routine.

A Rhone Delight

We chose emerald because they were the only ones who had back to back river cruises from France to Portugal and

Everything booked through them. During the 2 nd transfer from Lyon to Porto emerald booked us on 2 flights going to Brussels then to Porto which really was the start of the bad service we received from emerald. We asked why didn’t they fly us direct from Lyon to Porto they said sorry that was the best way for them to fly us. We checked and found many direct  flights from Lyon to Porto. So we wasted a whole day flying.

First let’s say our first encounter was ok until the first dinner meal. Since we aren’t alcohol drinkers we tried to order ginger beer and we were told that it’s a charge. Didn’t understand when ginger beer is a soda and a drink is included. The server asked her manager and he said sorry we charge for ginger beer. We had to email our emerald rep. About this problem when drinks are included with meals. So we explained to the manager and he said he’ll have to check with headquarters. Finally on the second day after we received email from our rep. From emerald she  said ginger is included with meals so they had to serve us ginger beer from then on.

This next problem was a safety health hazard the cabins toilet was leaking water, had signs of black and yellow mold on the silicone. We reported and they sent the engineer to repair but all they did was dry the area and added more silicone which didn’t stop the leak. Only other option they gave us was to move to the only other cabin next to the crew quarters which was a lot smaller cabin.we couldn’t even get out of that bed without banging into the table and chair. We paid for the larger room and from that point on we had to shuttle between the 2 cabins for the next 6 nights. 

The worst part is the long bus ride from Porto to Lisbon about 7 hours a person n board the bus was sick and had to go to the hospital and we found out later when we asked her traveling companion how she was , her answer was her friend was positive for covid and emerald tour director didn’t announce this to the other 37 passengers on that bus ride. After asking the tour director about this her response was we’re not in a pandemic anymore so there’s nothing she could have done about it. We were so upset about emerald not caring about the rest of us.emerald should have mention this to the rest of the group. To top it off 3 out of the 6 friends we traveled with got covid on the day we flew home and that was the worst experience of our life. We will never travel again with Emerald/ Scenic again.

Back to back river cruises 

We chose this cruise because we liked the itinerary and we enjoyed all the places we visited. The boat itself is very nice, cabins a bit snug but bed very comfortable. Food and wine all good but restaurant lacked a bit in terms of ambiance though staff all helpful and friendly. Main issue was the unseemly scramble if you wanted a table for two. Also at lunchtime it would be helpful if a copy of the menu was posted outside the restaurant because there is a light lunch alternative in the lounge bar so it would be good to know what is on offer in both locations before entering. All that said we really enjoyed the cruise and the tour guides at each location were all excellent. Our big disappointment was being informed 36 hours prior to end of cruise that our transfer to airport would be at 7.30am for a 1.10pm flight. The journey time was just over an hour as expected so we arrived at airport 2.5 hours before we could even check in and drop bags. The paperwork we received in advance of our cruise indicated that our transfer would be at 9.10. Despite raising an objection at the time of being notified of the change we were firmly informed that nothing could be done. There were a number of other people similarly inconvenienced. This definitely took the gloss off the experience.

Overall great cruise but spoilt at end by early transfer to airport- 2.5 hours before check in OPENED!

Emerald was recommended by friends.  The timing of this cruise fit our schedule and we wanted to experience south of France.

We very much enjoyed the cruise!

The ship was modern and immaculate.  The crew was amazing in their performance and demeanor.  The food was exceptional!

We enjoyed all the included tours and several of the optional (extra cost) ones.  Our tour guides and excursion planning were great!  The south of France has much to offer and the excursion planning allowed us to really enjoy both the urban areas and the rural areas/villages.

The weather in April was great and crowds not nearly as bad as the summer months.

There were “gentle walker” excursions for those who needed/wanted them and a nice assortment of more active excursions for those that wanted to bike/hike/row.

We thought the meals and entertainment were great and the crew superb!

We had a person with some mobility issues in our party and everything worked out well for them.

Highly recommend this cruise line and ship!

Wonderful Cruise Experience!

We had sailed with Emerald before and had a great time so wanted to go again, this time along the river Rhone.

Emerald boats have virtually the same layout so they are pretty easy to get around after boarding.  The staff/crew once again were excellent, the food and wine exemplary and the ports of call with guided excursions just fabulous.  All sounds fantastic, however, now comes the but.

I did not get one undisturbed night's sleep during the 7 nights cruise.  The engine (bow and/or stern thrusters), when manoeuvring, was incredibly noisy and appears to have woken the majority of passengers onboard.  When the gangway was put out it sounded as if it was just dropped from the crane on every occasion.  Also, although beds and pillows are an individuals preference, I found the mattress extremely hard and the pillows so soft I was lying almost horizontal on the bed.

Emerald are a superb cruise company but when you cannot sleep the fun gradually wains.

Fabulous staff and great locations, however ....

St. Vincent

We went on our Honeymoon. We had waited a year to be able to go on a River Cruise, post pandemic. The food and service was outstanding. The entertainment on board was hit and miss. We loved the word game! The excursions were informative and fun. 

On one of our excursions, we found out from another cruise line that the lock operators were on strike. This person had been staying in a hotel for 3 days. When we got back to our ship, we were given the news that the Captain had “just found out “ that the operators were striking. Really? We knew better! 

I know things happen on cruises with water level and unforeseen circumstances but I felt deceived. It definitely left a bad taste in our mouth. 

It would have been lovely the ship was moved during the day so we could watch the sites off shore.

Excellent food but question honesty about strike

We have previously been on Emerald Cruise and very much enjoyed it. Selected this cruise as hadn't been to the places it visited. Was a little disappointed and had not realised that top deck would be out of bounds so much due to low bridges, it would of been nice to of been advised of this in advance although don't beleive it would of changed our minds about booking.

As we were a party of 6 it would of been nice to of been able to reserve a table for evening meals each night so we could sit together. Unfortunately we were informed that this was not possible!!!  We did however mange to get round th9is with help of your staff but felt we shouldn't of had to find work round!!!!!

ALL the staff onboard where friendly, professional and very much a credit to your Company. 

Also the tour guides we had were also very knowldgable, one small point felt that pace of tours we took could of been a little faster.

Relax and enjoy.  Each day new place to visit, very much enjoyed the tours each day set up to explore the place moored.

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