Emerald River Cruises

River Cruises

Lisbon

Europe - All

Europe - River Cruise

Europe River

Portugal

Douro River

Portugal River

Spain

Europe - British Isles & Western

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Mediterranean

France

France River

Africa

Excellent

Very Good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Emerald Sky

Emerald Sun

Emerald Dawn

Emerald Liberte

Emerald Star

Emerald Radiance

Emerald Destiny

Emerald Azzurra

Emerald Luna

Emerald Harmony

Well worth the wait _ and the weight!

We had heard so much about Portugal and decided to go. We had gone on Emerald Liberte in the Spring and enjoyed ourselves, despite the French strike.

The staff and the food are fantastic! Chef Marinho is gifted for such a young man. The Captain is 28 years old and he navigates the Douro perfectly.

The excursions are informative and well thought out. The little extras they fit in were wonderful. An example is the Medical students (Tuna) that sang and performed were enjoyed by all. The Mateus Palace was my favourite excursion and was reasonably priced. 

The tour guide was able to help us find a jeweler that sold 19 carat gold filigree. Another guide steered me away from buying souvenirs that were less expensive elsewhere. We found this very helpful and appreciated.

The rooms were immaculate and housekeepers were accommodating. Sylvie guided me through yoga, Pilates, stretching, even though I was the only one!

Staff can’t do enough for us!

The service and people on the cruise were exceptional at every level. One disappointment was the evening entertainment. We would prefer after dinner lounge entertainment such as a quiet piano player in the background to relax to. This was more games and competition in the evening. One night was a singer and piano, who was very good. Being able to get out of the room and talk with friends in a relaxing atmosphere would have been great.

Meals were very good, but we felt loke we needed to eat exactly at the time the service opened. Might be better for the staff, but we were not in a hurry and would prefer to eat later at times.

Lastly, I don't know what or how you can do it, but guests coming on board sick day-one is a problem. We came down with it at the end of the trip and are suffering now. I know others who have it as well.

Excellent on-board service

Wanted a river cruise and the Emerald line was recommended by friends. None of us had been to Porto or the Douro region so this cruise met all our interests. 

ALL the staff were incredibly friendly, efficient and attentive - with the ability to have fun with us. What an amazing team - truly a TEAM as they all helped each other when needed, no rigid demarcation of jobs. Nothing was too much trouble for any of them.

Superbly thought out cabin and bathroom layout with ample storage and good comfort. 

Such a relaxing experience. The food was amazing and (as I am sure is normal) we all ate far too much.  The dam locks were an experience and the engineering achievement of the whole river project was awesome.

We should also mention the Captain and his crew - so skilful with manoeuvring the ship through the locks and the fast narrows. The few inches clearance either side between the ship and the lock walls has to be seen to be believed!

The bar staff were especially attentive and made sure we were never running dry or waiting for service  - a big thank you to them all.

We will definitely book with Emerald/Scenic again and have no reservation in recommending them for anyone wanting a river cruise.

Amazing Douro

We chose Emerald Cruises as we had done a Rhine Cruise with them in 2022 and we had a wonderful experience. The Douro Cruise was no different.  The ship is spotless and well maintained.  The entire staff are very accommodating and personable.  

My favorite excursion was the trip to Salamanca, it is well worth the bus ride.  Dinner at the winery was lovely as well.

There is not much in the way of entertainment but they did try to offer some sort of activity or entertainment in the evenings such as Trivia nights, Karaoke, etc. There is a piano on board and one night they brought on a piano player and a couple of singers.

With regard to the Fitness and Activities, there are a few physical excursions offered and daily yoga, but I did not partake so I can't really rate those activities.

The cruise is a great way to travel with family and friends but it is definitely not geared up for small children. 

I would not hesitate to cruise with Emerald again.

Wonderful cruise on the Douro River with Emerald Radiance

We were celebrating our Ruby Wedding Anniversary, so the Douro with an emphasis on port seemed very apt! The trip was great! Made great by the stunning ship, the outstanding staff, the wonderful scenery, delightful food and wine....I could go on! The Douro is quiet...it seemed like there was no river traffic at all for most of the cruise so it feels very special. Our excursions were really enjoyable, most especially to Quinta do Tedo Winery and to Salamanca. We liked the balance between excursions for part of the day and some sailing/relaxing for another part of the day. Evenings were really enjoyable with new friends and an entertainments manager who pitched things just right. I have to say the staff all seemed to genuinely enjoy working together for this company. We did the 3 night stay in Lisbon prior to the cruise and added on 2 nights at the end to extend our stay in Porto. Very glad we did as Porto deserves that extra time! We have cruised with Holland America and Windstar previously and are fans of small ship cruising. This was, however, our first river cruise but I don't think it will be our last!

Douro delightful/Emerald exceptional

Based on comments from friends we decided on an Emerald cruise. We chose the Douro cruise also from friends feedback about it being one of the most scenic routes. We were not disappointed.

From the first day the staff were welcoming, attentive, informative and friendly. The plan for the day ahead was always communicated and there was no hard sell for optional extra expense trips! 

The food was excellent with many different choices whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. They do seem to like pork in this part of Portugal! Some other guests took the drink package but with drinks provided at lunch and dinner we didn’t see need for this. 

The cabin was exceptionally clean with fresh towels every day and chocolates! The bed was comfortable and AC very efficient. We had a room on middle level with panoramic window with chairs and table to sit and relax as the ship travelled.

We were certainly use Emerald again!

Very relaxing cruise with excellent service and staff 

We chose Emerald Radiance because my wife has always wanted to do a Douro cruise and because we had a marvellous experience with Emerald on the Rhine last year.

I personally didn’t expect the overall experience to be able to come close to the that of the Rhine. Let’s be fair Basel to Amsterdam, is just magical. With so many incredible historic cities, How could any cruise compete with that? So it would be a totally unfair comparison in THAT respect.

I have to say, however, that our Douro cruise has been way beyond our expectations.

With so much less to work with in terms of variety of cities and locations, The Emerald Douro cruise makes up for it in sheer effort by a wonderful team. 

The scenery was an unexpected delight. At times you would think you are on the Rhine (less the castles)

There are many highlights.

The excellent vineyard tours 

The visit to the Mateus palace a real standout delight. Made extra special by one of the best tour guides ever. Sonia. Such knowledge, such passion. With an exuberant theatrical style. She could be a stage actress.

But the real special highlight of the Emerald Radiance Douro cruise has to be the staff. What a team. The Rhine team were awesome. I thought they cannot surpass that. In horse racing terms in a photo finish, The Douro Radiance team would win by a short nose.

As well as being professional, friendly  and efficient, they are ALL entertainers. 

The food is just out of this world in style quality presentation and class.

Overall. Outstanding.

A fabulous experience 

We chose this cruise because our friends recommended it to us.

The team on board the Emerald Radiance led by Cornell their outstanding manager were without exception genuinely friendly, warm, attentive and dedicated to making the cruise the best experience possible for their guests. Whilst I am aware they offer the same holiday experience every week, they made us feel like our cruise was the first. 

The food in the restaurant was beautifully presented, delicious and plenty of choice and options. Self serve breakfast and lunch. Waiter dinner with gala dinner on second and sixth night. Wine and beer with lunch and dinner. Also a wonderful dinner out at Quinta da Pacheca, a family owned vineyard. There we sampled and bought some white port. 

The included trips ran like clockwork. Coaches professionally driven by Joseph one and two who followed our progress in their coach throughout the cruise. Informative talks and the port tasting great fun. Salamanca an absolute must. 

Lamego and the stunning Shrine of our Lady of the Remedies was a great day. Even walking down the 686 steps to the market. 

Cruising the Douro just a beautiful breathtaking experience. Loved the locks. 

Great evenings in the horizon bar, quiz night, live music, karaoke and Mamma Mia the movie on the top deck under the stars. 

Fun day time activities, cocktail making, tile painting, cookery demonstrations. Not intrusive. Just there of you wanted to join in. 

This is a small ship with a capacity of 110 guests. We had 71 and made some lovely friends. Really comfortable environment. 

I cannot recommend this cruise of the Douro, Porto to Porto with Emerald River Cruises enough. It was faultless. 

Thank you Cornell and his amazing team. We couldn't complete their online customer assessment because of a glitch with our email so I decided to write this review instead.

Idyllic cruise on the Douro 

My husband chose the cruise after we had previously enjoyed a similar cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest with Evergreen in 2019. Cruising is just so easy and enjoyable but what always makes the difference to your holiday is the staff on board. I CANNOT stress enough how accomodating, professional, polite, friendly and caring the Emerald staff were. From Captain Emanuel Gouveria, to the Operations Manager Cornel, right through to person putting out the rubbish, each and every one performed their role to the highest level. I can't remember ALL the names but Natalia, Marlene, Ruit, Vitor, Iara, Diego, Denis, Daniel, Arturo and Ricardo are just a few. Head chef and all his staff were brilliant too. The food was excellent and prepared with care. All dietary needs had obviously been considered and all options were available at any time during the day. There was also a huge selection of food on offer.

Thank you very much to all the staff for a truly memorable cruise. We absolutely loved it!!

Awesome cruise!

First river cruise we had taken, so glad it was the Emerald Radiance.

From the start the service was excellent, the staff being exceptionally friendly and a ready smile.

The dining was always top quality from the perfect selection of breakfast right through to the dinners, alway 5 star in our opinion .

The cabin was always very clean although on the small side but very well laid out, bed’s where comfortable and turned down every evening with a chocolate placed on your pillow.

The supply of the reusable water bottles was a good idea and we could refil them from filtered water dispenser in the lounge. The where also ours to keep on disembarking.

The extra touch of an onboard spend of 50 euros each was a nice surprise.

The trips out where well planned and enjoyable.

The whole crew worked very hard to ensure our stay on board was a good one.

Would recommend this trip.

Top class service and finest food

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