This was our first river cruise; after some research I booked via Iglu as they recommended Emerald for first timers. There were issues with the booking process - the invoices kept showing the wrong return flight and I had great difficulty getting a resolution....being told it'll be OK on the day does not inspire confidence. When the data pack arrived, the flight out did not have an e-ticket; on arrival at LHR T5 BA sent us to the wrong terminal so we nearly missed our flight. Arrival at Budapest was chaotic as there was a full coach and the driver was overwhelmed trying to load all the luggage on two sides - we ended up helping him out. The ship is very clean (almost clinical) and our cabin was compact but fine for the purpose (we are both slim). The lounge & dining room are both excellent, as is the upper deck and seating area at the stern. The cruise director was superb; excellent English and a real understanding of the different guest nationalities. Most of the staff genuinely wanted the guests to have a good time; after only a day they remembered that my wife could not tolerate cow's milk and wine. The other guests were from the USA, Canada, Australia & UK. We made some good friends very quickly; it was interesting to note that only those from the USA did not mix and stayed in their group, apart from on the excursions when they had no choice. The food choice was disappointing - it reminded us of the many corporate meals we had had during our business days. Meat dishes were OK but the fish disappointing - bland and lifeless. The exception was the 'Bavarian themed meal'; that was excellent. We discovered that HQ plan the menus - the Exec. Chef was obviously talented.....why not let him plan as well as execute (basic business sense to us)? A couple of the staff needed training - the Deputy Maitre-de was very abrupt to the point of rudeness to my wife and another lady. When it was reported to him via other staff he became sycophantic to the point of sarcasm. Some of his 'jokes' were offensive to Western Europeans. One of the bar staff had a heavy cough; after coughing into her hand she then handled glasses etc without washing. Needless to say by the end of the week a number of us were going down with sore throats...in my case I am on antibiotics + a week off to clear a resulting chest infection. My first illness for 20+ years. We stuck with the included excursions - though most were very good, by the end of the week we were 'excursioned-out'. The highlight was the visit to a Slovak family for a tour of their garden plus tea & cakes. The highlight of the tour was sat up front, cruising the Wachau Valley, on a sunny day with convivial company. The Crew Show was very funny and the Umpah Band memorable. Dis-embarkation was extremely well organised and we arrived at Munich Airport in plenty of time for our flight. BA were less well organised and failed to get their crew to the plane until well after the scheduled departure time so we arrived one & half hours late. Their information system wasn't updated so our limo' driver got nearly to T5 before delays were shown and these were much lower than actual even though they must have known an hour before. I

Overall it was a great experience but there are systemic issues that need addressing so we won't be using Emerald again.