We chose this ship/cruise because we had sailed with Emerald 2 years ago from Bucharest to Budapest.

I like the lines of the Emerald ships. They are sleek and clean-looking. The staff are welcoming, courteous and accommodating. Housekeeping is generally good with clean cabins and bathrooms. The trips were very well organised and interesting. If I could change anything about the itinerary I would have dropped the Volendam/Edam trip and replaced it with a full day in Amsterdam. We had only one half day in Amsterdam which is not really an adequate time for exploring and visiting the Rijksmuseum, for instance. Also the trip to the cheese factory, the day before, was a wasted morning. Most British passengers are not interested in watching cheese being made. We do make our own cheeses in Britain. Compared with our previous Eastern European cruise the food on this trip was not truthfully as good. The portions were tiny, not that I want huge portions. The fish for the main courses was pre-frozen and then cooked for dinner, and should really have been returned to the kitchen. The final dinner, the Chateau-Briand, was however, excellent as were the lunch time salads - superb. Timings and organisation to and from the airport were excellent. The Tour Director was informative and competent. The spoken English of a couple of the guides was difficult to understand. It was a nice touch when the Captain came to each bus on departure to say "Good bye" and to shake hands with all of us.