EmeraldRiver Cruises

Not a Yankees fan? ;) [The grounds crew dances to that when they do the 7th inning raking of the infield.]

:D

I know nothing about Yankees I'm afraid.

We have something here called 'cheesy music'.Most people love it,but I don't.To some I may seem miserable when I sit it out but I prefer up to date music to move to....;)

:D

I know nothing about Yankees I'm afraid.

We have something here called 'cheesy music'.Most people love it,but I don't.To some I may seem miserable when I sit it out but I prefer up to date music to move to....;)

They are sort of the Man U of that quaint colonial pasttime called baseball . . . ;)

They are sort of the Man U of that quaint colonial pasttime called baseball . . . ;)

Too true. Just like Man U they used to be great ...

You're welcome. I didn't hear a complaint from people I met from the lower deck and when we went for the engine room tour, you could hardly hear the engines before the door was opened. There are no cabins above the front or rear engines. Apart from housekeeping people, the rest of the crew go up from a staircase within their area and they come out one or two levels up, as per their work routine. By the time you hear pax walking past, it'll be time for you to be up anyway. We heard nothing from our room. You should check out the engine room video on my site, at least for the walking part to the rear engines.

 

You are more likely to hear people above your cabin if they decide to move stuff at night. We were on the top deck and could hear joggers on the Sun Deck - they were asked not to jog too early.

Hi Really sorry to butt in but it was good to read this post as we are on the lower deck of the Emerald on the 22 Oct - Imperial Jewels of China. Don't suppose there are any fellow passengers out there?:confused:

Hi Really sorry to butt in but it was good to read this post as we are on the lower deck of the Emerald on the 22 Oct - Imperial Jewels of China. Don't suppose there are any fellow passengers out there?:confused:

Lady Anne.There are roll calls for every trip but I haven't found anyone yet for our cruise date.There are nowhere near as many people who have cruised or are booked to cruise on Emerald, as other river cruisers.

Would love to read a review if you get time once you are home.:)

Hi Really sorry to butt in but it was good to read this post as we are on the lower deck of the Emerald on the 22 Oct - Imperial Jewels of China. Don't suppose there are any fellow passengers out there?:confused:

Lady Ann - I believe this thread is about Emerald Waterways not the Viking ship Emerald. If you're looking for a review you might want to do a search on here or use try this http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=641

Cheers

Emerald was formed to compete with AMA/Avalon markets. They are more inclusive than both of them but not by much.

I will be sailing on Emerald Star in November and I'll give comments on the differences between Scenic and Emerald Waterways, as I have experienced Scenic as well.

Emerald was formed to compete with AMA/Avalon markets. They are more inclusive than both of them but not by much.

 

I will be sailing on Emerald Star in November and I'll give comments on the differences between Scenic and Emerald Waterways, as I have experienced Scenic as well.

Thanks! That will be really helpful as there have been a number of threads asking about Emerald.

I will check the link out thanks.

quote=Rufusk;43975562]Lady Ann - I believe this thread is about Emerald Waterways not the Viking ship Emerald. If you're looking for a review you might want to do a search on here or use try this http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=641

Cheers

Ash

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your review and watching your video's from your cruise. I have a group of 10-12 doing the same cruise in July.

Two questions if I may?

Are there laundry facilities aboard the ship? Either self service of done by crew.

Was the day and a half spent in Budapest enough time to see all you wanted to see? We were considering adding another night after we depart the ship. Then over to Prague for another 4 nights.

There is a crew-operated laundry on board. There is a small clothesline in the shower for hand-washed things. Depending on your timing and luck, you may get on-ship credit that can cover laundry. We did not.

Re Budapest, if you are doing the Evergreen-organised Prague extension, you leave at 8 am on the second day, so you basically have a day. Luckily, this is the only day (AMS-BUD direction) when most of the day is organised for you.

People who joined the ship in BUD (to start a BUD-AMS cruise) told us they flew a few days earlier and stayed at their own expense to look around. The issue of tour extensions is a difficult one to resolve because you get one free flight per extension, e.g. Paris + Prague = 2 free flights. If cost is no objective, you would fly yourself and see the rest of Europe at your pace before taking just the cruise.

Very much enjoyed reading your review, Ash! Wonderful photos and informative details. Thank you! Looking forward even more now to our Danube Delights cruise in October.

We're on the Danube cruise on Emerald Star sailing from Nuremberg on 25 October 2014. I can't see a Roll Call for this cruise but I happened to see your post. Are we by any chance on the same cruise?

Andrew (and Sue)

London

DH and I just received our cruise package from Emerald. Though basic, the included backpack does have some handy features. Just curious, did others receive just one, as we did?

Thanks Ash. I think we will be doing Prague on our own. We did also get the $250 (US) OBC with our early bookings. This should cover the laundry and then some!!

We're on the Danube cruise on Emerald Star sailing from Nuremberg on 25 October 2014. I can't see a Roll Call for this cruise but I happened to see your post. Are we by any chance on the same cruise?

 

 

 

Andrew (and Sue)

 

London

Hi, Andrew and Sue

Sorry for this late reply but I didn't see your post until now. Hubby and I are on Emerald Sky, which departed Nuremberg on Oct 18. Our cruise ends in Budapest on Oct 25.

Having read the negatives about river cruising, I wasn't sure if I would like it but I am living it! The Danube Delights itinerary offers the chance to stay onboard as we sail during the day, which I prefer as opposed to being docked during the day. Our daytime cruise from Passau to Linz was beautiful, almost magical, with gorgeous scenery, swans gliding by, sightings of various birds all while enjoying a latte in the Horizon lounge or chatting with similarly entranced shipmates on the Sun Deck.

Tip: Our local guide in Passau, Rudi, kept us entertained with fun facts and good humor. He looked like Richard Haydn who played Uncle Max in The Sound of Music. This was a particularly fun coincidence because Passau is the stop where we can take a Salzburg tour that highlights The Sound of Music!

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"Loving it" not living it, even though that's true. 😁

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My husband and I just have done the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise on Emerald Star in September. I have lots of photos if there is any specific point of interest for anyone so can post. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise, the food, the ship and the crew. If anyone has any questions please ask away.

Drewlin, my DH and I are taking this exact itinerary next Sept 11 2015.

What hotels did you stay at pre & post stay, how was the weather and what were some of your favorite hi-lites???

Thanks!

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As we only live in UK we didn't stay at any hotel pre or post cruise and flew in and out on the day. Our return flight wasn't until 17.45 and although we had to vacate our cabin for 8.30 we were allowed to stay onboard until our transport to the airport at 14.15 which we found very helpful unlike ocean cruises where you have to be off the ship by 9.30 at the latest.

There were many high lights on this trip. The towns, castles, cathedrals and scenery are all stunning. I think it was the unexpected things that got me like the top lock ceremony. My husband and I wrote a daily blog on another UK forum and unfortunately I cannot name it but this is an except about this lock.

"The highest lock at Hipolstein is a rise of 82 feet. Having had the Sun Deck closed for 4 days due to the low bridges, They open it especially when we are in the lock and play rousing music like Orff’s Carmina Burrana – The Old Spice Tune to You and Me! A glass (or 3 of champagne) and we ascend silently to the top. The walls round all four sides feel immense. Truly impressive. Unfortunately, it is so dark that we have not managed a photograph." It was quite a surreal moment standing on the top deck with this rousing music slowly ascending.

I also loved the night sail at Budapest. It was only 45 minutes but to sail past all the beautiful building lit up to the music of Strauss was quite magical. This is a photo of the parliment building at night and was taken from our cabin balcony window.

The mirror room at the Prince Bishop's Residence at Wurzburg is breath taking and unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside but I am glad as I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. It is certainly not one to miss!

You will be blown away with all the beautiful towns and the guides are all local, speak excellent english and very knowledgeable. The guide at Regensberg was an American who lived there. The included excursions were great and they split the passengers into usually 5 groups (you decided yourself which group to go in) and group 5 was reserved for anyone who was more mobility challenged as it went at a slower pace and tried to avoid any steep inclines. I would recommend that you take comfortable sturdy shoes or trainers with a good grip as many of the streets are cobbled and if there has been any rain could be slippy plus you do a lot of walking over the 14 days! You need your stamina as it is at least an excursion a day.

There are lots of photos on my facebook page, roughly an album per destination if you want to look here is the link https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006687555539

Thank you! After reading some of your other posts I was able to figure out how to locate your blog. I'm really enjoying reading it! :)

How was your weather?

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Sorry forgot to mention the weather. It was mainly cloudy, we had occasional rain so take a light waterproof jacket although large umbrellas are provided by the ship to use. We found though it got warmer the further south we went and was quite pleasant especially for all the sight seeing. You have 2 large bottles of water in your cabin, replenished daily, so take a small water bottle or container and fill with this as I found having a drink available quite useful with all the walking.

Curious as to why you joined the ship on day 3 and missed Amsterdam completely?

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The company that run the forum offered the cruise as their roving reporters in exchange for doing the blog. We were extremely lucky to be chosen. The first two days were covered by their own staff so we joined at Cologne. We were more than happy to comply as we have been to Amsterdam and done most of the popular sights and canal cruise. We'd always wanted to do a river cruise down the Rhine, Main and Danube but, due to unforseen financal matters, would have been unable to afford it for some time.

Wow! You both are so lucky.... I am enjoying the blog a lot :)

I keep signing up for "Win a Free Cruise" sadly have not had any luck at all..... We are sailing with Avalon but all the companies are very similar so it's wonderful to read about your trip. I was hoping that we might actually have good weather but oh well!

Ok back to the blog :)

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Glad you're enjoying our blog as it is our first attempt at blogging and we thoroughly enjoyed it although it is very time consuming. The wifi on the ship was fine most of the time in our cabin (309) except when going through locks obviously. Some people on the lower deck and even the cabin 3 doors away complained about the lack of wifi but we had no problems. Another good place was in the pool area, we often did our blog there as there is a coffee machine there so could keep well hydrated.

The weather in Europe in September is quite unpredictable. It isn't usually very cold although can be showery and we have had heatwaves at this time of the year (we call them indian summers) so I'd suggest take layers to either put on or take off appropriately.