Just back, Emerald Waterways Splendours of Europe Amsterdam to Budapest. Review

Hi all,

We've just returned from our first River Cruise and knowing there was not a lot of information about Emerald Waterways I thought I'd give some information back about our experience.

We cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest on the Emerald Sun, embarkation was 4th May.

I have copied all the daily program sheets to a PDF and will include the link here

The daily sheet was left on our bed every evening during dinner as part of the evening turndown service. There was also a short Port talk every evening in the lounge before dinner where our cruise director went through the details for the following day and also discussed any upcoming Extra excursions. In the document I've also included the sheet of information we were given about the extra excursions. Finally on the last page you can see the cover of the 450 page guidebook that we received that covered all the sights from Amsterdam to Bucharest.

Arrivals: We had planned some of our own ( car) touring before the cruise and so did not use the free transfers from the airport. We were travelling with friends, some of whom were staying at the Emerald hotel in Amsterdam and they were provided with free transfers to the boat from the hotel.

Demographic: Our group of friends are all in their mid to late 50s. There were a few other groups/couples on the boat our age or younger, the average age of the majority of passengers seemed to be late 60s. Our cruise had a large proportion of Australians and Canadians, with a handful of people from the United Kingdom and America.

Cabin: We had a Panorama Balcony Suite on the top deck. These have a small strip of timber flooring near the window and a small coffee table and two chairs on it. They have the drop down window that gives you the effect of an "indoor Balcony" . We dropped this a few times and enjoyed the fresh air.I have nothing to compare the size to as I've never done any previous cruising, River or Ocean. The bed was very comfortable and the storage was plentiful and well designed. I found room for all our clothes and bits and pieces. We had heaps of coat hangers and were invited to ask for more if we needed them. We had bathrobes and really good slippers, I'm not sure if you get robes in all cabin classes though. The lighting in the cabin was good, and there were blockout and sheer blinds so you could still see out and retain your privacy ( useful when in dock or rafted with another boat)

Some people are happy with cabins on the lowest deck but personally we were glad we were on the top deck. Its on the same level as the lounge which was nice when getting to and fro within the boat.

Bathroom: The bathrooms are cosy but there was a large drawer under the sink and a wall cupboard for extra storage. The showers were a reasonable size, good water pressure and plenty of hot water, although the temperature of the water fluctuated a bit. Nice toiletries and plenty of them.

Cabin service: The cabins were serviced daily, the times varied a bit but were always finished by early afternoon. Every evening during dinner they would come to the room for turndown service, chocolates on the pillow, Next days activity sheet on the bed, fresh towels, blinds down and lights turned to low with the "fireplace" playing on the TV.

Lounge: The Horizon lounge was large, and had a really good mix of comfortable lounge seating as well as tables and chairs near the bar and towards the back. There was an excellent coffee machine which was available all day and night, we saw plenty of people going down in the pyjamas in the morning to grab and early morning coffee.

Pool Lounge: The pool and its lounge area ( Riverview Lounge) provided a nice alternative place to sit and relax. We swam a couple of times, the pool is small but it was a bit of fun swimming and watching the river go past. In fine weather they opened the roof top over the pool, but it was a bit cool for that on several days so the rooftop was closed most days. There is a coffee machine, and biscuits in this lounge. There was a phone from which you could call the main bar and have drinks brought down to the pool area if you wanted them.

Spa: I booked in for a massage one day and thoroughly enjoyed it in the small massage room.

Sun deck: We liked the artificial grass on the sundeck as well as the abundant tables chairs and sun lounges. There's a three hole put-put golf area and a tic-tac-toe area, both of which provide about 10 minutes worth of novelty. There is a walking track around the outside of the deck which was popular with those trying to keep their step count up! The one thing we found disappointing was that we had been unaware how many days the sundeck would be unavailable, at least 6 days it was blocked off. We understand the necessity of doing it but it was still disappointing on nice sunny days.

Restaurant: The Reflections Restaurant is on the middle deck. It was a large airey space with the 10 seat Captains table near the entry. Along the windows were a series of 2 seater tables, each one in close proximity to a table of 4. These could be pushed together to make tables of 6. There were also several round tables of 6 near the windows and, in at least one family group, this was able to seat 7 . IN the middle of the room were a number of round tables of 6 and about 6 rectangular tables of 4. We were a group of 8 and asked if it was OK to have two tables of 4 pushed together for us, the waiters were very happy to do this for us and after a few nights they just left the tables pushed together for us. The Captains table was used by the Captain and Owner Suite guests at the two special dinners but otherwise was available for anyone on other nights. The service was very good, the waiters came around frequently to refill wine glasses etc and we were welcome to take a full glass away with us to the lounge at the end of dinner. We became very friendly with the two young men who served our table each night.

Breakfast & lunch: You have two options for breakfast , the expansive buffet breakfast in the restaurant or a light breakfast in the lounge. We enjoyed both but preferred the light breakfast as the lounge was much more peaceful and it also prevented us from overeating! There is a bar table across the front of the boat, and this was set for breakfast each morning, we liked sitting here and watching the mornings on the river. You have the same two options for lunch. Again we mainly ate the light lunch because I'm not a fan of big restaurant buffets, too much noise and too much queuing!

Dinner: On the first night and the night of the Optional concert excursion in Vienna, dinner was a buffet. On the Welcome Dinner night and the Farewell Dinner there was a special 5 course menu. Every other night dinner was a 4 course meal served to the table. There was usually 2 choices for appetizer, soup, 3 choices for Main course ( always one meat, one fish and one vegetarian) and 4 choices for dessert ( generally a cake/torte/strudel etc, fresh fruit salad, a special ice cream dish and a cheese platter) It sounds like a lot but the actual serves were very small, so I had no difficulty eating 4 courses most nights. We noticed one table ordered an extra plate of chips every night. The food was always presented beautifully and was generally well cooked and tasty, however I would have to say that it was a little on the unexciting side when it comes to stronger flavours. The soups in particular had a tendency to be a bit bland.

Evenings: On 5 evenings they converted the pool area to a cinema and showed a movie. On these nights there was no entertainment in the lounge other than music by the resident musician ( who was very good). On 3 nights there was a trivia or game activity in the lounge, these were well organised and lots of fun. On one night the Crew put on a show and there was also a Disco Night which was very popular.

Daily activities: Every day there was a walking tour or , in Vienna and Budapest a bus tour with stops. They always had a "gentle walkers" group and on a couple of occasions an "active walkers" group. The guides varied but were generally interesting and informative. We found sometimes the walking tours were a bit slow and so we tended to break off and do our own thing.

Extra Excursions: My husband did the Brahaus tour which he thoroughly enjoyed. We also did the Schonnbrun Palace tour and the Evening concert in Vienna, the concert was one of the highlights of the trip for us. A couple of our friends did the Cesky Krumlov day trip and enjoyed it, we visited Cesky Krumlov after the cruise on our driving tour and also loved it. Three of our group did the Bike Ride in the Wachau Valley and enjoyed it, they are all fit and regular riders and had no problems but there were others that found it a bit too challenging.

Boat Bikes: The Bikes for the Organised bike tour were NOT the boat bikes, they were brought in specially for that tour. The boat bikes don't have gears and would not really be suitable for anything other than a gentle ride along flat ground.

Laundry: When you board there is a laundry bag and price list provided. Wait a few days and they will have a special offer that is worth using. As many clothes as you can cram in the bag, washed, ironed and folded for 24 Euro, or Washed and folded for 19 Euro.

Alcohol: We found the wine served at dinner was mostly fine. We didn't purchase any additional alcohol packages, just paid out of pocket for a pre dinner drink in the bar or in the lounge in the evenings if we wanted one. For us this was better value than any of the packages.

Hope that helps anyone looking for information. I'm happy to answer specific questions too.

Andona

Thanks for posting your review! As you noted, we don't have many for Emerald [yet], so this is most welcome.

Thank you for that detailed review. Grouping it into major points of interest gave me a clear perspective on what can8 be expected from Emerald. Very encouraging!

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Great review with lots of good information on Emerald. I really appreciate having the daily newsletters available to see how Emerald arranged the day.

Thanks!!

This was very helpful and informative, thank you! I'm going on my first ever river cruise in August so your review is very timely for me.

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Thanks for the great review!

The for the detail review and pdf file. I really helps when planning our first river cruise.

Did I miss this? What ship were you on? I know Emerald Waterways...

Did I miss this? What ship were you on? I know Emerald Waterways...

Back at the top it says Emerald Sun.

Happy to help! Yes we were on the Emerald Sun. I've realized a slight error in my review, there were 4 trivia/game nights not 3.

Also just to add a couple of points, the location for our Vienna concert was the KunstHistorisches Museum, just amazing arriving and walking up the grand staircases having the entire place to ourselves. The performance was excellent, a chamber orchestra with a tenor and soprano. We were told that the cruise line don't always get that venue however.

After the performance when we returned to the boat the chef had prepared a light supper of goulash soup and cheeses which was served in the Horizon lounge.

On the two special dinner nights , dinner was preceded by a small cocktail event in the lounge.

One other point was that , particularly in the first half of the cruise, between Amsterdam and Nuremberg we were docked in locations which required us to be bussed to the town for the walking tour. Although a couple of times the boat would then "catch up" with us and we could walk back to the boat afterwards. Eg this was the case in Rudesheim, Miltenberg-Wertheim, , Wurzburg

The places where the boat was docked right in the middle of the action So we could walk from and back to the ship were Amsterdam, Cologne, Regensburg, Passau, Linz , Durnstein and Bratislava.

In Bamberg, Nuremberg, Vienna and Budapest we needed to get shuttle buses to and from the boat. In Budapest the shuttle drop was at the Marriott Hotel on the riverfront.

In Budapest, we had time in the afternoon to take the first shuttle (2.30 pm) to the Marriott, walk to the Metro and catch it up to Szechenyi baths and then get back to the last shuttle (5.30) to get back to the boat . That was a lot of fun and I'd highly recommend it on a sunny day.

The evening sail along the river past the lit buildings in Budapest was another highlight.

Ancona

Thank you for a glimpse into life aboard an Emerald ship! I'll be on the Liberte in a month. Regarding the toiletries...do you remember if a body wash/shower gel was provided?

Thank you for a glimpse into life aboard an Emerald ship! I'll be on the Liberte in a month. Regarding the toiletries...do you remember if a body wash/shower gel was provided?

Yes, there was shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and soap provided. Topped up regularly when used. Hope that helps :)

Andona

thank you :) One less little liquid bottle going in my bag.

We'll be on EW the first time too from Bucharest to Budapest this mid-October. Like to know a bit more of:

- its WIFI connection

- wake-up call placement

- number of dining room server

- dance venue

Great information and review. Thanks for sharing.

We'll be on EW the first time too from Bucharest to Budapest this mid-October. Like to know a bit more of:

- its WIFI connection

- wake-up call placement

- number of dining room server

- dance venue

I can't speak specifically for Bucharest to Budapest but between Amsterdam and Budapest the WiFi was generally ok but did vary depending on your location. It tended to drop off in the locks and also in some remote areas along the river. It was its best when docked in towns and cities. My husband and I both managed to update our travel blogs every day and my husband was able to get some work done as well.

Sorry can't help with wake up calls as we didn't use it.

In the dining room the service was good. We had three waiters serving our table of 8 and they also served about four other tables of 6. We never felt like we had to wait too long, the wine was topped up regularLy. With Four courses and conversation our dinner usually took about two hours. However if you were a smaller table and didn't linger over dessert we noticed people leaving after say an hour and a half, probably less if you didn't have dessert.

Re dancing, there was a small dance floor in the lounge near the bar. It was used quite often by a few couples later in the evening on the nights when the evening's activities were finished. It was well used on the disco nights. The resident musician on our cruise was excellent, we enjoyed the music but didn't find it too loud or overpowering when you wanted to have a conversation or play card games etc.

Hope that helps

Andona

Thanks again for your insights, Andona.

One repeated comments is its very limited washroom sink & countertop space. Is it adequate for you two to share such?

And how effective is your cabin' black-out curtain when fully down in the morning?

Thanks again for your insights, Andona.

One repeated comments is its very limited washroom sink & countertop space. Is it adequate for you two to share such?

And how effective is your cabin' black-out curtain when fully down in the morning?

Yes, there isnt a lot of space on the sink itself, really only room for a couple of small items. However at the right immediately above the sink there was a set of about 4 shelves . On this there was a built in cup for toothbrushes. On these shelves I had plenty of room for my makeup and face creams etc, our deodorants, toothpaste and mouthwash and a few other items. Under the sink is a deep drawer in which I kept my hair care items, hair tongs, brushes etc as well as our two toiletries bags.

These items are all accessible as you stand at the sink.

On the opposite wall of the bathroom above the toilet is a mirrored cabinet with shelves. We kept additional items in there such as medications etc.

so, the bathroom is small but I thought they'd done a good job of maximizing the storage space on the Emerald Sun, I'm not sure if the bathrooms on all the boats are the same though?

I forgot to mention previously that built in to the main storage space in the room ( where the TV sits ) at the right hand side is a section of the bench top which opens up to reveal a mirrored back and storage that could be used for dressing table or desk items. There is a stool under the bench top and I sat on it to use the hairdryer, my husband used it when working on his laptop. The cabin's powerpoints are all at the right above this desk area, 4 of them. There was also a power point In the bathroom.

On the wall above the TV there was also a long shelf which came in handy for storing things like hats, cameras, scarves, etc.

There was a small nightstand on each side of the bed, with good reading lights . On one was a digital clock.

There were two hooks on the back of the cabin door on which we hung our raincoats and bathrobes.

In the wardrobe, as well as the bathrobes and slippers We found a large umbrella, two walking sticks , earplugs , shoe shine sponge and laundry bag.

The block out blinds were pretty good, there was probably a little light creeping in at the edges but not excessively. The sun was rising around 5 to 5.30 am when we were on the boat and we did not wake from too much light coming in.

Hope that helps

Andona

Thanks for the review. We are hoping to do a similar cruise on Emerald a year from Aug. One question: why was the sun deck closed on some days? Thanks

Thanks for the review. We are hoping to do a similar cruise on Emerald a year from Aug. One question: why was the sun deck closed on some days? Thanks

This isn't unique to Emerald. There are low bridges, so the wheelhouse needs to be lowered and the side railings on the sundeck brought down to deck level. When this happens they close the sundeck. I don't know how they decide whether to leave them down between bridges or bring them up and put them down again at the next bridge, but it takes time and effort, so they likely leave them down.

Andona, your devoted Q&A on Emerald experiences here earned you the Ambassador title, at least from me. Many thanks.

SO glad you posted this review with so much helpful information, Adonna! We'll be on a different Emerald Waterways ship very soon and I found the details you posted about many different aspects of your cabin, the activities, etc. most interesting. I assume some things are done the same way on other Emerald ships. (Hope so, anyway!)

One question I have is regarding the dress on board. Particularly with regard to how "dressy" most people dressed on whichever night is considered the Capt's. Dinner or or some such title. I have seen posts where past passengers mention all nights were quite informal, with most tending towards the same type of dress one usually sees called "casual chic" on non-formal nights on ocean cruises. A couple of people even stated they wore the same clothing to dinner that they wore on their daytime excursion. Having dressed up for way too many formal nights for years on ocean cruises, and not wanting to drag along special shoes and accessories (or even a suit or jacket for my husband for a formal night), I hope attire for most wasn't really all that "dressy". I have a feeling dress actually may differ just a bit from line to line so would really like to get your take on this.

Thanks again for posting!

 

One question I have is regarding the dress on board. Particularly with regard to how "dressy" most people dressed on whichever night is considered the Capt's. Dinner or or some such title. I have seen posts where past passengers mention all nights were quite informal, with most tending towards the same type of dress one usually sees called "casual chic" on non-formal nights on ocean cruises. A couple of people even stated they wore the same clothing to dinner that they wore on their daytime excursion. Having dressed up for way too many formal nights for years on ocean cruises, and not wanting to drag along special shoes and accessories (or even a suit or jacket for my husband for a formal night), I hope attire for most wasn't really all that "dressy". I have a feeling dress actually may differ just a bit from line to line so would really like to get your take on this.

 

Thanks again for posting!

Happy to help! We also wrestled prior to the cruise with the "dress code" question.

On most nights there was a mix from a few fairly casual people to "casual chic". Generally the majority of people changed for dinner but for most nights that just meant a collared shirt and trousers or jeans for the men and nice trousers/pretty top for the ladies , or on the warmer days there were some sundresses worn. On the two specials nights the majority of women wore some blingy jewelry or dressier top and some of the men wore jackets ( but a minority, I'd say only about a dozen?)

I only took a couple of "dressy" tops and On several evenings I just dressed up a nice t shirt with a pretty silky scarf or a colorful necklace. ( I took a few scarves, they weigh next to nothing and were a great way to change the look from day-to-night with my shirts) I took a couple of pairs of trousers that I rotated for dinners but also wore nice jeans a couple of nights.

I did take heels but only wore them once, mostly I wore a pair of pretty flat shoes, much more comfortable!

Hope that helps :)

Andona

Andona, your devoted Q&A on Emerald experiences here earned you the Ambassador title, at least from me. Many thanks.

Thanks! Very happy to help :)

Andona

Thank you so very very much, Adonna! I am in the process of packing and as usual, it is a situation where I look at the pile and figure I need to cut it in half but maybe only cut it by a couple of things. This is going to help a lot for both my husband and myself. I will try to pay it forward!