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


Andona
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Thank you so much for starting this thread Andona and to all others who have contributed to this. Has been very helpful with all of the added links for planning our May 2019 river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. Nice to hear that the evenings aren't too "dressy". As we will be away for 8 weeks, are looking at the "E" class cabins and wonder if anyone has stayed there, what they thought and if any of the "E" cabins are better than the others or would "D" cabins be worth the extra money.

 

Thanks.

 

FYI - additional information for those considering Emerald and this itinerary.

 

This was our first river cruise after many ocean cruises because we wanted to visit central Europe and to experience the difference of a river cruise. The cruise was 14 nights from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

We flew to Amsterdam to tour for 2 days prior to the cruise and I would recommend others to arrive at the embarkation city a few days in advance to adjust to jet lag as well as to enjoy the city.

 

 

We chose Emerald because of their full itinerary.

 

 

The embarkation process was as easy as could be, it took no more then 3 minutes to get our room keys. We choose Emerald because their ships are at most 2 years old, they visited all the towns we wanted to see, their pricing was significantly less than their competitors, they had an included excursion at every port, all staff gratuities were included as well as airport or hotel transfers.

 

 

The ship's interior was very contemporary, lots of glass and chrome decor and wrap around windows in the lounge and dining room making it easy to have an uninterrupted view of the scenery. Our cabin was well designed with plenty of storage in the cabin and bathroom. The exterior wall was all glass to maximize viewing whereby you could lower the top half of the glass wall when weather permitted.

 

 

Dining:

Breakfast was always a large, varied buffet accompanied with made to order eggs and omelets. There was every sort of cereal, yogurt, deli meats and cheeses, breakfast meats and baked goods. Everything was of high quality and tasty.

Lunch was also always a large, varied buffet and once again everything was of high quality and very tasty. Many lunch items were regionally oriented.

Dinner was sit down served by waiters with a different menu every day and comprised of a choice of appetizers, a delicious soup of the day, choice of 3 entrees and 2 desserts.

Overall the dinners were more creative than found on ocean cruise ships and it was plated with an artist's eye for color and flair.

 

 

Included daily excursions were conducted by professional local guides that spoke perfect English, were well worth the time and were informative.

 

 

On board extra activities included local talent and demonstrations - ie. a glass blower, an Ompha band, zither player, dancers, etc.

 

 

Our cruise director Jana was a GEM! She was as pleasant as could be and arranged for a MD to come aboard to treat a few of us for colds. She even went to the pharmacy in port to pick up the prescriptions the MD ordered. NOW, that is service!

The rest of the staff did their best to please the passengers.

 

 

We can strongly recommend Emerald to anyone who want to experience a river cruise.

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
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.

Andona, thanks for such an informative review! DH and I will be on the Classic Rhine cruise starting in Amsterdam next month. Where did the Emerald Sun dock? How did you get to the ship? We will be at the Kimpton Hotel.

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With regard to the question posted above by JRice, lI am sure this is too late, but perhaps someone else would be interested in the answer. My husband and I stayed on the lowest level of the Emerald Destiny on a Jewels of the Rhine cruise last June. (These are nicknamed “aquarium cabins”.) The lower edge of the windows of our cabin were situated high, at perhaps nose level for me, about 2 feet above the water. ( I am 5‘5“ .) I feared I was really going to be creeped out in that type of cabin, but actually both of us ended up liking it! For one thing, when our ship had to tie up against another ship – I believe they call that stacking and all ships end up doing it at some places along the Rhine and other busy rivers – the boat next to you is docked very very close. Again maybe a distance of 2 feet. So anyone on that side of the boat with a large window or balcony pretty much had to keep their curtains closed until the ship was back on the river cruising. It is not that I wouldn’t probably enjoy a balcony, but the cost difference made us appreciate our own cabin much more. I did a lot of research before booking with Emerald and would highly recommend that line to anyone.

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I'm really sorry but I don't remember what the drinks packages cost. We just paid out of pocket for extra cocktails , bubbly and beer etc.

 

Andona

 

 

The basic drink package that included wine and draft beer was 11 Euros a day. Well worth it if you have a few before dinner and after. Much more reasonable than an ocean cruise

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With regard to the question posted above by JRice, lI am sure this is too late, but perhaps someone else would be interested in the answer. My husband and I stayed on the lowest level of the Emerald Destiny on a Jewels of the Rhine cruise last June. (These are nicknamed “aquarium cabins”.) The lower edge of the windows of our cabin were situated high, at perhaps nose level for me, about 2 feet above the water. ( I am 5‘5“ .) I feared I was really going to be creeped out in that type of cabin, but actually both of us ended up liking it! For one thing, when our ship had to tie up against another ship – I believe they call that stacking and all ships end up doing it at some places along the Rhine and other busy rivers – the boat next to you is docked very very close. Again maybe a distance of 2 feet. So anyone on that side of the boat with a large window or balcony pretty much had to keep their curtains closed until the ship was back on the river cruising. It is not that I wouldn’t probably enjoy a balcony, but the cost difference made us appreciate our own cabin much more. I did a lot of research before booking with Emerald and would highly recommend that line to anyone.

Thanks for the info! It may be too late for JRice, but the timing is perfect for us!

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