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Travel tales of an empty nester
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Home  >  Blog  >  Our Rhine Cruise with Emerald Waterways: the ship

Our Rhine Cruise with Emerald Waterways: the ship

Trish Burgess Posted on05/10/201510/08/2016 Amsterdam, Cruise, Germany 11 Comments
Dougie in front of Emerald Star

For years I’ve wanted to try out a river cruise. Dougie and I promised ourselves that once Rory was at university, we would definitely give it a try. Whilst we we pondering which cruise company and which river to choose, an opportunity arose to review a Rhine cruise with Emerald Waterways for Cruise International magazine. We took our cruise in June this year and my review has been published in the October/November issue of the magazine. You can buy a glossy copy at most branches of WH Smiths or have a look at my review online: Emerald Star sails on the Rhine.


Naturally, I couldn’t resist sharing more about the cruise on my blog so over the next few weeks I’ll tell you more about our trip. Let’s start with the ship itself:

Emerald Waterways is a new cruise line, a subsidiary of Australian-based Scenic Tours. Launched in 2014 its luxury Star-Ships are chic and luxurious. Our ship, Emerald Star, exuded style and comfort when we spotted it for the first time berthed in Amsterdam: sleek and glistening in the hot June sunshine.

On board it was appealing because of its clean lines and contemporary colours: an upmarket boutique hotel on the water: nothing old-fashioned or staid. The reception area was flooded with light, the lounge was airy with plenty of seating and Reflections Restaurant always looked pristine and welcoming.

emerald waterways lobby
Lobby and stairwell of Emerald Star

Outside, the sun deck was vast with lots of chairs, canopies and a running/walking track. The Terrace was the perfect spot for a morning coffee or post postprandial tipple and, best of all, at the other end (the aft) a swimming pool under a retractable roof. The unique selling point of the pool is the way the floor is raised in the evening to transform into a cinema with popcorn and padded headphones provided for that perfect movie experience.

Poolside loungers, sun deck games and deck chairs

Most of the rooms on an Emerald ship benefit from a clever indoor balcony system where the upper half of the floor-to-ceiling windows can be lowered to waist height, bringing the air in and allowing guests to gaze out at the passing scenery. We had a fabulous Grand Balcony suite, decorated in light shades of cream and grey. I was most surprised by the storage facilities: a decent-sized wardrobe, deep drawers and hidden mirrored shelves in the bathroom. Add to that a large TV, bottles of water, fabulously comfortable bed and free WiFi and we were very happy cruisers.

Grand Balcony suite

All meals are included in the cruise, with complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks for lunch and dinner. Help yourself to coffee and biscuits at any other time of the day. The food was excellent: substantial buffet provision for breakfast and lunch and a more civilised table service at dinner. You can sit where you like so we usually chose a table for two by the window although often got chatting to passengers in the tables of four nearby. The dress code is pretty casual and even at dinner ties aren’t required for men.

Dessert station for lunch; pudding for dinner

What else have I forgotten? A small library, gift shop, hairdresser, wellness room and fitness area. But I’m leaving the best ’til last – the people. The staff were a joy: efficient, smart, obliging and full of good humour. Our fellow passengers were a delight: mostly from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the camaraderie amongst everyone was astonishing. This is obviously why people return to river cruising once they have tried it; it is far more intimate than an ocean cruise so friendships are made easily.

Cheers!

I’ll go into more detail about the itinerary in future posts but, for now, I hope the photos of the ship will whet your appetite.



Our Rhine Cruise: The Rhine-Main Discovery Tour, was commissioned by Cruise International magazine. Dougie and I were guests of Emerald Waterways. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own. 

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11 Comments

  1. Harriet Reply
    05/10/2015 at 10:12 pm

    It sounds lovely but the bit that got me is Rory's at university??!!!

    I've not been around much lately and now I'm back am feeling rather at sea (or on the Rhine). Anyway really I'm back to have a nosey around and find out what everyone's been up to and also to say that Iota tagged me in a very old fashioned style blogging award (which is what got me putting fingers to keyboard) and so I have tagged you. Only if you want to mind…

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/10/2015 at 10:34 am

      Yes, he is!

      Have emailed you with all the chat x

  2. Mums do travel Reply
    06/10/2015 at 7:09 am

    It all looks wonderful on board and I'm looking forward to reading about where you went and what you saw on the cruise.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/10/2015 at 10:35 am

      I'm about to start now – Amsterdam and Cologne coming up.

  3. Sarah Reply
    06/10/2015 at 7:42 am

    We are tempted by a river cruise too, after seeing the Viking ads on tele and all the boats moored at Avignon when my DB was living there. It's a hot spot for river cruise ships. 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      07/10/2015 at 10:39 am

      There seems to have been a real boom in river cruising over the last couple of years – all the big companies have added to their fleet and introduced new itineraries.
      Definitely worth considering – we were among the youngest passengers on the ship but this seems to be changing and the marketing towards younger guests should help to bring the age down a bit. Having said that, the other passengers were a hoot – such good fun, full of stories, always finding the wine bars and pubs when on excursions.

  4. BavarianSojourn Reply
    07/10/2015 at 12:16 pm

    And you had the BEST weather for it too didn't you? As you can imagine I have seen plenty of those boats on my travels around and about the area, and I have always wanted to see inside! Thank you for doing the honours for me! (:

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      15/10/2015 at 9:44 am

      It was just like the weather we had in Austria two years ago – blistering. Thank the lord for air conditioning.
      There are some great 360 degree views of the ship and its suites on the Emerald Waterways website – worth checking out if you want to see more of the interiors.

  5. Christine Mosler Reply
    13/10/2015 at 12:29 pm

    I think a river cruise is a brilliant way to visit destinations and those loungers look like a very comfortable way to get there!

  6. Travel Loving Family Reply
    08/12/2015 at 10:35 am

    Wow the Emerald Star looks and sounds incredible. I have never been on a specialised river cruise but I worked onboard P&O Cruises for three years and still miss the lifestyle now:) I look forward to reading more about your first cruise experience

  7. Pingback: River cruising revolution with U by Uniworld - Mum's Gone To ...

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