Emerald Cruises UK Avis 

Enjoyed trip but below standard set from previous trip 2 years ago

It's always a good start when things go right from the beginning.
Flight bang on time and a greeter to meet us at Athens airport.
Its a long way from the airport to the Yacht moored at Piraeus but the taxi driver had the footy on his phone which he handed to us in the back.
We arrived at the port to be greeted by the Emerald staff and escorted to the Yacht ( we were reminded several times during the voyage by the captain (and crew) that it is not a boat or a ship but a Yacht).

The crew were so helpful from the start and nothing was a problem.
The Captain had a very good relationship with the crew "happy crew happy ship".
No need to bring a Tux or the like it's very informal and easy going even in the restaurant at night shorts and Tee Shirts were ok.
There were only 37 of us on board so that's approx 1 crew member to 2 passengers.
The food on board was excellent and for someone who's diet consists of beans and baked potatoes (well you know what I mean) it was quite a culinary adventure.
As sometimes I don't sleep to well I asked the Purser if could walk the decks at night better than that, he suggested I go on the bridge and keep the bridge officer company. Disappointed not to see a big wheel but a computer joy stick.

Great first night spent with Canadians, Belgians, Aussies and us Brits what a hoot danced the night away to live music.
There was always some entertainment laid on at night. Usually live music or quizzes etc.

I think we had good weather for November hot enough for me anyway.
It would be to hot to go in high summer.
There were tours every day laid on to see ruins and temples or you could just while the time away sightseeing on your own.
if you couldn't be bothered to walk there was always transport provided.

Day 1:
Nafplion Greece.
Woken up to the sight of Nafplion and a thunder storm still went out and got drenched. Back out in the afternoon to to test the local brew.
Never seen so many cats.

Day 2:
Chania Greece.
Arrived in Chania via Sodor due to sea swell not allowing us to dock or use the tender.
Bus laid on the get us to Chania.
Chania a lovely little town.
Like so many of old towns a network of narrow streets with all sorts of independent shops.
More cats.

Day 3:
Gythio Greece.
On leaving the Yacht, turn right into the old town.
Houses built into shear rock face(take your life into your hands climbing up there).
Turn left for all of the restaurants every kind of fish available.
A good walk further on to the old museum great beer and views.
More cats.

Day 4:
Githio Mani Peninsula
Githio was the ancient sea port of Sparta.
There is a small island of the coast called Cranae where legend has it Paris and Helen of Troy spent their first night before going off to the the Trojan War.
Some lovely alleyways cut into the rock face.

Day 5:
Sea day charge batteries.

Day 6:
Giardini Naxos Sicilia Italy.
Transfer to Taomina 20 mins of hair raising switchback roads well worth the journey.
A maze of tiny alleyways that eventually open up to a town square.
Back to the Yacht for dinner.
Local Taomina folk group entertained us on board. Had us up and showed us how to do the local dances what a hoot.
Stayed up to late.

Day7:
Syracuse Italy.
Another quaint town quite big.
As you leave the port you turn right and it takes you to the old town with ruined buildings.
a great market with fruit, fish and all sorts of brick-a-brack.
Walking back to the port and you are in the newer part of the town.
More expensive shops and pavement cafes .
Loads of Churches and Cathedrals as you would imagine.

Day 8:
Gozo.
Quite a long walk from the port to the town and we were hounded by an old guy in a taxi who was determined to be our best friend eventually we gave in and for 100 euros (between 4 of us) gave us a tour of Gozo we would never have seen.
Money well spent.
They drive on the left (presumably due to our wartime connections) Red telephone boxes and Post boxes. All of the road signs are like back home but the architecture and the weather is not.

Day9:
Porto Empedocle Sicily Italy.
Quite a long walk to the Centre so took a taxi.
Most shops closed as end of their season.
stopped for customary refreshment and back on board by 16.30.
We were entertained tonight by a man an woman opera duet they were amazing only wish I had recorded them.

Day 10:
Awoke to the delights of Valetta Malta.
a somewhat difficult place to get to from the port so there is a lift attached to the cliff face which takes you to the town.
Pity we only had one day there.
We arrived at the same time a Viking ship docked and 4,500 Danes disembarked.
Our yacht with 37 people on board looked like one of their tenders.

Overall we had a great time on board. Our cabin was 5 star and it was tidied every day (not by us).
The crew were fantastic they knew our names from the first day, new our likes and dislikes in a couple of days.
I think the crew helped to make to voyage so much more enjoyable.
That's it no more room.

Friendly, happiest crew made our trip wonderfully enjoyable, on top of the good food /drink and shore trips.

Having been on both the Emerald Sakara and Scenic Eclipse within 6 months, comparisons between them are inevitable. As both yachts are owned by Scenic there are many similarities particularly in service, accommodation and general excellent quality food & refreshments.
The Sakara being a smaller yacht, with only 50 cabins, allowed for many advantages such as getting close in to sandy coves for beach BBQs on very small islands and a greater opportunity to use its collection of water sport toys like kayaks, paddle boards and amazing Seabobs.
Having much more space, the Eclipse's 6 speciality restaurants offered a much greater choice for evening meals compared to the Sakara's single restaurant. There is also a theatre on the larger yacht, although the entertainment provided in Sakara's lounge was equally enjoyable and had a brighter décor in contrast to the rather drab greys in the Eclipse lounge. Surprisingly the smaller yacht had a larger on-deck jacuzzi, and even a small swimming pool which was missing entirely on the larger ship. Shouldn't really be a surprise as the Ellipse is clearly designed for operation in polar climates.
Having visited several Caribbean islands before, we saw the non-inclusive excursions as a cost saving benefit.
I would have rated this cruise as 5* were it not for the lack of attention to the whole disembarkation process.
Clearly for operational reasons the ship needs its guests to depart ASAP. However when the return flights (arranged by Emerald) are 8hrs later it's unreasonable to expect their guests to sit outside the terminal with their luggage for many hours before check-in opens. Other cruise lines arrange for accommodation with facilities for this wait why can't Emerald?
In conclusion a truly wonderful cruise but poor attention to transfer logistics will probably put me off repeating.

All went well until the last morning when I had to leave early for my flight. On the previous evening I had been told that a good continental breakfast would be available but in the event, along with others, I was given a box with a sandwich to which I was allergic, a dry biscuit & juice. We all thought this was disgusting and spoilt the experience.

Lovely cruise
Fantastic staff
Beautiful scenery
Amazing food

We enjoyed a 9/10 experience with Emerald.

Nearly perfect, but some niggles which took the shine off the otherwise exceptional holiday.

We were encouraged to complete an online satisfaction survey before leaving the vessel and within a time limited link which we did, but were quite surprised not to get a follow up considering the issues we raised around health and safety. We’ll see if this review provokes a call from Emerald!

Positives - Port calls were idyllic and off the beaten cruise track. Food and beverages were excellent. Staff wholly attentive and personable - the yacht’s greatest asset in our opinion. A true ‘super yacht’ experience at an affordable price point. Standard balcony cabin was spacious, well designed and super comfortable. Outside decks fabulous to relax on with plenty of space and never felt crowded.

Advise to research ports beforehand to get the most out of the time ashore as not much information given onboard. Not suitable for those with mobility issues or frailty due to most transfers ashore by tender or zodiac which can be challenging and weather dependent. Also some heavy doors out onto decks.

Entertainment was ridiculous, very amateur, poor and quite frankley, stupid!
Food ok
Staff good
Would I go again? NO!

I contacted Emerald to arrange to bring my husbands mobility scooter on our Douro cruise. They booked this in with the airlines and explained what we could and couldn't do on the ship. When we arrived to board the Emerald Radiance we found that they had upgraded us to a more suitable cabin. The crew couldn't have been more helpful in helping with mobility issues. Thank you for making our holiday exceptional.

I had a nice experience with Emerald cruise and I recommend, if you want to make a river cruise into Europe!

A fantastic journey well organised from start to finish would definitely recommend this holiday to Asia a trip of a lifetime to remember, Hanoi ,Ha long bay, Saigon and Cambodia, then on to Singapore to finish the trip.

Very well organised with interesting and informative trips. Both hotels and cruise ship were excellent including both rooms/cabins and food. The staff on the cruise ship were first rate and ensured that the cruise was memorable and enjoyable.

Terrible experience. Poor communications. Did not get to most of the ports advertised.. food was excellent as was the staffing in the bar.

It was fantastic from the moment we boarded the ship, staff were amazing and food magical.

Very well organised from start to finish.Beautiful panoramic cabin,fantastic food and service.Felt special

Excellent experience
Ship modern clean
Cabins very pleasant appointed
Dining room and bar area bright and modern
Crew on board highly trained , very knowledgeable, polite and friendly
Food
Breakfast good buffet
Dining experience superb fine dining each night and wine was complemented with each meal

Excellent from start to finish.Panoramic cabin ,food,drinks,service all great.Will definitely book again.

A wonderful adventure along the Douro on a beautiful and very comfortable boat. Great food and wine and helpful attentive staff.

A truly fantastic and memorable trip down the river Danube - one, just like our previous trip with Emerald on the Rhine, we’ll be talking about for years to come.
My wife and I were very sad to leave ‘our floating home’ at the end of the cruise, but very glad of the memories we’d made.
Thank you Emerald - we’ll be back😎