Emerald Cruises UK Reviews 

We have never been disappointed with our Emerald cruises - the varied and thoughtful programme, the quality of the food and wine, and the unfailing courtesy and helpfulness of the staff. Our recent Rhine cruise met all our expectations but, as always, the time went too quickly.

The cruise was put together well. Our guides were very knowledgable of the countries were visiting.
We found the home visit interesting.
One disappointment, we would like to have been advised that dinner was not provided at the hotel in Bucharest.

Great crew , great, wonderful scenery

Great experience. Very organised, strict timings for guided tours. Tour guides a bit hit and miss but generally informative and interesting. Less sailing on the river and more tours than expected. Food plentiful, cabin clean. Staff work vrry hard and are friendly and helpful.

Been with Emerald 4 times now and every trip has been superb. Catering, tours, facilities and staff top notch. Getting a bit expensive for my 5th to happen but we shall see

The staff were their usual friendly selves. Excellent food and wine. Good included excursions.

Our first cruise - and really enjoyed it.
Staff and organisation were excellent - and Chrissie was the icing on the cake.
Only thing we did not like was when we double or triple moored up - and therefore lost our view from 317
A very sociable vibe.

Great time, great staff. Looking forward to the next cruise.

This was our second Emerald cruise, this time on the Danube, and we were very happy with it. The staff were all great, friendly and helpful. The food was even better than on our Rhone cruise and the wine served with meals was very good and there was plenty of it. The room was comfortable and the excursions were all good, though the weather wasn't what we hoped for, but unfortunately Emerald can't control that!

The staff were excellent: welcoming and very accommodating The ship was well appointed
The food was delicious with the right amount of choice
The majority of tours were very good and cycling in the Wachau valley was one of the highlights
Sadly the only down side was the failure to organise our two and a half days in Budapest well The extra time in this city was one of the reasons for choosing this cruise Last minute changes to the planned timetable were annoying in the extreme The tour by night was very disappointing and the so called traditional evening was dreadful

On arrival at Schipol airport, it would've been beneficial to have had someone greet us at arrivals, as it's a big airport.
We missed the welcome drinks on board trying to locate the meeting point.
Also, the food in the evening was 'luke warm' at best, and this carried onto breakfast and lunch tbe following day.
I mentioned this to the manager who apologised, and this did improve, but sadly this was not what I had been accustomed to on previous Emerald cruises.
The excursions were rushed, for example the trip to the palace involved 3 hour return trip, yet only 2 hours to the visit the palace.
Hardly worth the price.
The evening entertainment was very amateurish, perhaps having a pianist on board would help?
This was the 5th Emerald cruise we have been on, and I'm sad to say it was not up to your usual standard.

Emerald needs to cater more for the majority not just the minority bike riders and trekkers. There were missed opportunities to see more of Vienna and Budapest, because of the mooring location, away from the centre. Food generally good but could be a bit samey at lunch time ( not helped by the Chinese who seemed to prefer taking handfuls of salad rather than using the tongs ). Must learn how to make tea properly - it should always be boiling water, not luke warm! Staff all exemplary .

The staff who were excellent!
Vessels are always kept in tip top condition which is
essential.

Great service, great tours, great food.

We could not fault this Danube cruise. The staff on the Emerald Star were amazing. Nothing was too much trouble. Excellent food, port talks, entertainment, cabin attendance and tour guides. My husband is on a low sodium diet and Dilip the restaurant manager and Ibrahim the executive chef met with him the first evening and every morning he was given the lunch and dinner menus from which he chose meals which were adjusted to his needs. Good 0% beers and 0% wines were also available. All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable cruise.

I enjoyed the glassier express, but I thought we didn’t have enough time on the trips that was arranged, but it seemed like we needed to get back in the afternoon for the trips that people paid extra for, the experience could’ve been a lot better.

Our first Emerald cruise and we couldn't fault it! It was excellent from start to finish. The guides and cruise director were very knowledgeable and made every excursion interesting. The staff on the Emerald Harmony were wonderful. We visited many organisations that had been set up to support the local people. Meeting these people was very special. We saw, experienced and learnt about so many new things. What more could you want of a holiday? We'd be more than happy to do the same holiday again.

The crew were outstanding in their service to us to give us the best possible experience. The local tour guides were fantastic. Three of the tours I did were with young professional women who were outstanding, and spoken English so good that it was hard to believe it wasn’t their mother tongue. The guide in Buda was terrific, a mum with a wonderful sense of humour.

On board the food and wine were delicious served by the most attentive, friendly and fun team. Our cabins really comfortable, plenty of room for lots of clothes, and the housekeeping team were also excellent. The reception team always super friendly and ready to help with anything. The information given by the Cruise Director every evening, who was wonderful was really interesting and helpful, also very amusing too! This is my 3rd cruise with Emerald, I would not consider any other organisation. Its’ work and sustainable ethics are excellent.

Standard of service ,standard of hospitality,quality of food. Selection of food. Daily trips and activities

Facilities were excellent