Just returned from 15 day Emerald cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. I can’t say enough about how great this Emerald cruise was. Food amazing. Wines amazing. Staff amazing. They couldn’t do enough for myself and other guests. No hesitation recommending Emerald.
How were the portions of food during dinner service? We're looking at Emerald vs Scenic and one of the knocks on Scenic is that the chef seems more interested in creating little pretty dishes that aren't very filling.
@@dougboone9080 we found the portions enough that we weren’t hungry in the night. At supper we were always able to order multiple appetizers, an extra salad etc. it’s certainly not like a large cruise ship where the food portions are huge. Breakfast there was a buffet with omelet bar. More than enough food to last for lunch. Lunch was a buffet and order from a good menu. Supper was menu only.
Excellent information. In fact some of the "cons" are actually "pros" for us, so thanks very much. We have looked deeply into Emerald, pricing and schedule, and was wondering if you could recommend another river cruise line that is just a noch below. We'd like to save some money over the Emerald prices, but would not want to give up too much of what Emerald offers. Thanks again.
Both Emerald and Scenic are Aussie based companies. Food is on the bland side, portion ok but not as huge as you find in mid west of the US. I wish they hire a better chef as when we were on the Sun Starship may be 5 or so years ago, the Chef was Indian and cooking was a bit hard to appreciate. Most probably he can do hot and spicy but not regular type.
Have booked a double cruise in 2018. Portugal and south of France. Have only done a cruise with UNIWORLD before so am interested to see the difference. So far it only seems to be the drinks outside of meals that is different . I'm not bothered about the more minimalist decor as it suits me.. just curious, the bathrooms seem compact with little shelving , but is there a cupboard behind the mirrors on the wall in the bathroom?
In answer to my own question. Yes there are shelves behind the mirrored wall ( and a shelf in the shower. Both fabulous cruises with great destinations.
So, they only include the walking tours? I have booked for Eastern Europe with Emerald next June and have wrongly presumed the Plus tours were included. We have been with Avalon who do a similar thing and give you the hard sales once on board for the optional tours . We would never sail with Avalon again due to the high price of the optional tours once on board and the way the tour directors push these probably due to the comission aspect. APT and Viking we find are both excellent at what they do and highly recommended and one of the many things is because all their tours are included. I have my doubts about Emerald now due to this latest information or are my worries unjustified?
+paul webster Paul, I don't think you need to worry about the range of included tours for the Eastern Europe trip. While they are walking tour based they were pretty diverse and interesting and there was no hard sell on Plus tours and from what I remember there were very few of them. We went to a big range of places and experiences including things like the Hungarian Putzsa horse show. So they are not all just straight walking tours. I didn't feel the need to buy any Plus tours on the trip as felt the included ones had enough variety and quality. Hope that helps? I had a great time on Emerald and found the service good and no hard sell at all on anything.
Just returned from 15 day Emerald cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. I can’t say enough about how great this Emerald cruise was. Food amazing. Wines amazing. Staff amazing. They couldn’t do enough for myself and other guests. No hesitation recommending Emerald.
How were the portions of food during dinner service? We're looking at Emerald vs Scenic and one of the knocks on Scenic is that the chef seems more interested in creating little pretty dishes that aren't very filling.
@@dougboone9080 we found the portions enough that we weren’t hungry in the night. At supper we were always able to order multiple appetizers, an extra salad etc. it’s certainly not like a large cruise ship where the food portions are huge. Breakfast there was a buffet with omelet bar. More than enough food to last for lunch. Lunch was a buffet and order from a good menu. Supper was menu only.
I was thinking about taking this particular cruise until I watched the video. Now I know it's not the one for me. Great job Gary, and thank you.
Just booked my first river cruise, so good information, helpful
I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Great job Gary. Very helpful in our decision making process!
The pool has a current, so you can do swim exercise.
Very cute swimming pool! It feels nice to immerse yourself into hot bubbling waters amidst the chilly weather!
Agree!!!
Do they have banya - sauna on board?
@@petrfrizen6078 no sauna onboard
Thanks!
Thank you Gary. Good job with this review. I will be subscribing.
Great information, thanks 😊
Excellent information. In fact some of the "cons" are actually "pros" for us, so thanks very much. We have looked deeply into Emerald, pricing and schedule, and was wondering if you could recommend another river cruise line that is just a noch below. We'd like to save some money over the Emerald prices, but would not want to give up too much of what Emerald offers. Thanks again.
uni world, Scenic
Very informative
Wish I work with Avalon soon
Both Emerald and Scenic are Aussie based companies. Food is on the bland side, portion ok but not as huge as you find in mid west of the US. I wish they hire a better chef as when we were on the Sun Starship may be 5 or so years ago, the Chef was Indian and cooking was a bit hard to appreciate. Most probably he can do hot and spicy but not regular type.
The "cons" listed are actually pros 😂
Gary one quick question: I end my cruise in Budapest, what is the most convenient way to get to Croatia and then do island hoping.
Have booked a double cruise in 2018. Portugal and south of France.
Have only done a cruise with UNIWORLD before so am interested to see the difference. So far it only seems to be the drinks outside of meals that is different . I'm not bothered about the more minimalist decor as it suits me..
just curious, the bathrooms seem compact with little shelving , but is there a cupboard behind the mirrors on the wall in the bathroom?
In answer to my own question. Yes there are shelves behind the mirrored wall ( and a shelf in the shower.
Both fabulous cruises with great destinations.
So, they only include the walking tours? I have booked for Eastern Europe with Emerald next June and have wrongly presumed the Plus tours were included. We have been with Avalon who do a similar thing and give you the hard sales once on board for the optional tours . We would never sail with Avalon again due to the high price of the optional tours once on board and the way the tour directors push these probably due to the comission aspect. APT and Viking we find are both excellent at what they do and highly recommended and one of the many things is because all their tours are included. I have my doubts about Emerald now due to this latest information or are my worries unjustified?
+paul webster Paul, I don't think you need to worry about the range of included tours for the Eastern Europe trip. While they are walking tour based they were pretty diverse and interesting and there was no hard sell on Plus tours and from what I remember there were very few of them. We went to a big range of places and experiences including things like the Hungarian Putzsa horse show. So they are not all just straight walking tours. I didn't feel the need to buy any Plus tours on the trip as felt the included ones had enough variety and quality. Hope that helps? I had a great time on Emerald and found the service good and no hard sell at all on anything.
We some excursions that required a bus to get us to the destination.. Depends on where you are ( and which river)
Seems like the ebook link no longer works
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll look at that and fix !
@@tipsfortravellers Thanks for the reply Gary. I really appreciate your videos. I find them extremely helpful.
too bad I had to cancel this years cruise because of the virus. Not interested in getting sick or being quarantined. I will be back next year
We got COVID during our cruise. Amounted to a cough and a little tired. No quarantine or isolation.