LTC

Go to the Emerald website and at the top on the left you'll see River. Click on it and you'll see River Experience and under that is DiscoveMore Excursions.

8 minutes ago, monakayk said:

My husband and I are going on a Rhine River Cruise with Emerald Cruise Line in April 2025. We understand that excursions are included with our cruise, however there are some options that we can pay for for additional excursions at certain ports. I have been on the Emerald Cruise Line website and cannot find in my booking where I can see excursions listed that I could possibly book. Could anyone please explain to me where the Excursion area is located so that I might be able to review the excursions and book some before the cruise online.

 

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Those are the Discover More excursions, they are on most cruises however not on all. Have been on 6 Emerald cruises and if there were any Discover More excursions on your cruise, they should show up on your booking info that you've received. You don't need to book these before hand as there's a info session on these excursions...if there are any on your cruise...during the cruise and you can book them then.

I know you'll enjoy the cruise! Hope Ben, a activity manager is on your cruise. He's super! Have a great time!

Have been on 6 Emerald cruises and have enjoyed their food. Sorry, don't have any photos of the menus. They do have "always available" options. Have also been on AMA 6 times and have found Emerald's food very comparable and at times better than AMA's.

We've been on Emerald a number of times and once there was a group...I think they just met onboard, they didn't come on as a group... of 9 or 10. Can't remember the name of the ship but I think they spoke to the restaurant manager about sitting together and towards the back of the restaurant they put the tables together to accommodate them. I don't think you'll have any problems with the 8 of you sitting together.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise. Looks fantastic. 

Has anybody flown in Condor Airlines Business class in the last while? I heard they updated their business class seats and experience but a lot of reviews still say to stay away from them. Their fare is very good but maybe you get what you pay for.

My husband and I took an AMA Egypt river cruise doing the pre tour of Jordan in November/2023. A few people cancelled the pre tour and cruise but still the tour was about 90% full. We talked about cancelling but then decided to go ahead and glad that we did. Once we got to Jordan, all our concerns went away and Egypt was the same. The people were very welcoming and friendly, tourism has greatly declined and no matter if we were in a restaurant, hotel, tours etc everyone made us feel very welcome. The first day in Jordan, all our concerns about safety were forgotten as were others that we talked to on the tour and cruise. In fact the group all felt bad for the people who cancelled their trip. There was not one moment in the whole trip where we felt concerned about our safety. I would have no hesitation going back. However, it's how you feel. If you have concerns about safety and wouldn't enjoy the trip, don't do it. In my experience it was fine and we felt safe but others may not feel like that.

Hi Kiwifruit,

Thanks for your wonderful critique, I found it very helpful. Have cruised with Celebrity before and we're thinking of trying an Azamara cruise but don't really know what to expect on one. This has helped a great deal!

9 hours ago, jmc27 said:

Hi - we are booked on the Grand Tour in Jan def a bucket list for us!

we have received our final documents and it states that dress code for dinner is collared shirt and long trousers for men, is this correct? We thought it would be much more casual. TIA and Merry Christmas everyone.

We were on the Emerald 18 day in March. I can't remember too many people wearing anything but very casual clothes for dinner. Many men just wore T-shirts and longer casual pants ie travel pants. There may have been a night or two, welcome and farewell dinner, where it was less casual. There were some nights when entertainment was on the boat and that took place on the sun deck, where even though it was before dinner, it was still very hot out and lots of people wore shorts and went to dinner like that. Merry Christmas! Enjoy your cruise, it will be fantastic!

Hi Banjo499,

We did the 18 day Mekong cruise with Emerald in March and it was a fantastic experience. Out of 12 river cruises, the best one. franski did a great job answering your questions so I can't add anymore, however you asked about the DiscoverMore  excursions and we did Dinner in the Rice Field which was fantastic! Highly recommend it! 

3 hours ago, bleacher04 said:

 

Thanks LTC!  Have a terrific time on your Egypt cruise!  The Mekong is our test run with AMA; we have a couple in Africa on our to-do list.

Thanks Paul. This trip has been on the bucket list for awhile. I know your cruise will be awesome and you'll be pleased with AMA

3 hours ago, bleacher04 said:

 

@hoosier2017 -- some rudimentary questions from first-time river cruisers:

 

Do we need to print our own luggage tags, as on larger cruise ships?  I don't recall seeing anything about that.  I assume there will just be an Ama check-in area at the hotel on embarkation day?

 

Ama provided suggested guidelines for gratuities for the cruise manager and crew, but how are these paid?  Envelopes of cash dropped in a box?  Added to your room bill?

 

I'm sure I will think of more when packing panic sets in!

Thanks!  Paul

Paul, we're leaving tomorrow to go on an AMA Egypt cruise and no luggage tags came with our documents. It's been a few years since we sailed with AMA and then they sent you luggage tags. I'm assuming that your bags will be given tags at the hotel. We did a Mekong cruise with Emerald in March and that's what they did.

As I remember gratuities were paid on the last evening and you had your choice of leaving it at reception in an envelope or added to your room bill.

You will have a fantastic trip! Our trip was 8 months ago and we still talk about what a wonderful trip it was.

On 11/2/2023 at 1:56 PM, gil361 said:

has anyone recently come back from  a nile river cruise. Going in 3 weeks and am  very hesitant of going due to the war in the middle east. AMA will l not cancel or give back any money. Any thoughts

We're doing the Nile cruise with AMA, going to Jordan for the pre cruise in just a few days (November 13th). We were concerned also but I know AMA would cancel the cruise if they thought it was risky. We wouldn't be going (we have travel insurance) if we thought they'd be any safety concerns but haven't heard of any issues in Jordan or Egypt.

We are going with AMA on a Nile River cruise in mid- November. We're doing the pre cruise extension in Jordan, going to Amman and Petra for 4 nights before going to Cairo for 3 nights, then the cruise and then another night in Cairo. They also cancelled pre and post cruise Israel. We're concerned also but all the other pre/post extensions are still a go as is the cruise...at least so far .We have about 3.5 weeks before we leave and anything could happen in that time. If the cruise is still happening, we'll go but it sure won't be a worry free vacation. Good to know that AC is offering a full refund as we're using them as well going to Toronto-Amman also in business class and returning from Cairo.

I'm sure that if the cruise is cancelled that AMA will give us a future cruise credit.

47 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m actually looking at Feb or March of 2026 for Egypt.  I’ve ruled out Viking ( we’ve done them before) because of their final payment so far in advance.  I’ll look at scenic and AMA instead as 4-6 months out I’m comfortable with.  I need to do more research on which one to choose so we can be ready.  Viking for 2025 is almost booked out.  I do want to add Petra but I didn’t see that with AMA so I’ll look again.  
 

Whoever posted the meds they took, thank you.  DH already has issues.  I carry Cipro, Vancomycin and Flagyl for certain possibilities whenever we travel but will discuss this trip with his GI doc before we go.  I’d like to go prepared. 
 

If you’ve gone before I have a question. We normally fly in a day before we start our trips.  If we did this we’d be on our own.  This doesn’t sound like a good option as we’d have to get our own transportation even if we stayed at the hotel we were to start from.  Do we just risk the travel as arranged by the river cruise line and hope for no cancellations or delays? Jet lag is an issue also. 

Hi, We are going to Egypt in November with AMA and they do go to Petra. Look under Egypt Extensions and then Pre Jordan. We are doing that and can't wait to see Petra.

Thanks. Sounds like a nice walk.

7 hours ago, JohnAlleb77 said:

 

Not so easy to predict weather, but mid august is normally quite warm, ill guess between 15 to 20 degrees, higher if sunny... 

 

August is warmer than May. 

 

Could be rain, recommend you to check weather on https://www.yr.no/en

a few days before you visit. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your info. I had no idea it could be that warm. Thanks so much for the weather link, that's very helpful!

20 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I wouldn't leave all the warm clothing at home since you never know.  Also, you might want to post this on TripAdvisor so people who have hiked the entire distance in August can chime in.  I do remember the last 200 meters being a very pleasant walk (which surprisingly even my 2 year old was able to complete) 

Thanks again for your help. I have a much better idea what to expect now. Your idea about posting on TripAdvisor is great. I bet your 2 year old has great memories of the walk!

4 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Since no one else has answered, I will give you my best response (which isn't ideal since I sailed in May and had a two year old so we used the golf cart for most of the ride).  The weather in May was wonderful and we went in shorts.  For Norway, you'd always want to bring layers just in case.  I'd recommend checking the weather and dressing for whatever the forecast is for the time you'll be hiking.  But do bear in mind its really along a path and as long as you have comfortable shoes you should be fine.

Thanks so much kitkat343. Your info is helpful and good to know it's a path and sneakers will be fine. I figured we'd need warmer clothes but shorts in May changed that idea! I'll leave the warmer clothes home and bring layers. Thanks again for your reply.

We took a Vietnam and Cambodia river cruise with Emerald in March. We easily got our E- visas to Vietnam but Cambodia, at least for us, was difficult to get a visa. We decided to get them at the airport when arriving in Siem Reap. It only took about 10-15 minutes as we were at the end of a short line. We then picked up our luggage and the guide and bus were waiting for us. If you get the visa at the airport, I'd let someone in the group know so they can tell your guide (we had a new guide to meet us at the airport.) It was very easy and I'd do it that way again

We have transportation booked for a visit to the Briksdal Glacier in mid August and wondering what to wear. Plan to do the hike and will long pants, rain jacket and sneakers be OK? Thanks for any info.

Hi, As suspaul says Vietnam is a fantastic place to visit. We were there from March 24-April 10 this year. Hanoi and Ha Long Bay were on the cool side but when we went to Siem Reap, the cruise part of the trip and a few days in Ho Chi Minh the weather was oppressive, very hot and humid. 45C, think that's about 113F. Clothes were changed every time we got back to the boat or hotel. Our guides were saying that this was hotter than usual for this time of year but summer was hotter. They did mention the rainy season saying we picked a good time of year to go so that we didn't experience the hot weather and rain that comes in July and August. One guide told us there were 3 seasons in Vietnam, hot, hotter and hottest with lots of rain. If you can handle that weather go for it but as you say there is a reason why it's cheaper that time of year.

59 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

My pleasure. Oh, and I very much like Passau. Came down a road and round the corner in the car and there it was! Not necessarily love at first sight, but certainly "wow, must check out this place in detail" at first sight. Loved the café next to the Dom. Would very much like to visit Passau again.

 

notamermaid

 

Passau sounds lovely! We're suppose to get there early Sunday afternoon after flying to Munich and leave late Monday afternoon, so hoping to be able to pay that cafe a visit.

7 hours ago, Kinga dweller said:

Not sure whereabouts on the river we will cross @LTC but if you board on Sunday and us on Monday in Budapest we may both be in Vienna Wed 17/Thurs 18th otherwise I'll wave at every passing Emerald boat, just in case your on it. Have fun.

Thanks @notamermaid all great info again and yes, if I can get this forum to work on my phone I will report in en-route.

Hi Kinga dweller,

Ha ha, We'll be in Vienna on Thursday and we end up in Budapest. I'll be looking for your wave and waving back! Thanks, will do and you have a fantastic cruise!