TriMomma

Interested to know if you were bused to Passau? I got off the Emerald Sky on Oct 27th in Passau and had to be bused to Regensburg to pick up my rental car. We also missed Budapest. Emerald had us at an industrial dock an hour outside of Budapest called Gonyu.

Heading to the airport for our Budapest to Regensburg cruise with Emerald. Just received an email that we will be put up in a hotel in Budapest then bused to Vienna on day 2. We were supposed to be in Vienna on Day 4. Don’t really know where we will end up.

Thank you for all the updates. Embarking the Emerald 'something' on Friday from 'Budapest' to 'Regensburg'. I put in quotations because I am hopeful. We have already been advised of a ship change so guess we'll have to wait and see where we end up!

Are there usually enough bikes for everyone that wants them? Or should I start researching local bike excursions\operators?

Holy Cow! Do you get much notice? I guess this means to pack lightly, just in case!

Yes.... Krakow and Warsaw. Any tips?

We have decided to add Poland on our "land excursion" now and have rented a car. Thanks for the tips! I will keep you posted. 🙂

I would also recommend that hotel. Beautiful Sky Bar.

When these low water level events ocurr, where do you sleep? Do you always come back to the ship by bus?

You might even be able to rent a car for less than that. Pick up in Regensburg and drop off at the airport.

It is definitely more casual than other cruises I have been on. I don't think jeans are a problem. I am never cold so am the worst person to ask about air conditioning.

We did the 2 night Ha Long Bay cruise. As we did the extended Emerald vacation, it was included. I believe most of the companies include transportation from Hanoi to Ha Long. We sailed with Bhaya Cruises. It was pretty basic, but it seems that all the companies do the exact same itinerary.

I second this! I am not a fan of the malaria meds, find they don't agree with me. Think they bigger thing is to have all your vaccinations up to date and carry all your OTC travel meds.

Oh! I hadn't thought about this. I have booked the Emerald from Budapest to Regensburg but want to arrange my own flights. What would happen to transfers if the cruise line changes the docking points?

I am such a control freak that it is hard for me to give up the flight portion.... I also like to upgrade wherever possible. Am booking for the Danube next year and the flight option expires tomorrow so this is a timely decision for me. Am probably going to decline the flight and roll the dice. Their prices are extremely good, but I really love the flexibility to plan my own adventure!

They did on our sailing. There were 60 passengers on our sailing that included many Brits.

I didn't go to Tonle Sap, but you will see lots of floating villages in Ha Long and during the river cruise from HCMC.

We are looking at a cruise that ends in Regensburg. I like the idea of having a little flexibility. I think they are asking a lot of money for a bus to Prague and hotel for three nights. I think I could plan my own itinerary for at least that amount of money and see a whole lot more along the way.

Have to say I am jealous! Also mad that I hadn't researched before we went. We weren't in Hoi An but even in Hanoi I saw some beautiful tailors. Hubby needs a new tux as well! My sister was in Vietnam years and years ago and I still wear the silk dress she had made for me.

There are four of us planning a Danube river cruise with Emerald in Oct 2023. My question is, do you recommend adding the Prague land extension with the cruise line or do it on our own? I love planning, so am not worried about that part.... just wondering what others have experienced.

We went with Emerald in Oct 22 and it included two nights on a junk in HaLong Bay.

We also flew through Taiwan with EVA. I was very impressed and I completely agree with you that if you can upgrade.... do it! The Premium Economy has some 2x2 rows, so if it is a couple flying, you will feel much more comfortable. I do not do well with the heat, but seemed to acclimate a little bit by the end. Gauzy type outfits\shawls are perfect! We were supposed to stay at the Anatole for our Hanoi portion, but it was changed to the Silk Path. I believe the Anatole is really nice as well and it is in a wonderful location. I think going ahead is also a good idea. I could have used at least one more day to get over the jet lag! We also flew through Bangkok and I was going to add some extra days.... but didn't, as we are still both working and weren't' sure we could have swung it. I regret that now. Enjoy!!!!! We had passport pictures for the Cambodian Visa (just in case) but I don't think you will need them. The ship took care of everything for us and we just had the 40$ USD added to our ship account. Can't remember about peppers specifically.... but I suspect you will just have to watch out in some of the premade dishes. There will be heaps of other choices, so don't worry!

We sailed the Emerald Harmony in October this year and were very pleased. The sister ship Scenic Spirit was docked beside us and a travel agent from our group toured it. She reported that it too was a lovely ship and other than decor, sligthly larger suites and an elevator was the same as the Emerald Harnony we were on. I agree with other posters that the "issue" with Scenic is their communication. Don't know if that is a pandemic thing or if they have always been this way, but once we embarked, it was fabulous.

The three hotels were in excellent locations. All three were in the downtown historic areas which were nice for walking around or heading to the local market. It was nice, because when you are on the ship you don't have any freedom to go out on your free time (except for Phnom Penh). Hanoi was within walking distance of Ho Hoan Kiem lake. Saigon had a great roof top bar. Siem Reap had a fantastic pool. We applied for the Visa as soon as we had the flight information. The Vietnam E-Visa took less than 5 business days and was easy. The Cambodian one was even easier because Emerald took care of everything. Those that had applied for Cambodian e-visa's had to reapply. However, it was as simple as going to the front desk of the ship, signing your name and paying $40 US My. understanding is that e-visa's are only for land entry so if you are going in the opposite direction take that into account. The Dinner in the Rice Field included a bus, to a boat, to a walk through a village. Once we arrived at the host house in the village, we were greeted with custom cocktails and a foot massage. Sunset over the rice field was gorgeous and there were tables set up in the field. We ate a gorgeous meal with wine by candlelight. It was one of the highlights of the trip! The Champagne Gondola sounded wonderful too. You would think that the mosquito situation would be bad since it was the very end of rainy season when we went. However.... I think expectations might be based on where you live. I live in the Great Lakes area of Ontario. The mosquitos were not even a slight percentage of an Ontario summer night. Now, having said that, we were encouraged to use bug spray when we did our walks through the villages. I am one of those people who mosquitos love and I only got one bite during the whole trip. I would take bug spray, but I did not have a problem at all.

Just back from the 17 Day Treasures and Temples of Vietnam and Cambodia trip with Emerald Waterways. It included 7 nights on the Emerald Harmony Cruising the Mekong Delta. If you want to ask me specific questions about the land portion, I will be happy to answer, but will just give a review of the Emerald Harmony. (Don’t want to get in trouble with the Mods). Itinerary: Day 1-2: Hanoi Day 3-4: Halong Bay on a Junk boat cruise Day 5-6: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) Day 7-14: Emerald Harmony Cruise Day 15-16: Siem Reap Day 17: Bangkok The Harmony holds 80 passengers but there were 60 on this sailing, including 34 from our group of Canadians. It was built in 2019 and had only had a few sailing before it was halted for the pandemic. In fact, I believe that we were only the second sailing back. The staff seemed so happy to be sailing again. At one point we caught up with the EMPTY sister ship, the Scenic Spirit and my stateroom attendant (Mr. Khim, also wonderful) told me that she wasn’t lucky like the Harmony because she was not full of fun and people. (I heard that they cancelled its sailing because it only had 8 booked passengers!). Embarkation was really quite fast and I had my keys and in my stateroom in minutes. It probably helped that during the Land-portion of the tour we had given our Vaccination certificates to the tour guide and they had everything ready for us. We had also been given nametags during the land tour and were wearing them when we embarked. Every single staff member used our names and I think they had them memorized (and knew our drink of choice) by the end of the day. It was impressive. We embarked right downtown in Saigon. Emerald Harmony is one of the few apparently, that actually sail out of Saigon. My understanding is that most of the ships depart from My Tho and you have to be bused from Saigon. It was fun sailing away from the big city. The other cool thing is that once you leave Saigon, you sail down the Cho Gao canal. Many ships are too big for this canal, including the Harmony’s sister ship, the Scenic Spirit. Sailing down the canal is really neat as you can truly see the homes and villages up close. Unfortunately, you will also see garbage…. The Mekong is not quite the prettiest of rivers. Emerald ships are known for only having the fake balcony. The window powers down and opens to railing height. It was actually better than I was expecting. It was also so freaking hot that it wasn’t like you were sitting around with your window open. The walls are the regular cruise metal so if you like to hang things, definitely bring extra magnets. I didn’t and regretted not having extra hooks. The stateroom is quite lovely. We were on Deck 4, but I truly don’t think that it matters, this isn’t a cruise with much of a view. In fact, I think Deck 3 might be the best deck as that is where the lounge is. This is my first river cruise and first time on a small ship. I have done lots of ocean cruises on mega ships. I think I am converted! The small size means you give up some of the amenities found on a big ship but there is an intimacy that I really enjoyed. Now, we might have been lucky that we were with a group of 34 so there was always someone to have a drink with at the bar or to start an impromptu dance party. There wasn’t much happening after 8:00 pm otherwise. (Although we started a lot of impromptu dance parties!). The ship has a lovely lounge that has a cappuccino machine and snacks always available. It also has a nice bar and the best bartender ever…. Leo (he makes a mean martini). The dining room is the deck below the lounge and also quite lovely and intimate. Sometimes you are seated with other passengers, so be prepared for that. Lunches and breakfasts were buffet but also had an “action station” as they called it. For breakfast it was an egg station, at lunch it varied and could be a noodle station or stir-fry. The buffet always featured plenty of choice and included wonderful daily soups and homemade ice creams. You can always order of the limited menu if you wish (eggs benny!) Each night at 6:30 there would be a port talk in the lounge by the wonderful cruise director Tanya. Following this we would all traipse downstairs for dinner. Dinners consisted of a three choice a la carte menu and were typically Asian themed. However, there was always the standard chicken, steak or salmon on the menu as a back up for those who wished something simple. There was also a daily red and white wine. There was only one night that I didn’t like the red choice and they went to fetch a different bottle for me. Don’t be afraid to ask for a different wine if you don’t like what they are serving. The portions are not large, but when you are having five course you don’t need large. Most days there would be an excursion in the morning and one in the afternoon. They usually lasted about two hours. The cool thing about the Harmony is that it anchors at each stop and only docks at Saigon and Phnom Penh. Excursions are to local villages, and you are taken there by a junk tender. (They were certainly much nicer junk boats than you see sailing normally, lol). The one thing that surprised me was how strict they were on dress code for the excursion. As you are often going to a village temple, they insist that you wear shorts or skirts to the knee and tops with at least a short sleeve. I thought some of sleeveless tops would be okay since they were closed at the shoulder, but no. It meant that I was sweating my butt off in capris and t-shirts… did I mention it was hotter than hades! That leads me to one of my favourite things on the ship though…. Self Laundry! There were washer and dryers AND laundry soap available at your disposal. It was wonderful since it seemed we where changing several times a day. The other amenities were quite good too. I loved the little pool. Nothing like jumping in it and getting a cold beer from the pool bar after an excursion. I went to the spa twice! I found the services to be excellent and the prices to be reasonable for a cruise ship (the 120 minute Harmony treatment was incredible!). We also used the gym several times. It is small, but sufficient, with fresh towels and lemon water. My highlights were the evening tuk tuk ride in Phnom Pehn, the disco party on the pool deck, the service (Oossa, Mom, Min Zaw, Leo) was exceptional, the drinks and food were wonderful and the ship\cabin itself was lovely. There are two shows onboard by local children's groups that are good but won’t knock your socks off. We added two Discover More options. “One Night in Saigon” which toured around to local restaurants and breweries, was very good. “Dinner in the Rice Fields” in Siem Reap was exceptional, although slightly different than advertised (it’s better!). Wear good footwear, you walk up a goat path. I would highly recommend both. Friends of our who did not do the Rice Field excursion chose the “Cambodian Street Food” and were disappointed. Finally the Mekong Delta itself….. it ain’t pretty. I loved the cruise, but if the Mekong was the only thing I was seeing of Vietnam\Cambodia I think I would be pretty disappointed. It’s pretty dirty water and is a hub of activity and shipping. Occasionally you will pass a beautiful farm, but that is the exception, not the rule. If you choose this cruise, it is to experience the culture, people and the food (yum), not the scenery. I also do believe that this is one cruise where at least some added land portion is a must (ie. Siem Reap to see Ankgor Wat). Overall, I am thrilled with our experience and would recommend the Emerald Harmony.