TriMomma

Emerald Harmony (sister ships) did too. I wished I had thought about it and brought some magnets with me!

I am an avid cyclist and was hoping to find a river cruise that would let me "loose" cycling. Do you have to follow the guide?

Just got back from a cruise in Vietnam with Emerald and they asked for our vaccination records. Needed a photocopy of our certificate.

Just back from the 17 Day (Land + River) Tour with Emerald Waterways. 2 nights in Hanoi, 2 nights in Halong Bay, 2 Nights in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) then onboard the Emerald Harmony on the Mekong for 7 nights. This was followed by 3 more 'land' nights in Siem Reap. Fantastic trip!!!! I do plan to write a more detailed review, but one thing that is really nice about the Emerald Harmony is that she docks right in Saigon. My understanding is that many of the river cruises bus you from Saigon to My Tho. I was worried about the Emerald cabin because it has the fake balcony and the window just comes down. The reality is that it is so freaking hot, you rarely sit with your window down. There are many, many nice areas outdoors if you want to find a place to sit and read. Also, while the Mekong is interesting and there are many great villages to visit, the actual scenery is not worth sitting on a balcony watching the world as you sail by.

I have just disembarked from my first river cruise on the Emerald Harmony, Mekong Delta. I have done a lot of ocean cruising. I was nervous because I was led to believe that Emerald was the 'lower' version of Scenic. My worries were unnecessary. Ship was beautiful. Service was top notch and the food and wine were fantastic. I was very, very impressed. We were docked next to a Uniworld ship at one point and didn't think it looked as nice, yet had always heard they were one of the best. If other Emerald ships are as nice as the Harmony I would totally recommend them.

Just back from the 17 day tour with Emerald that included seven nights on Emerald Harmony. It is a lovely, lovely ship and as a previous poster mentioned it embarks right in Saigon. So nice to get on right in the city. Also, as it is slightly narrower than other river cruises, it can go through the Cho Gao Canal which is a nice way to get to My Tho. (I was tired of buses by that time!). Would definitely recommend!

Emerald took care of everything for us. It was wonderful. We had our E-Visa to enter Vietnam and the TA had suggested that we have Cambodian Visa pictures with us (just in case), but we didn't use them. Emerald completed and submitted the visa application and all we had to do was sign it and show up in the lounge when the Immigration officers arrived. The $40 app fee was added to our stateroom account. We are Canadian, but there were Brits, Americans, and Australians on the ship. Note, they did say that those who had applied for Cambodian E-Visa's would have to reapply as they were not for River landings.

Just back last night. What a wonderful trip and the Emerald Harmony was truly wonderful. I can post a more detailed report tomorrow, but if anyone has specific questions, fire away!

Just back last night. Mekong Delta from Vietnam to Cambodia. We used an E-Visa to enter Vietnam in Hanoi. Strangely enough, the only time someone looked at it was getting on the plane in Toronto. TA had advised us to get official photographs for Cambodian Visa. Emerald completed all the paper work and all we had to do was sign the application. We didn't even have to use our photographs and Emerald just added the $40 fee to our stateroom. Was pretty slick!

Upon thinking..... it was possible that a refund was offered at some point of this odyssey (lol). Many in our group are no longer going.

We had a cruise scheduled with Emerald Waterways in 2021. It has been bumped two times and we are now scheduled to go in October 2022. We could not get our money back but apparently if it was rescheduled a third time we would have (according to the TA).

Any updates about cruising on Ritz Carlton? I tried to book last fall and it was sold out. Looks like I dodged a bullet. Still really interested though.

I don't understand how an E-Visa is not acceptable?

I will!

Me too!!!! lol

I am going October 16th. It is a trip that has been rescheduled many times due to COVID. Glad that it seems to be moving ahead finally! I applied for my Vietnam e-visa but the TA told us that we can get the Cambodian one on the ship (we're Canadian). Just have to bring our photos with us.

Ha ha. New to river cruising and thought this was an AMA (Ask me Anything) post about Vietnam and Cambodia. lol