When the River Rises, Emerald Rises to the Occasion

Earlier this week we received a nice check, proof positive that the "River Cruise Guarantee" is more than just a marketing gimmick.

Some background...We were on the 14 day Amsterdam to Budapest Cruise on the Emerald Sun in early September. In the space of a day the Danube went from having low water to being too high to pass under a bridge between Regensburg an Passau. In our daily briefing we were given three options. The first was to be flown home (nobody picked this option). The second was to remain on the ship and be bused to Passau for a tour the next day. Once the water level dropped, the ship would sail directly to Vienna and miss the stops in Melk and Durnstein (13 people picked this option). The rest of us had our choice of the formerly optional excursions to Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov. These were provided at no cost including lunch. Those excursions then continued by bus to Vienna. In Vienna we were given rooms in the 5 star Bristol Hotel. It was located on the Ringstrasse and directly across from the Opera House. We spent two nights in perhaps the finest hotel room I've ever stayed in. Breakfast and Dinner were provided in the hotel. We had the option of either staying in Vienna or being bussed to Melk and Durnstein. There was also an option of returning to Vienna after lunch in Melk for those who wanted more time in Vienna. The next morning we had the originally planned tour of Vienna and rejoined the ship which had arrived in Vienna for the remainder of the cruise. During this time Emerald sent a second cruise director to make sure we got the best possible service.

I tell this story because my only hesitation in booking a river cruise was worry about the water levels. While I greatly missed the time on the river that I found so enjoyable, Emerald did a first rate job of making the best of an unfortunate situation.

Back to the check...the amounts varied by deck or cabin category. I'm not sure how they were determined, but I was certainly pleased. My only complaint was that each cabin had to file online directly with the insurance company. This process was a bit cumbersome, perhaps because I was an American filing with an Australian company. In any event the reward was certainly worth the time spent.

I'm not doing a full review because it would be a carbon copy of Andona's a few months back

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2505831&highlight=emerald

I'd be happy to answer questions though.

Wow! My worst fear about river cruising was water levels. But I would be thrilled to have your experience. What great customer service!

thanks for posting