Emerald Waterways

[amd1234]

We live in Florida part time and in today's daily newspaper there was in article on

Emerald Waterways. There will be presentation this week at one of our high end Hotels.... Just curious ...

Googled it and it looks like a Euopean Company.. Any feedback on this river cruise company?

[vada_9]

Emerald is Australian - part of the Scenic family. Scenic, Emerald, Travelmavel.

[Rufusk]

We live in Florida part time and in today's daily newspaper there was in article on

Emerald Waterways. There will be presentation this week at one of our high end Hotels.... Just curious ...

Googled it and it looks like a Euopean Company.. Any feedback on this river cruise company?

We did the southern France trip last July and experienced both positive and negative. This might be a bit long as we experienced more negatives than positives

On the positive side the company include the tips (though there was certainly a push from the CD on the last night to add additional tips because according to her they'd "gone above and beyond" - I think that was a highly debatable statement). I will say that the captain did try his best. The river levels were quite high and we barely squeezed under one of the bridges, losing a few deck chairs and ripping up some of the indoor/outdoor carpet. The trip was longer than most of the ones since it started in Lyon, went up to Chalon-Sur-Saone and then back down, stopping at Lyon and proceeding to Avignon with multiple stops in between. The towns they visited were wonderful. The food on board was good; not great but there was generally enough food. The wines were ok; I was surprised they chose one variety of red and one of white even though we passed through different wine areas. I would have thought they would serve different type to highlight the areas (something we have experienced on other river cruises). This was disappointing but not really a negative.

The trips Emerald does in southern France is with an A-Rosa ship so some of the negative observations may not be indicative of their other ships. HOWEVER a number of the negative things had to do with Emerald and its representatives.

On the negatives.

The meals - all meals on the A-Rosa vessels were buffet style. We were not aware of that and were surprised that there was no table service. Although that should not be a problem it did create a bit of difficulties with everyone rushing at once to the lines (and some taking a lot of one thing leaving none for others). There was certainly a lot of discussion and verbal complaints, enough so that the CD stated that the configuration of the ship didn't allow for table service - an internet search revealed the A-Rosa does have table service so I can only assume that Emerald chose to cut corners and omit that. Unfortunately they didn't let me know ahead of time or adequately address the issue when confronted with it on board. I suggested to the CD that she could perhaps have even number cabins sit down the first hour and a half and the odd numbered cabins sit down the next and then switch every night. There was no attempt by her to address the issue other than her statement that it was due to the layout of the vessel.

At the first port of call the local guides had difficulty finding their way to the venue we were to visit. No one bothered to check for road closures so we had to turn around and find our way back and eventually to our venue. On the plus side we got to see some other countryside; on the negative the guide didn't have a lot to say and we ended up losing time at the other stops. We had enquired whether the first venue was wheelchair friendly or not and were told at first the CD couldn't find out but then after being pressed were told it was. Quite frankly it wasn't. There were stairs up and down into the entrance and then gravel paths and then more stairs into the castle. It would have been nice to have an honest answer. I still enjoyed seeing the outside and the gardens but would have preferred to have been given an honest answer at the beginning.

At our second town Emerald didn't provide the advertised tour. At first they denied that they had advertised it but when confronted with evidence they backed off and offered everyone on board a 25 Euro credit. Though it would have been nice to participate in the activity we had been promised we quite enjoyed wandering around the town ourselves.

At the third town my wife and another couple we met, joined a bicycle tour. They were given no instructions at the beginning vis-a-vis 'rules of the road' especially how you negotiate a roundabout on a bicycle with vehicular traffic whizzing around you. Additionally there was only one tour operator who stayed at the front. One elderly man fell over twice and my wife and the couple she was cycling with had to help him up and stayed with him. The tour leader never noticed and when informed of it didn't appear too concerned as the elderly man said he was fine. It was only because another member of the group caught up to the tour leader that she even stopped.

I won't go through the other day-by-day events (there were a number of others) but will outline two other incidents that were of concern. One day after lunch I grabbed a small bowl of dessert and proceeded into the lounge to eat and use the Wi-fi (oh, yes, that was another HUGE issue. It rarely worked and when it did it was only from very limited spots. On other river cruises we've been on the Wi-fi has worked throughout the ship and we were able to communicate from our cabin; definitely not on this ship). At any rate I hadn't even sat down and I was confronted by one of the crew who told me that I was not allowed to bring food into the lounge (people brought food into the lounge all the time; crew members even assisted some of them by carrying the food). He was verbally aggressive so I relented and put my food down. I was a bit shaken up by the attitude and brought it up with the CD. She said she'd look into it. I had to seek her out the next day and she told me she'd spoken to the crew member and that he said he hadn't been rude so she said obviously he hadn't been rude and that was the end of it. I was quite taken aback by this but nothing I said would change her mind. I then pointed out all the other people who were eating in the lounge at that time. She agreed and said she'd look into why he'd told me I couldn't eat. Once again I had to seek her out and she said that there were only certain times that we couldn't eat in there and she had spoken to the person and told him he needed to be a little more careful in how he spoke to passengers. She did apologize but that was the end of it as far as she was concerned. The incident made me avoid the lounge for the rest of the trip.

The other issue I wanted to bring up was our experience once we got home. Believe it or not there is no way to contact Emerald (at least none that I could easily find), other than to book a trip. I phoned and asked to speak to someone but since I wasn't booking a trip no one was in any position to speak to me but they assured me someone would contact me. After a week I tried using the email contact but once again I got no response. Finally I remembered I'd had an email address from the person we booked through. I wrote and did receive a response. She was a sales rep and, of course couldn't address my issues but promised to pass it on to her supervisor. The long and short of this was that it took multiple emails and almost two months before I finally got any sort of response that addressed the issues. This despite repeated assurances that an answer would be forthcoming. I should point out that the sales rep was the only one who kept helping to get an answer. Virtually all the supervisory staff ignored her requests. When I finally got a response from a supervisor he promised an answer in a few days; a week later he still hadn't responded. After more emails I finally got a response from his supervisor. It turned out to be a very generic letter that wasn't worth the time or effort. The sales rep actually followed up and was shocked by the response and promised to follow up. Obviously she did as her supervisor phoned a week or so later. Unfortunately I was out at the time of his call but did return it as per his instructions. After a week of not hearing from him I emailed him at the address he'd provided. That was in October. It's now December and I still haven't heard back.

Did they offer any thing? Yes, a voucher for $250 good for one year only. While that may be nice it's not what I was seeking. I asked that they include the actual information about the buffet only meals on their future advertising and ensure that their staff got some training in dealing with customer issues, that they ensured that the bicycle safety issues were addressed and finally that they had a mechanism in place for customer complaints. None of those issues were addressed or responded to other than in a very generic way. They did state that the issues I raised were passed on to the General Manager in Europe. Of course I have still not heard anything back or did they even acknowledge the lack of customer service after the trip on their end, here in North America.

So there you have it...a long winded response. Hopefully someone else will have a response of better trips. Personally I'm wary. Oh, and if you think it was just me, think again. There were quite a number of Brits and Aussies on board in addition to those from the US and Canada. Many of those who had taken river cruises before expressed concern about the level of service, the lack of table service, the absence of Wi-fi etc etc. Those we met who were on their first river cruise were much more positive.

Rufus

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thank you Rufus for posting this honest assessment of your Emerald cruise. We have very little about Emerald on Cruise Critic, and actual passenger reviews are very welcome.

[amd1234]

Thx for the response on Emerald Cruises.. I will pass on the free presentation. :)

[pacmom]

I find it difficult to read posts like the one posted by Rufusk that have not real paragraphs. Also find the posts that people use double space between paragraphs easier to read.

 

Emerald does have a few of its own boats. It is easy to google the name of the boat to see if it is a charter or lease or if the company actually owns the boat.

 

Amd1234, don't pass on the free offering just by one person's posting.

[franski]

 

Emerald does have a few of its own boats. It is easy to google the name of the boat to see if it is a charter or lease or if the company actually owns the boat.

 

Amd1234, don't pass on the free offering just by one person's posting.

 

I agree with pacmom.... the presentation could be interesting & informative. And, now that you have a review from here, you can ask about the issues that were raised.

 

We are booked with Emerald next September. They are, as mentioned below, part of the Scenic family.

 

A few years ago, you couldn't get a positive review of any Scenic product. I found an amazing deal on their inaugural Tulip Time cruise and decided to go. Prepared myself (and my DH) for a substandard experience - but figured the cost was too good to pass up. We are "glass half full" travelers... Bottom line - had a great trip. If I had let the reviews sway me, I would never have gone.

 

As I understand it, Emerald isn't the high end package that Scenic offers. They do cover gratuities - and air port transfers are included even if you purchase your own air. The price for our Rhine cruise beat everyone hands down - even before you add in the gratuities.

 

We will be on an Emerald boat (Emerald Sky) and will try to post along the way (as we usually do...). But, this may not help you if you are interested in booking sooner than this fall.

 

Fran

[CarlyDawwg's Ma]

I also agree with Pacmom and Franksi in that assuming its convenient for you, you've got nothing to loose by attending an information session. Were there one near me, I'd be going.

 

I can certainly appreciate Rufusk's frustration, especially when local guides don't know their way around. It's unprofessional and would totally chap-my-a$$. Emerald should reconsider using those guides in the future. However, some of his other complaints would never cause me to raise more than an eyebrow. But everyone is entitled to feel what they feel and his persistence on seeking a response from Emerald post-cruise, demonstrates his level of frustration.

 

My not so succinct point being, if what Rufusk complained about resonated with you, then you're probably right not to bother with the info session. If, like me, it didn't, then you're doing yourself a disservice by passing on it.

 

In addition to reading these message boards, I also read the reviews posted by travelers in the member review section of cruise critic. In general, Emerald's reviews are pretty good. Always someone frustrated when river levels don't cooperate, but that's not necessarily unique to an Emerald reviewer.

 

And in full disclosure, it should be mentioned that I am already booked on an Emerald cruise next September - the same one Franski will be on!!

[RvrCrzr]

Emerald Waterways is a great cruise product. The reviewer above was not on one of the owned vessels and it affected their experience.

 

The new ships are state of the art and have features other brands don't have. Great value with Emerald, as they include more than other lines. (except the all-inclusive lines)

 

Emerald is a branch of Scenic, their high end, all-inclusive product. Scenic wanted to capture those that wanted good value but didn't need an all-inclusive product. They were built to compete with AMA, Avalon, Viking and other mid-range cruise lines.

 

I have cruised on both Scenic and Emerald Waterways and love both products.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Emerald Waterways is a great cruise product. The reviewer above was not on one of the owned vessels and it affected their experience.

 

The new ships are state of the art and have features other brands don't have. Great value with Emerald, as they include more than other lines. (except the all-inclusive lines)

 

...

 

That may very well be, but they should have a consistent product, across all their ships, at least in Europe. And the potential client shouldn't have to weed out which ship they should take.

[RvrCrzr]

Some valid complaints, I agree. Choosing the right ship is critical. You learn lessons the hard, expensive way when DIYing things like this.

[dabear]

We're also trying an emerald cruise next summer on the Emerald Belle, a new ship for 2016. It's on the Danube from Budapest to Prague. This will be our 1st river cruise after 19 ocean cruises. We had a deposit on Viking but the value, cabin size, gratuities etc caused us to change. We hope that Emerald has gotten their act together. Please post your experiences.

[Sonoran_cruiser]

I'm traveling with 8 others on the Danube (Emerald Sun) next May! Most of us are doing the 3 day land extension to Prague. All but our solo traveler are booked under their $495 airfare special, which is proving to be a plus (since roundtrip airfare from AZ is over $1600 right now :( ). Looking forward to a great trip!

 

I do wish Emerald had it's own product/ship doing southern France, since using someone else's ship/crew doesn't provide a consistent experience of their product.

[caviargal]

 

They were built to compete with AMA, Avalon, Viking and other mid-range cruise lines.

 

 

I personally do not consider AMA to be in same class as Viking or Avalon, who are IMO mid-range. They are - in my personal experience after 11 river cruises - an upscale company. Not as many inclusions as Scenic but significantly more than Emerald.

[lovable and daisy]

Having just returned from an APT Amabella trip with all excursions, gratuities and alcohol, post and pre transfers included, would be interested in what extras Scenic provides. Loved the Amabella and saving my pennies for a future trip. APT hard to beat IMHO.

[caviargal]

Having just returned from an APT Amabella trip with all excursions, gratuities and alcohol, post and pre transfers included, would be interested in what extras Scenic provides. Loved the Amabella and saving my pennies for a future trip. APT hard to beat IMHO.

 

AmaBella is chartered by APT. The regular AMA sailings do not include transfers (unless you are a qualifying member of their Loyalty program or booking air with AMA), gratuities or alcohol other than beer and wine at lunch and dinner and the Captain's receptions. There are also a few extra charge excursions on some cruises. On our most recent AMA cruise, there was not a single excursion that was not included.

 

Scenic provides some level of butler service (dependent on cabin category booked), all drinks at all times, multiple dining venues, room service and limited laundry (again based on category booked), all excursions including some special events and airport transfers on arrival and departure dates.

[RvrCrzr]

I personally do not consider AMA to be in same class as Viking or Avalon, who are IMO mid-range. They are - in my personal experience after 11 river cruises - an upscale company. Not as many inclusions as Scenic but significantly more than Emerald.

 

Me either but that's what my Emerald Reps told me. AMA is more refined than VRC or Avalon.

 

AMA does not include more than Emerald Waterways. Emerald includes transfers and gratuities...AMA does not.

[caviargal]

 

AMA does not include more than Emerald Waterways. Emerald includes transfers and gratuities...AMA does not.

 

 

The devil is in the details. The included excursions with AMA are many and varied. There are more dining options as well. They are not in the same league. Nothing wrong with Emerald but it is a value priced line for a reason.

 

AMA does include transfers as part of their Loyalty program for repeat guests, along with other perks.

Edited January 12, 2016 by caviargal

[Host Jazzbeau]

Me either but that's what my Emerald Reps told me. AMA is more refined than VRC or Avalon.

 

I would never trust what any cruise line rep told me about another cruise line. It is highly unlikely they have ever sailed on other cruise lines [if they have even sailed on the one they work for], so the best you will get is the "company line" if not a total fabrication to make the sale.

[RvrCrzr]

I would never trust what any cruise line rep told me about another cruise line. It is highly unlikely they have ever sailed on other cruise lines [if they have even sailed on the one they work for], so the best you will get is the "company line" if not a total fabrication to make the sale.

 

I'm talking about Business Development Managers. They were on the Emerald ship with me. I get my education from the sources.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm talking about Business Development Managers. They were on the Emerald ship with me. I get my education from the sources.

 

And they have sailed AMA?

[caviargal]

And they have sailed AMA?

 

And of course BDM's are employees of a particular line so any opinions and information need to be taken with that in mind.