Emerald Cruises UK Reviews 

First class booking arrangements, staff and all services on board could not be faulted. All staff were very professional but were also genuinely caring and friendly.
Tours were well organised and at all times you always knew what was planned. The ship was immaculate, food choices incredible for a small ship and wine well chosen. Local entertainment was excellent and in house quizzes, party were great fun.
This trip with Emerald couldn't have been any better.

A cruise down the Danube on the Emerald Luna was fantastic. Staff are excellent and very friendly. Food is exquisite and accompanied by endless quality wine(s). Included excursions are the best I have experienced in any cruise. Would absolutely recommend Emerald Cruises.

Greatly enjoyed our 2 week cruise on Azzurra from Venice to Athens, particularly visiting smaller ports in Croatia. Our suite was very comfortable, all the crew were amazing, being helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. However, we were disappointed with the food, it simply didn’t excite us either from the choices on the menus or in actual taste, hence 4 rather than 5 stars.

We cruised the Rhine with Emerald on the Emerald Destiny from the 18th to25th October 2025. The week was very enjoyable due to the efforts of all of the crew from the top to the bottom of the vessel.
Our cabin was kept spotless as were the public areas. The meals were varied and delicious and we were ably served by cheerful and enthusiastic waiting and bar staff.
I have already booked our next cruise based on our enjoyment of this experience

Very comfortable cabin, good food and most importantly, fantastic staff.

Boat,staff,food all exceptional

Looks after the guests. Wonderful food. Guides are knowledgeable and friendly.
The cabin was well designed, plenty of storage and very comfortable.

Once my husband read the brochure and saw the photos of the Emerald Yacht, he was determined to get on board!

Second time cruising with Emerald and just booked again for next year. That says it all - outstanding in every way - staff, excursions, food and general comfort on the boat.

It's a very relaxing trip, great staff and amazing service. The food quality is exceptional and every member of staff is polite. The quality of the excursions are good too and as they are included it's even more fun on your holiday.

Was the wow factor, everything went really well, dining room went like clockwork, room staff perfect 5 stars all the Way

WHAT WORKED
Staff overall are very good, and some are excellent, particularly bar / restaurant waiting staff. Cabin staff & reception.
Boat is very comfy & well run - especially the newish Cruise Director Lucia, always available, friendly, and positively responsive.
Shore trips(included) mainly very good - highlights were Freiburg / Breisach, Heidelberg, Koblenz & Rudesheim.
Food & wine were excellent as always, and lounge lunches and ideal alternative to manage over indulging.
On board activities were enjoyable, thanks to hard working manager James (also runs active shore trips on each stop).
Tour guides were the usual mixed bag (shout out to outstanding Bert & Ava) - spotting the more outgoing, entertaining ones with a sense of humour, has become a challenge.
Cabins (Panoramic Verandah) are smallish but clean & tidy, and well suited to this type of busy cruise - very well serviced.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER

Itinerary for this cruise seems busier than our previous cruises (DANUBE & DOURO) and sometimes caused clashes ie the most scenic part is middle Rhine with 17 castles etc partly spoiled by early part being in the early morning darkness & during breakfast hours.
Amsterdam visit was a bit messy, as boat docks a fair distance from the City, and while the canal boat tour works well
the free time in the City later involves a fair walk into the City from the new port.
At odd times the service in the Lounge & Restaurant were a bit slow, and the single lounge coffee machine ( gets a lot of use!) needs increased checks and prompt servicing (with signage to say this is being done).
On trips & activities, there are a lot of included trips, both relaxed & active ones (hikes & bikes), as well as some extra chargeable ones. These are usually special visits justifying extra expense - however, we were surprised at a couple rated chargeable and not included eg coffee & cake at a local cafe & a nearby castle visit on a "free" afternoon
A few more / different on board activities would be welcome, as per our other cruises eg putting competition + Music Quiz, which always work well.
Overall, despite the small niggles, this was our 3rd favourite cruise after the DOURO + DANUBE and we've already committed to be back with Emerald.

All excellent

Your tour guides Donna & bus driver Joshua are truly a valuable asset to your business. They went beyond to have our days planned precisely. We both thoroughly enjoyed our tour and experience with Emerald on the bus & train travelling through Canada. The staff on the train were brilliant can’t fault anything.

All mostly efficient and good communication as in the other times with Emerald. This cruise perhaps not as relaxed as previous one in France. The team seemed less experienced.

My wife and I could not fault anything at all on board the ship/boat. Really fantastic staff. All of whom one could interact with, without over stepping their professionalism. The Cruise Director (Dawn) was superb. My only quibbles were off the ship. Our arrival at Frankfurt Airport was fine and speedy. However, following our being corralled pending waiting the arrival of other passengers there was quite a long walk between the terminal and our coach. My 'complaint' was in respect of the 'walk'. There was no preliminary explanation that we had to walk what appeared to be the length of the terminal and across a road. Our escorts in effect said 'follow me' and set off at a fast pace. We all had suitcases to push or carry. No trolleys, and we lost sight of the escourt and just hoped we were going in the right direction. There were, I think three reps for Emerald inside the airport, but only one taking us to the coach. It needed a slower pace, an explanation outside the terminal as to where we were going and a rep at the front and another at the rear of our party. On young rep at the airport was 'bored' out of her mind and just leaning on her hands. I felt that her task was not difficult in greeting us travelers and could have been more enthusiastic and welcoming. I appreciate that she was not part of the crew, but first impressions are important.
Our guide in Colmar was a little strange and annoying. On greeting us off our coach, she collected us together and having doe so, decided to go off somewhere a collect maps of the town. So we all to wait several minutes while she got the maps she was seeking. I could not understand why she had no got the maps already instead of wasting our valuable and short time in Colmar before we had to return to the ship. Then once we got going she was obsessed with food and directed us to look into the shop windows of food stores. Everybody wanted to look around the attractive town. At the end of her 'tour' she went off to a pub rather than waiting to deal with any queries or directions. All a bit odd. Apart from these hiccups we had a great time and would thoroughly recommend Emerald to anybody.

Excellent throughout.

The friendly, hardworking staff (this includes greeters at both arrival and departure airports) and crew, from captain to washer uppers, made this river cruise special. There was an excellent variety of activities and excursion both ashore and onboard.

Interesting trip on the lower Danube and giving a brief outlook of a number of several eastern countries that we had not visited before.The ship,staff,food was very good and everyone had a good time.The included trips each day were well organised and interesting and covered a range of interests.The iron gates gorge was fantastic and the weather did its bit being mostly sunny and warm.

We did 2 river cruises
1in 2016 Budapest to sea
1 in 2025amsterdam to Budapest along with a friend who we told he would not be disappointed
Both on Destiny
We were not disappointed