We were invited to join a group on this cruise that received an excellent advanced booking discount from their travel agent. Having previously traveled on higher end lines, the discount was enough for us to give this relative newcomer to river cruising a try. We booked a panoramic balcony suite for less than half the price of what a similar cabin on a high-end line would cost. My husband and I (40 and 34) traveled with my parents (77 and 63). About half of the passengers were from the UK, with the rest from the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. We felt we got a good value for our money, but looking ahead to 2018 prices compared to high-end all-inclusive lines, I'm not sure I'd choose this line/itinerary again at this price.
Our cruise departed from Arles, and we flew into Nice as was suggested by the Emerald website. The transfer from Nice is 2 hours and 20 minutes. It would have been preferable to fly into Marseille and have less than an hour transfer, but this wasn't clearly communicated to us upon booking with our travel agent, or on the Emerald website. If you choose the itinerary in this direction, consider asking about all airport options before you book.
Upon embarkation (which went smoothly as I believe we were the last to arrive), we were pleased with the quality and decor of the ship. It has a sleek, modern decor with lots of mirrors. The cabin (we had Category C on the Vista Deck) was roomy for a river cruise and efficiently used all the space available. We enjoyed the "in-room balcony" created by lowering the window half-way. Amenities upon embarkation included everything we needed, although special requests had to be made to replace toiletries to ensure we had enough shampoo or shower gel. Our cabin was kept very clean, and we were happy with our attendant, Simone.
The cabin (we had Category C on the Vista Deck) was roomy for a river cruise and efficiently used all the space available. We enjoyed the "in-room balcony" created by lowering the window half-way. Amenities upon embarkation included everything we needed, although special requests had to be made to replace toiletries to ensure we had enough shampoo or shower gel. Our cabin was kept very clean, and we were happy with our attendant, Simone.