Emerald Dawn Review

Great First Cruise Experience

Review for Europe River Cruise on Emerald Dawn
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SoCal Retiree
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2019

Having retired in 2018, my wife and I were looking for a quality river cruise experience with an established river cruise line. We conducted extensive research and spoke to friends about their experience. We eventually settled on Emerald and booked with them in January 2018 on the Danube Delights cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest.

We spent 5 days in Nuremberg prior to the cruise and so, we were responsible for arranging our own transportation to the ship docking site which we understood. We understood that but encountered some difficulty in contacting Emerald and getting the necessary information. When we initially called Emerald at the number they provided on the first morning of the cruise (Saturday, August 24), the young lady we spoke with informed us the cruise did not depart until the following day. Our itinerary clearly indicated the cruise started on Saturday. I implored her to verify that and call us back. After a half hour without a callback, I called again and the young lady confirmed that the cruise started on Saturday, as we had thought, gave me the ship phone number, and the docking location (Europakai 10) located about 5.4 miles from the hotel. The taxi ride to the ship cost about 20 Euros which was quite reasonable.

Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted by a friendly staff member who insisted on getting our luggage from the taxi, advised us he would assure it was delivered to our room, and directed us to the lounge where we could relax and have a drink. My cousin who lives in Nuremberg planned to see us off on the cruise and I asked the activity director if she and her boyfriend could join us in the lounge. He responded that was certainly not a problem but they would need to disembark at least 30 minutes before we set sail. The entire boarding process was easy and effortless and the crew we encountered all made us feel welcomed.

Cabin Review

Our cabin was Clean, modern, reasonably spacious, and well appointed! The staff consistently took outstanding care of the cabin keeping it cleaned and in order! We loved the attentive service.

Port Reviews

Durnstein (Krems)

It was 90 degrees that day so we sat in the shade and sipped cold lager!

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