Emerald Harmony

The 2019-built RV Emerald Harmony cruise ship is the 8th vessel in the Emerald Waterways fleet. This is also the company's first Star-Ship class boat built for Southeast Asia's inland cruising market. Emerald Harmony cruises on the Mekong River, with cruisetour itineraries in Vietnam and Cambodia and leaving, respectively, from homeports Saigon and Siem Reap.

Emerald Waterways is a new river cruise shipping company (2014-established) and brand owned by Scenic Tours (shipowner). Like the new longships of Viking River Cruises, the innovations implemented on Emerald Waterways ships make these vessels an alternative to the ocean "small-ship cruising". Emerald Waterways adds more cruise tour itinerary choices and sailing dates for the aficionados of the all-inclusive European luxury riverboat travel vacations.

The riverboat Emerald Harmony was constructed at 76 Shipyard in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon (Vietnam).

Itineraries

Emerald Harmony ship offers 3 Mekong River cruise itineraries:

• 13-day "Majestic Mekong River Cruise"
• 17-day "Treasures and Temples of Vietnam and Cambodia:
• 21-day "Grand Tour of Vietnam and Cambodia"

The inaugural cruisetour ("Grand Tour of Vietnam and Cambodia) departs on August 20, 2019. itinerary's call ports include Halong Bay, Hue/Da Nang and Hoi An. The itinerary ends with 3 nights in Siem Reap where passengers can attend Phare Cambodian Circus and visit Angkor Wat. This top-luxury passenger vessel was specifically designed to be able to navigate and dock right into downtown Saigon (Vietnam's capital Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon). After debarkation, tourists can book a 2-night Saigon hotel (as a package extension) before the flight home.

Next tables shows the riverboat's 8-day itineraries (between Cambodia and Vietnam) leaving from homeports Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, My Tho, and Saigon.

Emerald Waterways ' 19-day "Treasures & Temples of Vietnam and Cambodia" cruise prices start from GBP 5200 (~EUR 5730) per person (double occupancy cabin rates).

Tourists start their cruise vacation in Hanoi, then travel to Halong Bay, cruise on the Mekong River (embarkation in My Tho, debarkation in Siem Reap) then is the return flight.

from My Tho to Siem Reap (northbound route)

from Phnom Penh to Saigon (southbound route)

Emerald Harmony's 2024-2025 Mekong season included the new 10-day "Meandering Majestic Mekong" voyage between Saigon and Phnom Penh. The new itinerary starts in Saigon (Day 1/embarkation) and continues toward Cho Gao Canal (Day 2), Ben Tre City (Day 3), Sa Dec/My An Hung (Day 4), Cu Lao Gieng Island/An Long (Day 5), Tan Chau (Day 6/Vietnam-Cambodia border crossing), Phnom Penh (Day 7-8), Angkor Ban (Day 8-9), Peam Chi Korng (Day 9), Phnom Penh (Day 10).

Cabins

Emerald Harmony has a total of 42 staterooms in 4 categories:

• 2x Owner’s Suites (size 450 ft2 / 42 m2) are the only cabins with step-out balcony (terrace sized 325 ft2 / 30 m2) and are fitted with outdoor Jacuzzi whirlpool. As bonus perks are offered complimentary laundry (4 items per day), in-cabin dining service (pre-dinner canapes) and VIP dining at Captain’s Table.
• 4x Grand Balcony Suites (size 400 ft2 / 37 m2) are with separate bedroom/lounge area and offer as bonus perks in-cabin dining service (pre-dinner canapes, after-dinner sweets).
• 32x Panorama Balcony Suites - size 275 ft2 / 25 m2
• 4x Emerald Staterooms - porthole window cabins sized 275 ft2 / 25 m2
• All staterooms have a max capacity of 2 passengers per cabin.
• Most staterooms are French Balcony cabins with floor-ceiling windows (drop-down) that transform the seating area into a comfortable "indoor balcony" space.

Passenger cabins feature contemporary Southeast Asian design, twin beds (convertible to double / Queen-size), wardrobe, mirrored dressing table with chair, en-suite bathroom (with WC, shower, single-sink vanity, hairdryer, premium toiletries, bathrobes, slippers), flat HDTV (infotainment system / Internet, movies-on-demand), free Wi-Fi, mini-fridge, phone, alarm clock, electronic safe box.

Shipboard facilities

The riverboat features some of Emerald Waterways trademarked design details, such as sleek furnishing, interesting lighting elements and indoor swimming pool - covered with a sliding roof and transforming into a night cinema.

Like most of the newest luxury river cruise ships, Emerald Harmony has 4 passenger decks, indoor swimming pool, Fitness (small Gym Room), Spa (massage room), 1 elevator and passenger-use bikes. The Poolside Bar serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The Sun Deck has shaded seating area (with 4-seat tables), sunbathing area (with premium loungers), deck games area and a walking track.

The ship has 2 restaurants. The Reflections Restaurant is the main dining room with open seating and table service. There is also a buffet station (at dinner) and an omelet station (at breakfast). The Terrace is the al-fresco dining area - informal venue serving breakfast and lunch. Horizon Lounge has floor-ceiling windows and doubles as a casual lunch-only restaurant. Weather permitting, lunch and dinner buffets are held at various times on the open-air Sun Deck. Onboard dining features Cambodian cuisine specialties and also International food prepared with the freshest ingredients (locally sourced produce). Free drinks (International and domestic wine, beer, sodas) are offered with lunch and dinner.

The most innovative feature of Emerald Waterways Harmony ship is the dual-purpose area, which transforms from a heated indoor pool (with a retractable roof) during the day, to a movie theater at night.

Emerald Harmony is also the first ship in the fleet with Lotus Lounge. Situated at the bow on Vista Deck, it serves Afternoon Tea, specialty coffees and snacks throughout the day.

Note: You can see CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.

Emerald Harmony is Emerald Waterways’s 8th riverboat in the Star-Ship series, and the first deployed outside Europe. This modern ship was custom-designed to be able to navigate right into the heart of Vietnam's capital Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. The 15-day "Majestic Mekong" cruisetour itinerary starts with a 3-night hotel stay in Siem Reap prior to joining the cruise ship in Prek Kdam (Tonle Sap). The voyage continues through Cambodia to Kampong Tralach and Phnom Penh and then crosses into Vietnam to visit Long Khanh Island and My Tho (Mekong Delta). After debarkation, tourists can stay for 2-nights in a Saigon hotel before theis flights home. General booking prices started from ~GBP 3,000 per person (double occupancy rates on the December 10, 2019 departure).

Next time-lapse video shows vessel's construction from scratch.

For the ship's Inaugural cruise season (2019), bookings made by August 31, 2018, received as bonus free roundtrip airfare (international flights to Asia) plus USD 100 pp in onboard credit. As an alternative to this early booking promo was offered a discount of USD 3000 per couple. Bookings after August 31 and through October 31 (2018) were offered either free flights or USD 3000 per couple; Full paying customers saved an additional USD 600 per couple on all itineraries.