Emerald Star

MS Emerald Star cruise ship (built 2014) is the first among Emerald Waterways identical sisterships and fleet mates Emerald Sky, Emerald Sun, Emerald Dawn and Emerald Destiny (2017). Company's fleet expansion continued in 2017 with the launches of Emerald Radiance (Portugal) and Emerald Liberte (France).

Emerald Waterways is a new river cruise shipping company (established 2014) 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.

Cabins

The ship has a total of 92 staterooms in 5 categories for 182 guests served by 47 crew members. All cabins have a maximum capacity of 2 passengers per cabin. 75% of all rooms are Suites with a balcony (in-room/step-out veranda).

Shipboard facilities

Emerald Star offers a nice variety of onboard dining options. The Reflections (main restaurant) is with open seating and table service. The al-fresco Terrace is for casual breakfast and lunch. The Horizon Lounge also serves light food, such as salads, soups, hot dishes, and sandwiches. Weather permitting, buffets are held also on the open deck. A new-to-river feature of Emerald ships is the dual-purpose area transforming from a heated indoor pool with retractable roof during the day, to a movie theater at night, showing classic movies and recent releases. Like most of the newest luxury river ships, Emerald Star has 4 passenger decks, Gym, Spa, massage room, 1 elevator, and passenger-use bikes.

Note: You can see the 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 Star was christened by godmother Joanie Ogg - owner of the Joanie Ogg Marketing Group (travel industry consulting company). The naming ceremony was held in Vienna (Austria) on October 15, 2014.
• Like most new European river cruise ships, Emerald Star has a telescopic wheelhouse which can be lowered into the below deck to clear low lying bridges. Ship's wheelhouse is open for passengers to visit on a regular basis.
• Scenic Tours (Emerald Waterways) cruise deals are inclusive of wines, beers and soft drinks (at meals), as well as gratuities, transfers and shore excursions within the cost to the overall river cruise tour fare. Flights from London (England) or other regional UK airports are also complimentary.