Emerald River Cruise
We booked the ‘Rhine Cruise’ visiting Cologne the Black Forest and ending in Basel, Switzerland on board the fabulous Emerald Luna built in April 2021.
River cruises are very good value for money – the prices include breakfast, lunch and dinner (the standards are really high!) wine, beer and soda at lunch and dinner, tea coffee and bottled water throughout and transfers from the airport to the ship (and back) You also have the option of paying a supplement for the 'premium drinks package' meaning that all drinks, branded also, are available to you all week - well worth it!
Also included are gratuities, all excursions and bicycle hire. Wellness classes such as yoga and at least one shore excursion in every port are also included.
Our 'Panorama Balcony Suite' was SO comfortable, a sumptuous bed (never slept as well!) wall to ceiling window with state of the art half opening which creates your very own balcony where you can sit and watch the world go by!
Unfortunately due to the drought and the very low water levels at the time, it was considered unsafe to sail the Rhine, so we were offered a last minute change of itinerary and chose to go with it.
There are no guarantees that the river cruise would operate later in the year or even next year. The weather affects more than we realise – too much water and the vessels can’t get under the bridges!
We flew from Manchester to Amsterdam, flights on time, no problems, no queues (mind you, we did booked the 6am flight!) We enjoyed a stroll around Amsterdam on arrival, we’ve never seen so many bicycles! Amsterdam, Netherlands capital city, is known for its elaborate canal system, narrow houses and artistic heritage including the Van Gogh museum.
The next day we joined one of the included excursions, we saw windmills and visited a clog making factory - we also visited the ‘Floriade Park’ exhibition ‘filled with beautiful gardens, attractions, art and culture with the aim of inspiring green cities of the future’ Well worth a visit.
On day two we visited Rotterdam, well what a surprise! Such a lot to do in one of Europes largest sea ports, it’s not just a tough port city, it has lots of interesting attractions. Go to the ‘Euromast’ one of the highest towers in Holland at 185 meters where on a clear day you can see Antwerp! Visit Delfshaven, one of the most pleasant districts in Rotterdam, one of the few places spared during the WW11 bombings. And a visit to one of Hollands most famous bridges, ‘Erasmus Bridge’ is a ‘must-see’ attraction.
We also visited the pretty town of Veere, the city of Antwerp and Arnhem where we learned about the battle of Arnhem in 1944. We visited the Airborne Museum in Osterbeck and also the Arnhem Osterbeck war cemetery.
It was a different kind of holiday, perfect for exploring new destinations with some of the stops being almost in the city centre. Great food and drinks (the cocktails were exceptional!
We enjoyed our cruise with Australian, American and Canadian passengers, we all got along just fine.
Everything went to plan, no hiccups and we returned home relaxed, well-fed and we had a learned a thing or two!
As we checked out, the only thing we had to do was hand over the keys, there were no extras to pay, nothing!
And yes, we would try another cruise, maybe the Danube next time.