Emerald Sky Ship River Cruise Review: 10 Things We Loved

 1. Our Stateroom Balcony 

Our Emerald Sky river cruise ship cabin had a really cool balcony feature in some of their staterooms. We had an Emerald Panorama Balcony Suite and we loved it. This is a common feature of Emerald Cruises river cruise ships, on Decks 2 and 3.

Instead of a traditional balcony, where you step outside a door and sit on a landing outside the room, your room becomes the balcony. It's considered a French balcony in cruise ship terms because it's inside your cabin.

The stateroom window slides down halfway and voila – a balcony! Even our swan towel animal liked it.

2. The Staff and Crew

The staff and crew aboard Emerald Sky were all so sweet, warm, and welcoming. 

We know this is perhaps the general rule with cruising – we’ve never encountered cruise staff who was anything but welcoming and accommodating. But hey, there’s always potential to have some bad apples.

Every member of Emerald Cruises' river cruise team on our sailing was wonderful, from the Captain to the Cruise Director to the Chef and Housekeeping. 

A favorite memory was when all the servers in the dining room sang Happy Birthday to me!

3. Meeting New People

The small ship's size is conducive to meeting people, and we loved that aspect of it, no matter what age the person we met was, from the youngest person on our ship (who was around 18 years old and there with her family) to the oldest. (Of course, we didn't ask the older people's ages!)

One of the common conceptions about river cruises, whether an Emerald Cruises River Cruise or another company, is that it skews older. 

While older audiences may have more time and money on their hands than “younger” people or couples (which is why statistically they take river cruises more often), we found a nice mix of ages on our Emerald Cruises river cruise. 

It was nice connecting with other couples who shared a passion for travel, like us. Many of them were repeat Emerald Cruises river cruise loyalists and they were able to share information about the ports we were going to, which we found helpful and provided for a nice conversation.

People are very interesting and it was great to make some new friends aboard the cruise even if it was simply by sharing the same table for a meal or encountering them on tours.

4. The Netherlands and Belgium River Cruise Itinerary

Emerald Sky ship had a phenomenal itinerary for this cruise.

This Emerald Cruises river cruise itinerary on Emerald Sky was so incredibly special because it took us to the Netherlands and Belgium. It was during peak tulip season, and we were able to visit the famous Keukenhof Gardens, which should be on everyone's bucket list.

We stopped at amazing ports like Veere, Arnhem, Bruges, Rotterdam, and Delft. (Delft was a true highlight!)

5. The Beer and Wine with Meals On Emerald Sky Ship were great

We loved being able to relax during lunch with an ice-cold draught beer and wine with dinner, all included in the cost of our river cruise. 

Is there anything quite like a fresh, ice-cold draught beer and a comfy place to sit and have a meal after walking around on a warm day? Nope, there isn't.

While all river cruises we know of include beer and wine with lunch and dinner, it's appreciated every time. (That's part of why they're a great vacation option!)

6. Emerald Sky Ship has a Pool 

Not only does it continuously amaze us that boats can float, but they also have some pretty incredible amenities—like POOLS! 

Our Emerald Sky river cruise ship had a gorgeous onboard pool. The retractable roof opened up to the outdoors and the blue sky if the weather was nice enough. And if not, it was indoors so the weather didn't impact being able to enjoy it. It was also a nice, quiet place to read a book.

We went in the pool a few times during our week-long river cruise. Each time, we practically had it all to ourselves (which was surprising).  

The pool also had a sliding floor that covered it up so the area could become a nighttime cinema. We love a multipurpose room! Especially on small ships. It really makes the most of the space and helps give cruisers more options of things to do onboard.

7. Emerald Sky has Coffee & Tea Available, 24/7

Europe does something to us because as soon as we hit the ground from our overseas flight, we suddenly want coffee multiple times a day. We appreciate hot, strong coffee when we travel abroad. And we were so thankful that Emerald Sky had great coffee available to guests 24/7. 

Most river cruise ships have coffee stations, but Emerlad's is amongst the nicest out of the cruise lines we've experienced, from Viking to AmaWaterways. On Emerald Sky, there's a second coffee bar in the pool area, which was a nice perk! If ever the main station was in use by another passenger, the pool was a very quick walk away, so we popped over there to use it. The self-serve stations also had one of Dan's favorite Emerald Cruises features: a self-serve cookie jar for a sweet treat to accompany tea or coffee.

We took advantage of self-serve coffee, whether we were in the lounge area, at the pool, or taking a cup up on the top deck to enjoy the scenery.

8. the Port of Embarkation and Debarkation Was Incredibly Easy to Get to During our Emerald Sky River Cruise 

It was so, so easy to fly to Amsterdam’s Schipol airport for our cruise and equally as simple to get to the port, which is right by Amsterdam's main train hub, Central Station. Amsterdam was both the point of embarkation and debarkation during this journey, for a closed-loop cruise.

Amsterdam airport (AMS) is a major international airport with plenty of flights in and out. Furthermore, Emerald Cruises helped us book the flights and also arranged transportation to and from the airport to the port. It was seamless. 

Sometimes Emerald Cruises runs promotions, including flights or flight discounts, so be sure to sign up for email notifications via their website. You can also use our Preferred Travel Advisor Team to help book your travel.

9. Emerald Sky Ship's Top Deck is Top Notch

Nearly immediately after embarking and showing ourselves around Emerald Sky ship, Dan noted that the top deck was one of his favorite aspects of the vessel. It was lovely and sunny up there during our April itinerary. The vantage point always provided grand views of whatever landscape we were passing or the port we were approaching. We got a kick out of being on the top deck, especially as first-time cruisers on Emerald Sky.

I loved that Emerald Cruises has turf on the top desk, a Tic-Tac-Toe board with very photo-worthy “X” and “O” pieces, and chairs. We loved having coffee on the top deck, hanging out and talking. There was also a miniature put-put golf course and a track around it in case you wanted to get exercise and walk or run laps.

10. Emerald Cruises Accommodates Various Activity Levels

We've cruised with Emerald Cruises several times and one of our favorite things about the brand is they are accommodating to multiple activity levels. They're always a moderate walk for the general group, then a more “Emerald Active” level. There were always complimentary bikes to sign up for in each port as well, which the crew took off the ship so passengers could easily start biking around town as soon as we disembarked in a port.

For anyone needing a tour with a slower-paced group, there was a group for that on all the tours.

And if we didn’t want to do any of the above, as with all river cruises, we were always free to do our own thing.

We Can't Wait to Cruise with Emerald Again!

We're always dreaming of our next river cruise with Emerald Cruise…or even a yacht cruise on Emerald Azzurra! Check out our fantastic cabin on Emerald Destiny and get a glimpse into our fabulous Danube River Cruise. Don't forget to sign up for our Small Ship Cruise Talk podcast to hear even more information and stories about our adventures on small ship vacations.

For further reading check out:

• 26 Helpful Things to Know your First Time on a River Cruise
• Emerald Destiny Cabins: Details to Love in Your River Cruise Room
• Viking Christmas River Cruise with Dazzling Markets Along the Danube