After various cruises with Thomson on the Celebration and Destiny, we were very impressed with the Emerald, and are sorry that it does not appear in Thomson plans for 2009. It was a very friendly ship. The cruise director, Gavin Carroll, his assistant Rob, and all the entertainment staff, were excellent.
The staff in the restaurant were very good, and the enormous Maitre D was pleasant and entertaining.
The ports of call were well chosen, with venice and Dubrovnik being as impressive as we imagined, but Zadar and Rovinj were also excellent choices and very pretty.
The only complaint that we could make was that there was no food available when we arrived on the ship at 4pm - the Bistro had closed at 4pm, and no food was available until 6.45pm. On previous cruises on the Celebration and Destiny, food was available in the buffet restaurants 24 hours per day, and we felt that this was a failing.

Little point in adding this report as the ship is only part of the Thomson fleet until the end of this season.....
However for those who have booked for what remains of the season, here is our opinion.
This was our second cruise, and embarkation was far swifter and well orgainised than our ealier cruise this year (on the Celebration at Easter).
This ship is not in the same league as the celebration, in my opinion, the Celebration has a stately charm, where this just felt a little jaded...where the celebration has carved wood this had stainless steel (banisters etc).
Food.....was very good....I did hear some people complaining that you could not eat 24/7...i.e there were breaks of an hour sometimes where you could not eat....HMMMMMM didnt see that as a problem myself!!!! we used the buffet for breakfast and lunch (if we were on baord) and the Chanterelle for dinner.
Entertainment was very good also....something for everyone, we particularly liked the game shows at 10 pm each night....as we had our 14 year old son with us this was right up his street.
Cabins were fine if a little on the small side but very clean and comfy.
Overall a fabulous holiday, mainly due to the amazing itinerary..(Adriatic Explorer which Ibeleive the Celebration is to do next year.....) and the ship, although lovely, did not compare to the Celebration....BUT as I said to a fellow previous Celb passenger....if we hadnt been on there we would think this was fab!!!! So really just think we have been spoiled....
Staff were always very freindly, BUt one thing we did notice was that unlike on the other ship Ikeep mentioning!. where the staff are 90% Phillipino, there were a mutitude of nationalities on the Emerald, and we did notice some dis-harmony......
No critiscism at all really though....just comparisons.......we had a fabulous week with the highlights being Rovinj and Dubrovnik, and not venice as I had expected......

I went on the Emerald in July 2008 and really enjoyed it! I was very impressed with how kind and friendsly the staff/crew were to the passengers and how hard they worked. I didn't go to much of the entertainment, however, I thought what I did see was quite good. I didn't go to the dining room much but I really enjoyed Le Bistro as it is self-service. I was quite dissapointed with the pool, as it was salt watered and is rather small. I would sail on the Emerald again, but I can't because this is its last year.

I like the staff very much i like the cleaners and the deck attendants. I liked moon the attendant and simon the bar man. it was the best!

Hi, why was people complaining about the food? It was great.
Our Cabin stewart was the best he was funny, our cabin was 459 and was spacious. The bar and waitering staff was good and made our cruise enjoyable. Thanks simon, vincent, alex and antonius. The pool deck attendant also a deck cleaner moon made my holiday fantastic. Reception staff was great especially eric. Id just like to say thanks to everyone for making my holidays something i will remember for ever.

We have just returned from another great Thomson cruise. This time on board the Emerald. We had a bad start when our flight was delayed so long at Norwich Airport that we missed the sailaway in Corfu. As we were "go as you please" on our second week, staying with friends in Corfu, Thomsons arranged for us to do the Adriatic in the second week so we stayed with our friends a week early. We will have to do the Greek Islands another time. Bless them for having us at such short notice. The ship may be old but we loved her. She is getting on a bit (like us) but the crew keep her spotlessly clean and seem to work 24/7. Thanks to Sylvana for keeping our cabin so nice. The food was excellent, especially in the Chanterelle restaurant. We skipped the Captains dinner having done it before on the Celebration. The buffet meals on the pool deck were very good, and we enjoyed the midnight Indian buffet on the pool deck after a day out and a late afternoon tea. The entertainment staff are very enthusiastic and we enjoyed the two shows we saw. We had a good laugh on the pool deck when Gavin, the entertainment director, did an "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here" show with his young staff. Very funny!
We didn't do the Thomson trips as we thought them expensive. We got taxis, very cheap, and did our own thing seeing everything we had planned to see. Venice and Dubrovnik are a must. Gondolas are expensive so find someone to share with. Taxis from Dubrovnik port to the old city gate are 10 euros each way. We did the sity wall walk, hard work but its worth the effort for the stunning views. Take plenty of bottled water with you and be prepared for a lot of steps, not suitable for the disabled or elderly. It took us about 90 minutes but I am still ecovering from a broken ankle. The ship docks in Trieste on the Monday and unfortunately its the day when the shops are shut! Nice to walk round though. All in all a great holiday. A real shame Thomson won't be using the Emerald any more. I would have no hesitation in using her again.

Truly Brillant, a shame this is the Emeralds last year. All staff great with our two year old, but special mention too-: Alex (head waiter in Bistro), Tata, Papa nik/Nikolas/Conrad/Mawi/Aya and too many to mention for making our holiday great. On the OV1 last year and no hard sell as like with them, plenty of info on doing trips on your own and very easy. Food god and although we did not see much of the entrtainment Gavin Carroll never passes you without a hello and most folks we spoke to enjoyed the entertaiment. If you are going son pass on our regards to any of the folks above. Well done Thomsons for delivery what you promised.

We went on the ancient wonders cruise. It was our first cruise and after reading some of the reviews we were a bit nervous as what to expect.
We were very impressed, it was a lovely ship, kept spotlessly clean at all times.
The food was very good, plenty of choices.
The Chantrelle restraunt was very nice, and the waiters were excellent, very friendly.
The entertainment was good, as it was the last cruise of the season, i think the dancers were getting rather tired, but put on a good show.
We were impressed with the hand disinfection before entering the dining room, and other places serving food, and also before embarking back on to the ship after being ashore.
Our cabin was very nice, and kept very clean and towels changed twice daily.
The excursions we went on were very well organised, and very enjoyable.
The carpets etc are looking a bit jaded, but i believe the ship is going to be refurbished now, before cruising again.
I would sail on this ship again, and look forward to doing so in the future.

This was our first Thomson Cruise booked for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. We had cruised once before on the Sea Princess.

We were apprehensive after reading some reports and yes the ship is over 50 years own but she has a charm of her own. Public areas bright and clean. Staff were very friendly, especially Vincent and Conrad in the Sky Lounge Bar and Big Willy and Joel in the Chanterelle Restautant.

Entertainment was good. The "Africa" Show and the "Lloyd Webber" show by the young members of Emerald Show Team was excellent.

Our Cabin on deck 4 had plenty of space and we were well looked after by our Cabin Steward Silvana.

We only took a couple of excursion to Ephesus and the House of Mary which was incredible with a very good guide who told us all we wanted to know and the second to Panoramic Athens and the Plaka which was a complete waste of time due to the volume of traffic.

We visited other destination independantly - Cephalonia, Santorini, Rhodes, Zante and Corfu. Taxi fares very reasonable.

Food in the Chanterelle Restaurant (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) was very good but in Le Bistro the food could have been hotter. Burger Bar etc on Deck also good.

Bar areas were good with friendly staff. We were on the All Inclusive Package and choice of Drinks were very good including Cocktails. On our 30th Anniversary Hannah and Nicola who run the Sky Disco presented us with a bottle of Sparkling wine after we requested one of our favourite songs. A very nice touch.

We had a terrific holiday made even better by the Friendly atmosphere on board and by June, Stuart, Joan and Jack whom we shared a table with each evening in the Chanterlle Dining Room.

Don't have any doubts, go and enjoy a pleasant cruising experience.

We travelled on the Emerald from 27/7/07 to 3/8/07 to the Greek Isles. We have never cruised so all this was new to us.

To be honest the ship and crew were excellent. When I say crew I mean the cabin stewards, restaurant and buffet and bar staff. The reception staff were stupid and rude except for one Australian chap who tried his best to be helpful.

Our cabin was excellent although my Dad had an inside cabin which was very small it was functional and clean.

The food in the chantrelle restaurant was excellent and the service you couldn't fault. The food in the bistro and burger bar was also reasonable but could have done with being a bit hotter but no real complaints.

It was Thomson's holiday company we had major gripes with. We found a couple of the reps to be quite off hand and not really bothered especially one of the ladies on the destination desk dealing with the trips. Yes, I'm afraid we had a very had experience with an excursion. If in doubt, with Thomsons doin't book one. A lot of people moaned and complained about the trips but I doubt they complained to the reps. We did and got absolutely no where, I did take the name of the rep in question, there were two on the desination desk, the one we had problems with was the dark haired one I think she was called Jackie but I can't be sure until I find my little note pad.

My husband booked a skuba diving excursion for £38 in Rhodes. The excursion ended up being 5 and half hours travelling time and messaging about with photos and such rubbish and half an hour in the water. We complained three times and on the last day at 5.00pm when we were just about to leave the ship the Ozzie guy said we could have a refund. Thomsons have just taken the money out of our account so I'm writing to the company asap.

Most of the trips seemed to follow the same rip off manner according to other passengers but I can't comment as we only went on one.

We will never travel with Thomson again as they are two bit company who pack em in and grab the money. I don't think the cruise was a cheap option as it was over £1000 each for a week but I know we could have paid a lot more.

All in all I can't complain much about the ship, it was lovely although the annoying tannoy announcements at 9 every morning were a bit of put off when you wanted a lie in. If anyone wants to go on the Emerald by all means try it.