Our first cruise & we really enjoyed experience.
The ship was old but very clean. Our cabin on deck 6 had adequate space for the 3 of us bearing in mind that we only used it to wash & sleep.

Food in Chanterelle restaurant was excellent, food in Le Bistro was very good.

Staff were always friendly & helpful. Lucy Jo & Anna from Kids Club were excellent ( hello from Melissa).

Onboard entertainment a bit of a mixed bag. Emerald Players were excellent, very professional as was comedian Peter Piper.Patrick the pianist in The Starlight Lounge almost made us lose the will to live!

We would definitely sail on The Emerald again and are also keen to try out other ships & cruises.

Having just sailed on the Adriatic Explorer Cruise and enjoyed it very much, despite mixed weather for this time of year.
The cruise has left us with happy memories, which is what hols are all about,and as perhaps the Emerald is not the latest 'high tech' of vessels it does still have a lot of charm that attracts people to sail with her time and again.
All in all the food was of a good standard with plenty of variety and the staff very attentive especially the restuarant waiters.
The Cruise Director Mr Nolan Dean is a true professional as well as his entertainment staff who are obviously truely dedicated to pleasing everyone.The shows they put on were second to none and of a very high standard.A credit to them all!
The ports of call in Croatia are well worth visiting which can be accessed by foot or local taxi.
Despite the boat being full there was still plenty of room for everyone...sun beds etc.
Final comment: a good all round holiday for all ages!

I've read the other reviews and think i must of been on another ship deffinately not the same Emerald others have spoken about, or maybe i expect too much. It was awful from start to finish, our cabin was dirty, the smell from the drains in the bathroom was sickening, the aircondition was freezing you had to go outside to warm up, the shop was never open.
The food in the self service restaurant was always cold even though it was meant to be hot.
The Chanterelle dinning room was waiter service, the only trouble was they were always waiting to whip your plate away even before you finished eating, it was so rushed.
The excursions were a waste of money, it was on the coach off the coach have a quick look back on the coach.
I went on the Island Escape last year, and this was pure luxury compared to the Emerald and cost a lot less, for the amount of money i paid for a week i expected a bit of luxury, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Very disapping.

Robin is the best!!!

First time on a cruise and will be my last, rubbish from start to finish

First time on a cruise and will be my last, rubbish from start to finish

Welcome to Butlins at Sea!
We have been on several cruises before and were very disappointed by this one. The entertainment was very poor, mainly audience participation, who could make the most noise from one side of the room to the other. Not the West End style shows we were expecting.
Late night food was the evening meal slightly warmed and served again about 11:30.
We paid for a superior deluxe room on deck nine - it was appauling, nothing matched, bed linen had cigarette burns, towels very grubby, the whole room looked dirty.The only good thing about this trip was the itinery we went to some fabulous places around the Adriatic.
We will never go on this ship again!

Hi

Our first time cruising hence only a week as we didn't know what to expect - but BRILLIANT!

We flew from Liverpool to Corfu. We collected our luggage at Corfu airport and then was directed to a small stand. We were given an envelope containing our plastic identity card and information. From there, we loaded our luggage on to the coach and proceeded to the ship.

At the port, we left the coach (and our luggage) and had our photos taken for the ship's security system (your photo comes up on their screens when you present your boarding card every time you get on and off the ship). From there you go to another desk where the Maitre D has a plan of the Chanterelle restaurant. You choose your dinner sitting and table. Then you can either walk to the ship (about 5 minutes) or go on a shuttle bus. The whole thing works quickly and smoothly. We took the bus as my sister has mobility problems and gets tired very quickly. You go straight onto the ship and your luggage will already be in your cabin, or will arrive shortly afterwards. If you have mobility difficulties (and a lot of people did on our cruise), you can get on and off the ship via the crew walkway which is level with the quayside. Whichever way you choose, there are always lots of crew members present and they are all extremely helpful.

The ship itself is absolutely spotless and the staff can't do enough to help you. The towels in your cabin are changed twice a day and the cabin maid even turns back your bed every evening, does a quick tidy around and leaves a chocolate on your pillow!

When the ship is in port it operates an 'open sitting' in the main restaurant so you don't have to keep to your designated times. The restaurant is lovely and the tables and linens would do an ordinary restaurant at home proud. You continually get your glass topped up with free wine whether or not you're on the drinks package! The menu is fine and gives a good choice of food. The portions aren't large, but you can get 3 starters if you don't fancy any of the main courses, or 3 main meals if you don't like the starters or desserts! There's no problem with whatever you want. It doesn't matter that the portions aren't large as there are 5 courses and you can always visit the late night buffet if you want. You never seem to wait more than an hour for food to be served somewhere!

Le Bistro opens at various times each evening. On the formal night it is now open from 1830hrs to 2130hrs for those people who don't fancy a formal night. It also opens one night for a midnight oriental supper, but it wasn't open every night at midnight while we were onboard for the midnight supper. Instead, waiters go around every bar with platters from about 11.30pm with hot canapes and nibbles - chinese and indian stuff, pizza etc. Even caviar on crackers! You're just sitting there and then someone comes up to you with a huge tray and napkins - you don't even have to leave your seat! I've seem reviews that say the food in Le Bistro was only lukewarm - not when we were onboard. It was fine.

We were on the inclusive drinks package so didn't have to pay for anything, but the drinks prices weren't too bad. A pint of Stella was £2.20 and shorts were £2.20. Cocktails were £2.85 and coke/soft drinks £0.95. But you do have to pay for a bottle of water (£0.60) which seemed strange. Also, if you want to have your own bottle of wine with dinner you have to pay for it - it's not included in the package. But if you order it by the glass it's free. I like sparkling wine and thought that I'd be able to order a bottle to share with my sister (my husband prefers ordinary white wine, beer or bacardi), but we couldn't do it. We could order only by the glass. It wasn't a problem but just be aware. One man didn't realise he'd have to pay until after the wine was brought to his table.

The service in every bar is excellent and efficient. I know some of the cruise reviews have mentioned slow service but we certainly didn't experience it and our cruise had a full capacity of passengers. There are loads of bar staff and it's very rare if you have to visit the bar yourself. A bar person comes to you to take your order. You have to give them your blue plastic identity card which he/she takes to swipe at the till and sign an order slip. You receive your drinks with your card and a yellow receipt slip. Just like paying with cash really and waiting for your change. The system works very smoothly although they must go through tons of paper! The staff are so attentive because the receipt records the bar person's name so the management can constantly monitor the number of passengers they serve. Perhaps they have a system in place that rewards service over and above what is expected.

You don't tip anyone during your cruise, just at the end if there's anyone who impressed you more than others. We tipped our cabin girl (Tatyanna) and Talaat in the Monte Carlo lounge who was a lovely lad and let my mum flirt with him (he's about 20 and she's 68!). We also tipped our two waiters in the Chanterelle dining room (Willy and Joel who were really funny).

The dress code in the Chanterelle for every night except the formal night is smart-casual. Basically anything as long as it's not swimwear or you look hot and sweaty! So pants (long or cropped), blouse, top or t-shirt (for women) and pants (again long or cropped), shirt (short sleeved or long), or decent t-shirt (for men). What you'd wear to go for a meal in a casual cafe/restaurant while on holiday really. In Le Bistro you can wear what you like. During the day if on ship I'd go in wearing my swimwear with a sarong or t-shirt and it was fine.

The formal night had us in stitches! Some people went so way over the top - long beaded evening dresses with jewels, lots of make-up and posh hairdos, while their men had tuxedos with starched shirts and dicky bows! There was even one man in full Scottish kilt and whatever. To be honest they looked so out of place as the Emerald (although lovely) is quite a casual ship and not one of the big posh ones. Even the staff have a laugh at them behind their backs. One of them said to us that it shows them as people who don't get out often! The majority of women just wore normal dresses, or skirts/trousers with nice tops. A lot of men wore suits and ties, although quite a few just wore shirts and ties without a jacket and this was perfectly acceptable too. As a guide, just think about what you'd wear to a nice restaurant if at home.

We didn't bother with the formal night - and a lot of people didn't - we just went to Le Bistro. We have to dress smartly for work every day and we go on holiday to relax and not worry about what to wear. We take only casual clothes when we're away.

The entertainment onboard is also very good. We usually steer clear of hotel based entertainment as it's usually pretty naff. We hate going where you're forced to get up and do stupid, rude or humiliating things. It wasn't like that on the Emerald. Every night in the Monte Carlo lounge there was some kind of quiz or game show which were funny. And you weren't forced to take part if you didn't want to. There was a race night, Mr & Mrs, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Blankety Blank, Pub quiz and something else that I can't remember and they were all pretty good. In other bars there's a piano player, singers or disco music.

We went into the Regency Show Lounge a couple of nights to see a variety show (good performers) but didn't stay as it was always difficult to get seats and there are lots of pillars in the room which obscure your view.

We did a few Thomson excursions, although to be honest it's cheaper to do them yourself. You can always get a taxi at the big ports to take you wherever you want to go and they will pick you up when you want too. At some ports, you have to disembark on to a tender which will then take you ashore. Don't be worried by this. Although when you first see it you think 'I'll never manage that', there are plenty of big, burly men at the tenders to get you on and off! My sister coped fine and so was a lady confined permanently to a wheelchair, and a young woman who had spina bifida and was very unsteady on her feet. If you have any concerns about any of the stops, go to the Destination Services desk next to reception and they will tell you exactly what to expect and whether or not it would be suitable for you.

There are plenty of sunloungers on the decks but the prime spots get taken early. What was annoying was the number of sunloungers being reserved by people who were then getting off the ship to go on an excursion. They wouldn't return until after 1pm yet had left their towels on sunbeds by 8am. I thought that was really taking the p**s. The ship has a policy that says sunbeds shouldn't be reserved and that towels will be removed after 30 minutes if no one is there, but we didn't see any staff do that. After a couple of days though, passengers themselves got fed up with it and lots of towels were removed from prime position sunbeds, folded up and put to one side. I did it myself on one occasion. The only other problem with sunbathing on deck is the lack of shade. There aren't any brollies and some days were SO hot if there wasn't a breeze. Inside the ship, it's fully air conditioned and you can control the temperature in your cabin.

All in all, an excellent time and we'll be cruising again.

Excellent overall! Not enough time to see the sites. Maybe a greek evening would have gone down well especially as we were sailing around the Greek islands. Service in evening restaurants very rushed maybe the coffee could come at the end with the sweet instead of with the main course. Air conditioning was not working in cabin.Good value for money!

If a gentelman who was on the ship who glanced at me several times an touched my shoulder is reading this please send me a email to emma_worsley@hotmail.co.uk i would love to hear from you!

Well it doesn't have the "wow" factor that you get on bigger ships, but it is very well maintained and all the public areas are smart, if not opulent. We have only previously cruised on the Island Escape, and found the cabins on the Emerald to be bigger and brighter. Our cabin on deck 7 was very convenient, had a great view, and kept immaculate by the cabin steward. Actually we hardly ever saw him, he seemed to know our routine and only knocked once when we were in there. We never had to ask him for anything as he was so efficient! No towel sculptures though, although others on board did have them.
Food in the main dining room was always good with plenty of choice, nicely presented, and quick service for meals and drinks. The Lido buffet always had a queue, though it moved fairly fast. People have complained in other reviews that the food was not hot. In our experience this was because you had to get your whole meal on a tray in one go, because of the queues. By the time you had eaten your cereal, the rest of the breakfast was almost cold! Much preferred the Island Escape system where different courses were on separate stations, and you only needed to get one course at a time. Plenty of seats when you had got your food though.
Most of the staff were absolutely delightful, and couldn't do enough to help you. We had wondered if being all inclusive would mean slower service, ( as they have already got your money!) but that wasn't the case at all.
Entertainment was better than on the IE, more variety, and not as "pushy" so people who didn't want to take part could watch happily without being badgered.
We did the Pearls of the Aegean and Adriatic Explorer. Never been to Greece, Turkey or Croatia before, and very impressed with the sights and scenery. Did 4 excursions, and found them interesting and good value, especially St John's and Syrence in Turkey. Missed 2 ports (Ravenna and Zakynthos) because of stormy weather. Other ports we did ourselves. Trieste was a real surprise- beautiful buildings and squares. Trying to get taxis could be difficult when bigger ships were in port, and we ended up with a long walk in Corfu, and a very long and hot bus ride back from Dubrovnik. We tendered here, but into the main port rather than into the old town as others have said. Throughout the fortnight we only had one shuttle bus provided, at Mykonos. I think Thomson's could have done better in that respect.
We found the deck areas a bit shabby and cramped. It is a narrow ship so they can't create space from nowhere, but better design and deck furniture would improve the cruising experience. We would go on this ship again, as it was very comfortable, friendly and relaxed, and has interesting itineraries that make a refreshing change from the Western Med.