This was our first cruise, and it lived up to every thing we hoped it would be.Staff were very helpful,cabins were clean and bigger than we expected.
The food was very good, but we were on the late sitting,and as they were busy,it was very late when you finished your meal.
The entertainment team were superb,if you like west end shows, you wiil love the shows.
I enjoyed dressing up for the Captain's night, you did not feel over dressed, but if you don't like dressing up, that is not a problem.
The trips with Thompson were a bit over the top on the price, but this seems to be the same with all holiday companys.
Enjoyed this criuse so much we are thinking of trying the Spirit next summer

Couldn't fault the food, Staff or cleanliness of the Emerald. Would we do it again.... no! too cramped on the sun decks felt too much like Butlins on the water. Shows were good and accomodation spacious we were on Deck 7 next to the Lido Bar never experienced any noise from there.We were there for our silver Wedding and we ordered the Occasions package the Flowers were fantastic!! we had dinner with the Staff Captain and met a lovely girl who was purser on board called Tanya as i said before you couldnt fault the ship or its staff they were 1st class.

Travelled for 1 week on 3 June. We found this ship to be brilliant. Entertainment was good, sometimes was aimed a little at the older cruisers. We travelled with our daughter who is 14 and there was not many teenagers on the boat and not a great amount of things for her to do. I would say the boat is more suitable for couples.

A little about the places that we visited on the Pearls of the Agean cruise. We did not do any tours as we researched before however we found the Thomson reps more than helpful when we did need them.

Kefalonia - not really a great amount of time here. Enough to visit the shops. Would need to get a taxi to go further afield.
Athens - Outside of the port turn left and about 20 mins later you will come to the metro station, then its uphill all the way to the Acropolis - well worth the sweat!
Kusadasi - Again a walk into the town 5 mins. Been to Ephesus before so just stayed in the town and hit the shops. Beach was only 10 mins walk away.
Mykonos - A cruise bus took you from the port to the edge of the town. I thought this place was beautiful and would love to revisit. A maze of little tiny streets which is very easy to get lost in as we found out.
Santorini - visit this on a night. Get the cable car or if you are brave the donkey to the top. Again lots of little streets and wonderful shops. Found a lovely taverna where we ate and drank. Cable car stops at 10pm so make sure you don't miss it.
Heraklion - Loads of shops even Marks & Spencers!!! They even have a £1 shop called the one euro and 50 cents. Good market where lots of bargains could be found.
Zante - when we eventually did get off the boat as there was a swell which was quite high. Again a lovely typical greek town with lots of shops and bars. Crossing back to the ship was a little hair raising as the sea was quite rough and they had put the life jackets in the tender just in case. Was pleased to get back to the ship!

Entertainment on the ship was varied from the usual shows, comedien and live singers/groups.

Restaurant - we ate the Chanterelle restaurant table 8 where Leo and Jesse were our waiters. They showed use tricks, oregami, serviette antimation and even sang and played the guitar. On the night of our Silver Wedding Anniversary they played the guitar and sang to us. Brilliant.

Captains night was the only formal night which is on the Saturday. We really enjoyed this night.

Ship was on very good condition and get clean and tidy daily. They painted the ship each day.

Whirlpools - they were replaced when we were on the ship. One of the pools the temperature was soo high you felt that you were cooking. My husband told a waitress and within 5 minutes the engineer was checking it out and corrected the temperature. Excellent response.

Sunbeds - plenty of them.

All inclusive package - we were lucky enough to have this package and what a difference it made when we checked out our bill was less than £100 for photo's and extras.

Yes we would travel on this ship again or may even try another Thomson cruise.

Sailed 24 June on Adriatic Cruise .
This was our first cruise and we were a bit nervous , once on board we knew we were worried about nothing .

The cleanliness of the ship and especially our cabin was excellent .Our cabin stewardess was brillint and the cabin was cleaned every day and bed linen once during the week . There were some nice touches such as the bed being folded down and chocolates placed on the pillows whilst we had dinner . On our wedding anniversary she decorated the room -OK a bit "cheesy" but nice , as was the waiters serenading us at the dinner table .

This brings me to the food . Overall very good more items for breakfast than I would have thought possible , buffet lunch in the Bistro always had plenty of choice and a good quality dinner in the Chantrelle dining room . The one night the steak was tough the waiter was devestated that we did not want anything else .

All the staff were very polite saying good morning , thankyou etc - I only wish most of the local population in England were half as polite . The two waiters we had , plus our stewardess could not do enough for you .

The Emerald Players were superb . Where they get all there energy from I don't know . Different show each night and the guest cabaret was brilliant .

We had a problem with the air conditioning in our cabin but that was sorted out within hours .

Overall I would thoroughly recommend the Emerald , unless you want dicos , stainless steel and plastic .

What can I say, It was our first time on the Emerald and we loved it.
The staff are just brill! entertainment was Brill! Ports of call where Brill! especialy Venice and Dubrovnic.Special mention to all the entertainers who work damn hard Robin was great with the kids and the kids club girls hi Anna!!(from Chloe)Oh and Pappa Nick in the Sky Disco (bar tender)

Sorry must have missed the staff button last time.

sailed on the Emerald in June 2005, from Corfu.
Ships Cleanliness was excellent, staff seem to be constantly wiping and mopping over, Superior outside cabin was great, really spacious and the room was cleaned twice a day.
Food aboard the emerald was lovely, fresh and hot, with plenty of selection. I must say that we dined most nights at the bistro because it was more relaxed, netherless the formal night was special to.There are so many meal servings (about 6 a day) I must be honest and say that i only ate breakfast and evening meal as i watch my weight and eat moderately.
Staff on the ship we really friendly and approachable nothing to much trouble for them, and always smiling.
Entertainment excellent, you have so much choice.
The Itinerary the best i have ever been on, and i have cruised before. Cant wait to visit santorini again, must be one of the nicest places on earth, and i must tell you that last year we actually walked up the 1200 steps to get to the top and it was exhausting so this year We will definately be taking the cable car.
I would definately go again on the Emerald, well i have actually booked for the 30th June this year, same ship, and same hotel on the second week for my cruise & stay.

The ship is old (1958) cabins and bathrooms are ok,reasonably roomy, but not suitable for disabled or infirm due to raised steps into cabin bathrooms and raised sections across all corridors at firedoor locations. The main dining room food is ok,not great, the food in the Bistro was usually warm not hot,the choice here was good with the exception of hot veg,there was none! If your going ashore on your own(i.e. not on a Thompson excursion )expect little information or help from Thomson, except a pre printed guide to each port which was often inaccurate.A case in point was Venice where we were told it was a 20 minute walk to a waterbus into St Marks Sq, it was 150 yards away.The bar service was slow at busy periods. The Lido bar could get noisy and raucous, maybe due to all-inclusive drinks packages! If this was your first cruise don`t be put off cruising there are much better ships, even sailing with Thomsons.

We sailed On Emerald on her Adriatic cruise and had an excellent time, the ship was as descibded in other reports spotless for her age , to the point where the paint work on the lido deck was painted twicw in the same week, the was a cleaner on view all day everyday on the lido deck, towels changed twice a day if required, room cleaned in the am and retidied whilst at evening meal (make sure you do first sitting as late sitting was still there at 11.00pm on night).



The meals and food in general was of a high standard and Im pleased to say there were no pushy pensioners as previously describded. Breakfast ranged from cereals of several sorts , heaps of fruit, yogurts, fruit juices, toasts biscuits, cakes and buns, full english and virtually any combination and in any amount found anywhere in europe.

Mid morning Tea was heaps of cakes with tea, coffee and cold water (all available 24hrs)

Lunch arange of salads with continetal meats , smoked fish, pitza, or hot pasta or curry or pialla again in any combination or amount you want if you want to eat 12 noon to 1.pm you may quoue after that you walk straite in

At 4 ish you start again with fresh rolls and sandwiches from smoked salmon, cheeses and salads to various meats ,cakes and buns,

Evening meal is a three course meal served in the restaurant (Which is supposed to be smart casual ) and was an british type menu with dishes familiar to british people, Cod in batter, Beef welling ton, Shank of lamb etc

At 11.30 pm supper started curries with nan bread and popa doms , pasta dishes, cheese and biscuits.

Entertainment was excellent its worth noting that entertainers contracts last 6 months this team have done 4 weeks so will only be there until Nov so previous bad reports can be ignored as they are not applicable to the present time. Only nit is the sound checks can take longer than the show! Also for people with hearing difficulties I would have expected a hearing loop in showbars there was none , which spoilt the experience somewhat for one of our party

Day trips are expensive and a couple of ports at the start of the week naff . At Ravenna if your not on a trip don’t bother to get the shuttle bus, the town was closed we went on the second bus (about 30 min intervals) by the time we got to the town the first bus load were waiting at the stop to return to the ship!!!

At Brindisi , Triste and Split it was a short walk to the town area (we had a 75 year old ) in Venice a short walk to a waterbus and the 10 euro return ticket to St Marks square , we went on a gondilier costing 100 euro for 4 for about 45 minutes a wonderfull experience you negiotiate the price so haggle!!!

In Dubrovnik a taxi for 4 cost 15 euro to old town , you will probably be offered by the driver a 50 euro trip around the area with a bit of history and guided tours ,photo stops . everyone who did this thoughgt it excellent value

A truly wonderfull holiday the whole bit by Thompson was excellent , (on the return flight there was a mix up with meals ) twenty eight people had only part meals so were given a complimentart drink and full refund of the meal charge. They did all eat!!

We did the fourteen night back to back Adriatic Explorer & Pearls of the Aegean and what a wonderful holiday it was. The cabins where first class on deck 4 outside premium, they where kept immaculate throughout our stay. The food on board was very good but we prefered to eat in the Bistro as it was a more relaxing atmosphere. The captains night we ate in the Chantrelle rstaurant and the food was very good. The all inclusive drinks package was excellent value for money, but as other reviews the service was at times very slow. The entertainment on board was wonderfull and top marks go to Incognito with Angie and Eddie who kept us entertained night after night with very little repetition in their programme. WELL DONE. Cruise host Robin Maughm also stood out above the rest, if not in height definitly in his overall performance, especially his first cabaret spot which was excellent. All in all an excellent value for money holiday, so much so we have booked again for next year. Cheers Thomson and the Emerald