ONBOARD THE EMERALD SKY — Australian tour and river cruise company Scenic Tours debuted its four-star river cruise line Emerald Waterways last week with the christening of the 182-passenger Emerald Sky in Amsterdam.
The first in what will be a four-vessel fleet of Emerald's Star Ship class of river ships, the Emerald Sky brings to the river cruise industry some clever innovations and an edgy sense of style.
European river ships are limited to a particular length, girth and height to clear myriad locks and bridges, and the result is that most have undistinguished, squared-off profiles. Not so with the Emerald Sky, whose owners and design team gave the vessel a pointed bow, a curvaceous superstructure and angled bulwarks that lend it an impression of speed, even when it is secured to its berth.
In terms of aesthetics, the Emerald Sky puts an emphasis on midcentury and Scandinavian modern design. The interior of the vessel is a showcase of European boutique hotel styling with vast expanses of full-length windows, stark, clean surfaces and sophisticated color schemes. Standout details include kidney-shaped cocktail tables, curvaceous chairs and ergonomic dining room cutlery.
Among the vessel's "wow" factors are a soaring, mirror-paneled entry lobby with chandeliers that resemble futuristic dandelions; a heated infinity pool at the stern that utilizes a telescopic floor to become a cinema at night; and, in the top three tiers of accommodation, large stateroom windows that lower with the flick of a switch to create open-air balconies.
But as with any prototype, there were still some minor bugs to vet during last week's inaugural sailing. For example, instead of the standard credit card type of room key, tiny magnetic chips are used to open cabin doors. The caveat is that they are so small and likely to get lost that they need to be attached to a lanyard.
More standard glitches were just a matter of supplies not getting to the ship in time for the christening, not an uncommon occurrence with river cruise launches. Navigating passageways for the first two days of the inaugural sailing involved stepping around stateroom towel racks waiting to be installed. Gym equipment hadn't yet arrived.
Nevertheless, how refreshing that this ship actually has a gym, empty or not. It also has a small massage room and beauty parlor.
The few aforementioned misses were mere blips on an otherwise bright experience, thanks mainly to the pleasant surroundings of both the ship and the Rhine River and the efforts of the Emerald Sky's earnest and hard-working international crew. From the cabin stewardesses to the waiters and bartenders, all were willing to go out of their way to meet or exceed expectations.
In the main dining room, the quality and presentation of the food and wines was off to a consistently good and plentiful start.
Because of the limited capacity of the nightly cinema (60 guests) passengers are encouraged to reserve seats in advance at reception. Other organized evening entertainment included live music and port lectures.
The included tours were also of a high standard, with pleasant, informative guides. And like many river cruise companies, Emerald provides radio headsets to help insure that guests can hear the guides on walking tours.
With demand for European river cruising at an all-time high, Emerald Waterways' sleek new Emerald Sky seems to have arrived at an opportune time. It will be joined by sister ships the Emerald Star later this month and the Emerald Dawn and Emerald Sun in 2015.