Emerald Cruises Christmas and New Year

Emerald Cruises as a premium travel brand and cruise line serves typical European travel aficionados. These are usually well-educated, 55+ river cruising veterans. The line also aims at a younger demographic with its onboard amenity upgrades, like the indoor swimming pool that transforms into an outdoor cinema.

As is the case with most European river travel companies, Emerald Christmas and New Year voyages include boat transfers and shore excursions/tours within the cost to the overall fare. However, unusual and in-depth shore excursions are offered optionally, and for a fee. Water, tea, and coffee, as well as beer and house wine with dinner, are ticket price-included. The line also arranges flights on a case-by-case basis.

Noticeable is that throughout your time onboard, each member of the staff/crew maintains a perfect balance between friendly and professional.

In December 2020, Emerald Cruises (Emerald Waterways' parent brand) announced an array of river and yacht journeys around the winter holidays that offer something for every type of traveler:

• The Christmas Connoisseur: A river voyage calling on some of the most enchanting European Christmas Markets. Emerald Waterways’ 2021-2022 Christmas Markets sailings range from 5 to 15 days with sailings along the Danube, Rhine, and Rhone rivers.
• The Adventurer: A Mekong River sailing in Southeast Asia through Cambodia and Vietnam in December allows for the opportunity to explore ancient culture. The largest celebrations are happening in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), where Christmas is a major holiday. Passengers may even see multiple Santas on scooters. Land packages and sailings of 13-21 days are available for the 2021-2022 seasons.
• The Bucket Lister: An 8-day holiday voyage to the Holy Land on Emerald Cruises’ superyacht, Emerald Azzurra, offers the chance to visit Port Said (Cairo), Egypt, and see the Great Pyramids of Giza as well as to enjoy a day cruise along the Nile before spending 2 days in Haifa (Tel Aviv) Israel and visiting Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. The highlight of the trip is the 2 days in Ashdod (Jerusalem) from where, travelers can choose from excursions to Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Dead Sea.

Emerald Azzurra is the first yacht to launch under the newly formed Emerald Yacht Cruises brand. The 100-passenger superyacht plies the warm waters of the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Red seas.

To search for Christmas and New Year river cruises by departure port, country, and company, you can use CruiseMapper's Xmas cruise finder. Be sure to select "River" in the "Ship Type" box.

The next tables show all Emerald Waterways Christmas New Year cruise itineraries as ships, departure ports, call ports (dates and arrival/departure times), and regions.