Emerald Cruises

Scenic Group (shipowner) is the parent company of three travel brands: Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Evergreen Cruises & Tours, and Emerald Cruises (Emerald Waterways and Emerald Yacht Cruises).

Company History

Formerly known as "Emerald Waterways," Emerald Cruises (emeraldcruises.com) is a Scenic Group-owned travel brand and an affordable river cruise line established in 2013 and operational since 2014. The company is a division (subsidiary/brand) of the Australian cruisetour operator Scenic Tours.

The parent company, Scenic Group, offers a wide range of leisure travel deals, from 5-star luxury riverboat cruises to land tours and coach travel excursions in Australia, Europe, and the USA. Scenic Group's river cruise brand, "Emerald Waterways," is known in the Australian market as "Evergreen Waterways."

In early 2020, Scenic Group established "Emerald Yacht Cruises" as a separate brand (from Emerald Waterways) specializing in premium yachting vacations. The new brand was inaugurated in 2022 with the newbuild 100-passenger superyacht Emerald Azzurra.

Scenic's yacht brand operates itineraries in Europe's southern seas (Mediterranean, Adriatic, Aegean, and Black Sea), as well as the Red Sea (Arabian Gulf/Dubai) and Indian Ocean (Seychelles).

Azzurra's sistership Emerald Sakara was inaugurated in August 2023.

The similarly designed but 10% larger sisterships are Emerald Kaia (2026 May), Emerald Raiya (2026 December) and Emerald Xara (2027 April). Also in 2027 will be inaugurated the company's first Seine River (France) deployed boat Emerald Lumi.

On March 9, 2021, the merger of Scenic Group's brands "Emerald Waterways" (EmeraldWaterways.com) and "Emerald Yacht Cruises" (EmeraldYachtCruises.com) was officially announced, resulting in the single brand "Emerald Cruises" (EmeraldCruises.com).

Emerald Waterways debuted with two top-luxury riverboats, Sky and Star. In 2015, a second pair of sister ships, Dawn and Sun, joined the fleet. The fifth boat, Emerald Belle, was initially scheduled for launch in 2016, but a fire at the construction yard delayed the launch until 2017. The boat's name was also changed to "Emerald Destiny," joining the 2017-inaugurated boats Liberte and Radiance.

Overall, the company has raised the bar within the budget river cruising market. The brand is positioned between the 3- and 4-star cruise lines and competes with renowned brands like Avalon Waterways and Viking Cruises, offering less expensive fares and innovative design touches.

The following YouTube video provides information about Emerald Waterways ships' general onboard amenities and services on the company's "Star-Ship" class boats, detailing onboard activities and amenities, as well as the boats' best deck plan features.

Emerald, one of the newer river cruise companies, targets the European inland waterways cruising market exclusively.

Emerald operates the following Scenic Tours-owned riverboats:

• Emerald Astra (2026)
• Emerald Luna (2021)
• Emerald Harmony (2019) - Mekong River cruises in Cambodia and Vietnam
• Emerald Belle (2016) was damaged by fire during construction and replaced by Emerald Destiny (2017)
• Emerald Liberte (2017) - cruises in France (on the Saône and Rhône rivers)
• Emerald Radiance (2017) - cruises on the Douro River in Portugal
• Emerald Sky (2014)
• Emerald Star (2014)
• Emerald Sun (2015)

Emerald Waterways ships have some of the best crew-to-guest ratios for European riverboats. One of the fleetwide innovations is the dual-purpose area, the brand's signature "pool-cinema" complex, located on Deck 3 aft on the "Star Ships." This area transforms from a heated indoor pool (with a retractable roof) during the day into a cinema at night—a unique river cruise ship feature. The second impressive feature is Emerald's balcony staterooms, which transform into conservatories with the touch of a button.

The rest of the innovations are fairly standard on new builds in the modern era of European river cruising. Among them are private balconies for the majority of cabins, spacious suites, and open-air alternative dining spots. The alfresco dining area at the bow of the ships offers informal dining options for breakfast and lunch, while most meals are served in the Reflections Restaurant, the riverboat's main dining room.

In October 2024, a fleet renovation program was announced for 2025, with scheduled refurbishments across all Europe-based riverboats. Stateroom enhancements will include iPads (in all Suites), Missoni textiles, and yacht-themed artworks. Renovations will also include updates to the public areas (walkways, pool/cinema, Dining Room Restaurant, The Terrace), which will receive new furniture and flooring. For all Star-Class boats deployed on the Rhine-Main-Danube routes, extensive refurbishments of the Horizon Bar & Lounge will include new furniture, premium textiles, and interior decorations.

Emerald Waterways Cruise Deals Inclusions

Emerald Waterways river cruise tour deals include:

• Some flights (depending on the market and special offers)
• All transfers (to and from the ship)
• Guided sightseeing/shore excursions, including city tours
• Gourmet dining, with all meals onboard (and some ashore)
• (Top suite cabins only) pre-dinner canapés, after-dinner sweet treats
• Unlimited tea and coffee
• Bottled water (in all cabins, replenished daily)
• Free drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks, espresso, cappuccino) with every meal
• Complimentary bicycle
• Free internet/WiFi access
• Live onboard entertainment
• All onboard and excursion gratuities
• Impeccable service

In July 2020, the "Emerald Waterways" brand was officially launched in Australia, where Scenic Group originally operated river cruises under the "Evergreen Cruises and Tours" brand.

In July 2021, the brand "Emerald Yacht Cruises" officially began operations. Announced on February 1, 2020, the new brand is served by two 110-meter-long, 100-passenger superyachts: Azzurra (2022) and Sakara (2023).

(Coronavirus Crisis) Passenger Shipping Pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, Scenic Group's travel entities suspended passenger operations (land tours, yachts, riverboats) by canceling all voyages with pre-scheduled departures from March 14, 2020, through late-July 2021.

Scenic Group's fleetwide travel operations resumed in August 2021, including the riverboats in Europe, Asia (ship Harmony), and Egypt (ship Movenpick MS Hamees).

For rebookings, Scenic Group provided an FTC (Future Travel Credit) for all canceled departures. Each canceled cruise booking (river or ocean itineraries) received a 110% FTC (for the booking's full value), to rebook and travel by December 31, 2022. All booked land tours (including Egypt cruise tours) during the suspension period were provided a 100% FTC (for the booking's full value), to rebook and travel by December 31, 2022.

Scenic's FTC was valid for travel departures through December 31, 2022. The FTC could be applied to any existing booking within Scenic Group travel companies (Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Evergreen Cruises & Tours, Emerald Cruises) and when rebooking future travel. The FTC was fully transferrable to another customer.

Upon the expiration of the Scenic FTC voucher (on December 31, 2022), customers who were unable to travel could request a 100% cash refund (equal to the amount paid). All customers with bookings that departed from July 1, 2020, and customers considering a booking after July 1, 2020, had the option to transfer their booking (up to 30 days prior to departure) to an alternate date without a fee. Scenic waived all cancellation fees, with the booking value applied as an FTC, and reviewed the timing for full payment when rebooking. Please note, if customers chose to cancel, third-party fees may apply, which would be at the customer's own expense. This policy applied to all Scenic Group's travel brands.

In addition to its owned fleet, Emerald Waterways also charters ships deployed in the Adriatic Sea (yachts Adriatic Pearl, Adriatic Princess, Swallow, Lastavica), the Nile River in Egypt (hotel ship Movenpick MS Hamees), and the Volga River in Russia (MS Nizhny Novgorod).

Travelers looking to explore Southeast Asia in luxury should consider the new Mekong River itineraries offered by Emerald Waterways.

A signature 16-day itinerary aboard the purpose-built Mekong Navigator riverboat explores Vietnam and Cambodia along the Mekong River. In addition to the 16-day river cruise from Hanoi to Siem Reap, Emerald Waterways offers an 8-day "Magnificent Mekong," 12-day "Mekong Discovery," and 19-day "Vietnam and Cambodia Explorer" B2B itineraries.

Owned by the Austria-based company Lueftner Cruises, this luxurious ship is often chartered by large European river cruise companies, including Uniworld, Emerald Waterways, Haimark Travel, Vantage Deluxe World Travel, and Saga.

Emerald Yacht Cruises

The company planned to inaugurate its new brand, "Emerald Yacht Cruises," in July 2021.

Announced on February 1, 2020, the new brand launched with two 100-passenger superyachts, Emerald Azzurra (2022) and Emerald Sakara (2023). In April 2024, the third yacht, Emerald Kaia, was announced, with its inaugural season set for April 2026. In April 2025 were announced Kaia's sisterships Raiya (2026 Dec) and Xara (2027 Apr).

The custom-designed ships operate in warmer climates, including Southern Europe's Mediterranean (Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea), the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean (Seychelles).

Emerald Kaia's 2026 schedule (inaugural season) was announced in April 2024. The program includes just 8 voyages (available for booking starting April 10th), based entirely on the 14-night/15-day "Discover the Best of the Croatian Coast" itinerary. These voyages depart roundtrip from Dubrovnik's Port Gruz (departures on May 2, Aug 8, Aug 22, Sep 26) and from Venice (departures on Jun 20, Aug 1, Aug 15).

Kaia's Maiden Voyage (roundtrip from Dubrovnik) departs on May 6, 2026. The 15-day itinerary starts with an overnight in Dubrovnik and visits Split, Croatia (Day 3-4/overnight), Zadar, Croatia (Day 4), Opatija, Croatia (Day 5), Piran, Slovenia (Day 6), Venice, Italy (Day 7-8/overnight), plus Croatia's ports Rovinj (Day 9), Sibenik (Day 10), Trogir (Day 11), Vis (Day 12), Hvar (Day 12-13/overnight), and Korcula (Day 14), ending in Dubrovnik.

Raiya's inaugural season starts in December 2026 in Seychelles. The winter deployment would be followed by East Mediterranean/Aegean Sea voyages (starting April 2027) visiting ports in Greece and Turkey. The summer 2027 program is to be followed by Seychelles itineraries (winter 2027-2028).

Xara's inaugural season starts in April 2027 in Europe/Mediterranean. Then the ship will cross the Atlantic Ocean for a Caribbean deployment (October 2027 through March 2028).

Emerald Cruises opens for booking Raiya's and Xara's cruises in June 2025.

European River Cruise Itineraries

Emerald's Epic Voyages are longer itineraries ranging from 15 to 23 days. These B2B cruises combine some of the brand's best-selling itineraries into back-to-back, longer vacations, either on the same ship or with a short flight/bus transfer to a new boat midway through.

In 2027 starts the company's first year-round deployment in France (on the Seine River) with the custom-designed boat Emerald Lumi. The 7-day roundtrips leave from Paris and visit Honfleur and Rouen.

The following YouTube videos are official releases that review the company's signature river cruise destinations:

Danube River

Douro River

Mekong River/Asia (Vietnam and Cambodia)