The first of the series, and she is twelve
The Emerald Sky left the De Hoop yard at Lobith, in the Netherlands, in
2014. She is the first hull of the series that launched the brand. One hundred
and thirty-five metres, four decks of which three carry cabins, 91 cabins and
180 travellers. A technical database gives 182 travellers and 92 cabins: the
gap is the difference between certified capacity and commercial layout.
She sails under the Maltese flag on the Rhine, the Mosel and the Danube. Our
inventory counts one hundred and ninety-five departures, forty-eight in 2026
and one hundred and forty-seven in 2027.
The pool that becomes a cinema
It is the brand's best-known feature and it is true on this ship. The heated
indoor pool sits under a retractable glass roof, and its telescopic floor rises
in the evening to form the floor of a cinema. Seven hulls in the fleet have it;
one does not, and two others remain uncertain.
One point to know: no refit has been published since she left the yard.
Twelve years with nothing announced does not prove nothing was done, only that
nothing was made public. The question goes to the supplier before committing a
demanding client.
The other ships in the fleet
The Emerald Star shares the same hull on the Rhine and the Main. So does the Emerald Sun. The
Emerald Astra is the 2026 newbuild. The Emerald Luna covers four waterways.
Owner of its hulls
The brand is headquartered in Switzerland, the group that holds it is
Australian, and the entity signing the travel contract is established in
Australia. What matters here: the group owns the ships it sells, and since 2020
it owns a shipyard as well.
The eleven river ships come from Dutch yards, one from Portugal, another
from Romania. The four ocean yachts come from a Vietnamese yard the group
presents as its own.
What the fare covers
Gratuities first, to the crew as much as to guides and drivers: no daily
service charge is posted to the onboard account. Standard drinks at the two
main meals. At least one excursion per touring day. Internet, provided with no
promise of performance.
The international flight is not included in the offer sold here. It is
included in the same brand's British catalogue: two products, two contents, one
name. Your advisor ties the air portion to the rest of the file.
Accessibility, unrounded
An able companion is required as soon as the traveller needs help. Only
folding wheelchairs are accepted. Mobility scooters are judged unsuitable. The
line itself writes that cabin and bathroom doors may not admit a standard
wheelchair.
No inventory of adapted cabins exists publicly for the river fleet. On the
yachts, two independent sources establish that there is neither an adapted
cabin nor an adapted bathroom. And mooring abreast regularly means crossing a
neighbouring ship by stairs.
Why go through an agency here
Because the contract binds you to a company on the other side of the world,
and nothing establishes that it holds a Quebec licence. Voyages AquaTerra holds
one, with the trust account and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel
Agents that go with it. And someone who answers when a connection collapses the
night before departure.
