Scenic’s luxury fleet got a new member. Brand’s new Emerald Waterways cruise line is the lower-priced alternative to its existing river cruise brand, Scenic Cruises, that will offer cruises on Europe’s most popular rivers. This company will now own two separate river cruise brands with two different target markets, two different sets of amenities and two different price points. The main differences between these two lines – this new will just be billed as “Mainly Inclusive” instead of “Fully Inclusive”, as well as electric-assist bikes and personal butlers and of course the price.
Emerald Waterways will start sailing on April 15 on the Rhine, Moselle and Danube with new 182-passenger vessel Emerald Sky, to be joined in June by sister ship, the the 182-passenger Emerald Star. The eight-day cruise starts at $2,230 per person.
Both “four-star deluxe,” ships will have a heated swimming pool in an area with a retractable roof, which will be transformed into a movie theater in the evening. Cabin innovations include a drop-down open-air window and indoor balcony, replacing the French balcony in the Panorama Balcony Suites. There will be 20 cabins, two of which will be built for solo passengers, and 72 suites.
“These measure 180 sq ft — 45 sq ft bigger than Viking’s equivalent French Balcony Stateroom,” said Townson. “Viking sends tens of thousands of guests every year and Emerald is offering a better product at a lower price so we’re excited by the potential.”
Also, Emerald will be marketed to North Americans as well as Australians (Scenic is headquartered in Newcastle) through the usual travel agent channels, but will likely appear first with those agencies and partners that already carry Scenic’s river cruise and land tour products.
