LOWER DANUBE RIVER CRUISE WITH EMERALD CRUISES

In this blog series, Amy’s been sharing her experiences of a Lower Danube river cruise with Emerald River Cruises port by port, from the Serbian cultural hub of  Novi Sad  and its capital city  Belgrade , to the Slavonia region of  Croatia  by the border and a taste of  rural Hungary. Now she looks at how Emerald Cruises made this itinerary so special, and why a Lower Danube river cruise is well worth your consideration…

 As soon as I step onboard an  Emerald Cruises  river cruise ship – whether it’s for the first time to check in, or returning from a cruise excursion, onboard  Emerald Radiance  when I cruised on the Douro – read my  Emerald Radiance Douro Cruise Review  – or onboard  Emerald Sun  on a Lower Danube river cruise – I always feel a sense of tranquillity and calm, probably because you’re met with the smiling face of the receptionist, or maybe because Emerald’s Star Ships are light and airy with panoramic views of the river, and I always find being beside a river calming.

Stepping into the entrance foyer, set in the heart of the three-deck atrium, your eyes might first be caught by the large, metallic sphere lights that hang like disco balls. The dappled reflections of the currents of the river outside glisten and dance against the mirrors and glass on the inner walls, the support beams, and the shiny glass reception desk, and the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sliding doors off the ship or up to the sun deck offering full views of the world outside make you feel almost like you’re floating on the river, because it seems almost as if there’s nothing between you and the river.

It’s this clever, minimalist, and contemporary design that really elevates a sense of serenity while onboard and it’s a really wonderful feeling to be enveloped by as soon as you step onboard. It just dazzles and makes you feel connected to the riverside around you; after all, you have such fabulous, practically unobstructed, views, it’s almost as if you could reach out and touch the river.

During my  lower Danube River cruise  with Emerald Cruises, I was able to experience and see an eclectic mixture from wine tastings to horse shows, Habsburg fortresses to grand and glittering Orthodox churches. Sure, you can enjoy wine tasting on practically any river cruise (it certainly wasn’t my first rodeo), and while you can watch the elegant Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna on an Upper Danube River Cruise, what I witnessed in rural Hungary was very much a horse (or several!) of a different colour; more rustic and earthy than the graceful trotting to classical music while spectators watch from a neoclassical balcony. In many ways, these two different horse shows are in their own way representative of the Upper vs Lower Danube.

Likewise, it struck me that while the Habsburgs are often encountered along the Danube, their influence left behind different legacies; in the former co-capitals of Vienna and Budapest – often the highlights of a classic Upper Danube River cruise – you’ll see the grandeur and imperial power of the Habsburg Empire, but on a Lower Danube river cruise, you’ll find Baroque fortresses built as a defence against the return of the Ottoman Empire, in a region that for much of its history never knew independence, and in more recent years its search for independence saw bitter wars between neighbours that have left scars.

It’s fascinating how in a short space of time, and in a relatively short distance (cruising from Budapest to Belgrade is roughly 283 miles or 246 nautical miles), you can experience so much cultural richness, some similarities and some differences, and many unique experiences. In just visiting three different countries – in this case, Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia – I experienced some of the rich tapestry of Europe, colourful threads of history, culture, and landscapes woven together, but a Lower Danube River cruise offers more than what I was able to experience; cruising beyond Belgrade through the iconic 83-mile Iron Gorge into Romania and later into Bulgaria, and the Danube as a whole flows through 10 different countries, more than any other river in the world, giving it the sobriquet ‘the international river’. However, it was the most wonderful introduction and sample of the Lower Danube I could’ve asked for, and has left me tantalised to experience more, and really left a lasting impression on me.

It is the ability to visit numerous different places while enjoying comfortable accommodation which travels with you that makes cruising in general so popular, whether on an ocean cruise or river cruise. However, the ability to travel further inland than being restricted along the coast opens you up into the very heart of countries, as rivers have often been the very lifeblood of communities. Just think how many of Europe’s capitals can be found on rivers; in fact, not only are the vast majority of European capitals sat on river banks, but the Danube itself flows through the very heart of four of them (two of which I visited on this very cruise)!

Cruising, including river cruising, is a multidimensional holiday experience. It’s not just about the ship, although that’s an important aspect, it’s not just about the destinations visited (although, again, that’s an important aspect, and often one of the first and most important considerations that will be made when booking a cruise holiday), and it’s not just about the service onboard, or the food – put simply, it’s not just about any one, single, factor. It’s more like a jigsaw puzzle, where all the pieces slot together to build the picture of your perfect holiday experience. In a way, each cruise line will have their own jigsaw, perhaps they may have more pieces included.

River cruising, as a general rule of thumb, tends to have more pieces included than a typical ocean cruise. On the rivers, shore excursions are included as a default, but this is rarely the case on the oceans, unless you’re on a six-star luxury cruise line. Likewise, drinks with lunch and dinner are included as the rule, rather than the exception on a river cruise, but on oceans, you either pay for all drinks at the end of your cruise or you may have to pre-purchase a beverage package, or choose a cruise line where drinks are all-inclusive; again, (often, but not always) this tends to be limited to the five- or six-star luxury market.

On the other hand, it’s not just a tick box exercise of what’s included, although, for the record, with Emerald Cruises all this is included:

While it’s important to have wide-ranging inclusions so that cruise fares reflect greater value for money and the true overall cost of your holiday (effectively, paying as much to get onboard as you would to get off, rather than being lumbered with additional costs incurred throughout your cruise), it’s the quality of those inclusions that’s also important, how they’re delivered both on board and ashore, how all the different aspects of your river cruise – those aforementioned jigsaw pieces – fall into place, but there’s also intangible qualities that really enhance your holiday experience.

As noted, excursions are a fairly standard inclusion on a river cruise, but quality and variety are important. Emerald Cruises offer you options, including ‘EmeraldACTIVE’ excursions which can range from kayaking (like I did on the  Douro , which remains one of my most memorable excursions), hiking, or biking.

Their EmeraldPLUS excursions are absolute gems, designed to really enhance guests’ insights into and appreciation of a destination by bringing its culture to life in an unique way, often in a way that engages the senses – like the honey and wine tasting in Sremski Karlovici at the end of our  Novi Sad  EmeraldPLUS excursion, or the incredible home-cooked lunch at Eva and Valerie’s in  Croatia  – and encourages cultural interaction (again, like the stories and conversations we shared with Eva and Valerie). The  EmeraldPLUS excursion in rural Hungary  was a riot of colour, culture, tastes (of paprika, fruit brandies and wine), and the thrill of the cowboy demonstration was both entertaining yet at the same time had such an air of timelessness, as if we had transported to a place where time had stood still.

Cultural exploration continues onboard, too. My previous cruise with Emerald River Cruises, on the Douro, was the full itinerary, so I was able to sample all of the onboard activities, and as afternoons were often spent cruising (cruise ships are legally restricted from cruising at night on the Douro, and must be moored up overnight) there were equally excellent opportunities for both beautiful scenic cruising and for some onboard enrichment, including port tasting (I volunteered for the blind tasting, and won a bottle of port for my troubles), a cookery demonstration (again, I was one of the volunteers in a whisking competition), and tile painting class, all of which were interactive ways to experience the regional culture for ourselves.

Towards the end of the Douro cruise, a local entertainer came onboard for a traditional Fado performance. This time around, it wasn’t the typical itinerary, but we still had some insight into onboard enrichment with the chef demonstrating how to make Gibanica, or Serbian Cheese Pie. But a typical cruise on both the  Enchantment of Eastern Europe  and  Grand Danube  itineraries would also include local Serbian entertainers onboard for a traditional folklore show.

On both of my cruises with Emerald, there’s been an Activities Manager, who will coordinate light-hearted quizzes and entertainment in the evening (and sometimes in the afternoons too). Well, the quizzes are light-hearted enough until I represent my team in the finale and become really competitive, but ultimately win.

River cruising is often an especially informal and relaxed style of travel – the combination of smaller ships and lower guest numbers with the fact that those guests will tend to share and then bond over what they experienced during their excursions makes for very convivial and intimate atmospheres – but with both of my experiences, Emerald River Cruises manage to elevate the relaxed informality, and I believe a large part of that is due to the light-hearted fun brought onboard by the activities managers, and the exceptionally friendly crew and cruise directors. The quizzes in particular seem to encourage people to let their hair down, but also I think sharing the wonderful and exclusive experiences offered on the EmeraldPLUS excursions too; they create such special moments that are shared by a group of like-minded people from different walks of life that those people will continue to bond over those memories over a drink in the Horizon Lounge or elsewhere onboard.

Although the destinations visited were very different – the flat, sandy banks of the lower Danube as we cruised regions which form part of the Pannonian Plain were as far away from the verdant terraced landscapes of the Douro’s vineyards, dotted with whitewash houses, as they seemed from those visited along the classic Upper Danube – which meant that the experiences on excursion were utterly unique to each place, and each cruise itinerary has been carefully curated to make the most of the cities and villages along the river cruised and to showcase what makes those destinations unique and special, both of my cruises with Emerald Cruises were underpinned by exceptionally friendly crew, stunning contemporary surroundings onboard, and a relaxed, light-hearted ambience where guests shared their experiences, especially those from the day’s EmeraldPLUS excursion.

Food onboard was delicious, and while there are always ‘classic’ options, there will also always be regional dishes. In all honesty, Emerald Cruises hold a very special place in my heart, thanks to my wonderful experiences onboard both the  Emerald Radiance  and more recently with the  Emerald Sun , and cruising the Lower Danube, albeit a short sample, with them was such a privilege; each destination offered something special and different, asserting its own personality, history, and culture, and it was fascinating to see both shared similarities – shared histories, even – but distinct differences too.

This sample of a Lower Danube River Cruise has left me hooked with fascination, intrigued to explore more, and it has truly showcased that even in the heart of Europe, you can cruise somewhere off the beaten track, and discover relatively untouched gems.

• Emerald Cruises River Cruise Review - Lower Danube and Novi Sad Day 1
• Emerald Cruises River Cruise Review - Belgrade Day 2
• Emerald Cruises River Cruise Review - Croatia - Day 3
• Emerald Cruises River Cruise Review - Hungary - Day 4

If you would like to find out more about river cruising, contact our river cruise specialists today

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