Emerald Waterways to Launch Fifth "Star Ship"

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February 11, 2015 By: Newswire

New Europe river cruise line Emerald Waterways has announced plans for the construction of a fifth “Star Ship.”

The new ship, dubbed the Emerald Belle, is being built in the Netherlands and is expected to launch in early 2016, according to an Emerald Waterways release. The launch will follow the 2015 launch of the Emerald Dawn and the Emerald Sun.

The Belle will be built in the same configuration as her sister ships, but Emerald Waterways said new enhancements are still a possibility. All of the “Star Ships” carry 182 guests in 72 suites and 20 staterooms, including two built for solo occupancy. The ships also have an onboard heated swimming pool with a retractable glass roof, which transforms into a movie theater in the evening, and two restaurants. Reflections is the main dining room, and The Terrace serves breakfast and lunch.

The ships also have cabins with an indoor balcony with a decked area and an open-air system. The system allows guests to push a button to cause the upper half of the floor-to-ceiling panoramic window to drop down for open-air views. Top suites separate the balcony from the cabin with sliding doors.

Other amenities include an onboard hairdresser, massage therapy room and fitness area.

The cruise fare includes all transfers to and from the ships; all onboard (and some on-shore) meals; unlimited tea and coffee; wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; bottled water in the cabins; continental breakfast, pre-dinner canapés and after-dinner sweet treats served in the top suites; Wi-Fi onboard the ship; most shore excursions; bicycles to use for independent touring and all gratuities.

Emerald Waterways will offer nine itineraries in 2015, including the eight-day, Nuremberg-to-Budapest “Danube Delights;” the 15-day “Splendours of Europe,” which travels the Rhine and the Danube from Amsterdam to Budapest; the 10-day “Enchantment of Eastern Europe,” which travels Eastern Europe via the Danube River through Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania; the eight-day “Highlights of the Netherlands and Beauty of Belgium,” which begins and ends in Amsterdam when the tulips are in bloom; and “Delights of France,” an 11-day sailing from Lyon to Arles.