Emerald Waterways

The company was founded as Emerald Waterways by Glen Moroney in 2013.[9]

Emerald Waterways offered its first cruises on the rivers of Europe in 2014, these were provided by the 180-passenger capacity Emerald Sky, christened in April 2014 by Godmother Twiggy, followed by the Emerald Star in the August.[10]

In 2015, Emerald Waterways added two new vessels to its river cruise fleet, Emerald Sun (which launched in April) and Emerald Dawn (which arrived in June).[11]

In its second year of trading, Emerald Waterways announced that three new ships would join its fleet for the 2017 cruise season. In May 2017, the 180-passenger Emerald Destiny was christened by Godmother Coleen Christie in Vienna, Austria to operate on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. Later that year, Emerald Liberté and Emerald Radiance were launched on France’s Rhône River and Portugal’s Douro River respectively.[12] These Star-Ships were custom-built to navigate these rivers.[13]

In 2018, the company announced its first non-European ship, Emerald Harmony, which provides cruises on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. The 84-passenger vessel launched on the Mekong in August 2019, where it offers cruises between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia. Emerald Harmony is designed to dock within Ho Chi Minh City centre.[14]

In May 2018, the company announced its expansion into yacht cruising, with its charter of the newly-built yacht, MV Adriatic Princess. Launched during April 2019, the yachts offer cruises on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast on the Adriatic Sea.[15]

In 2019, the company announced plans to charter new vessels as part of its yacht cruise venture. MS Swallow and MS Lastavica will offer cruises on the Dalmatian Coast from April 2020.[16]

In February 2020, Emerald Cruises became the umbrella brand for Emerald Waterways and Emerald Yacht Cruises, a new ocean cruise line. Scheduled for launch in 2021, Emerald Azzurra will be the first ship launched by Emerald Yacht Cruises, providing ocean cruises to the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Red Sea.[17]

Emerald Cruises offers river cruises under the Emerald Waterways brand on six European rivers, as well as on the Volga River in Russia, the Nile River in Egypt and the Mekong River in Southeast Asia.[18]

Emerald Cruises began operating yacht cruises in April 2019. The company chartered the newly-built MV Adriatic Princess to provide cruises on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.[19] In 2020 the company chartered MS Swallow and MS Lastavica to expand this area of operations.

In February 2020, the launch of Emerald Yacht Cruises confirmed the brand’s intention to begin operating ocean cruises to the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Red Sea. These year-round itineraries will begin in July 2021 and take place on-board the Emerald Azzurra.