We sailed on the Emerald about 5 years ago and it now seems like a different ship. Everything Jacqueline Keen has said is sadly true though we found the main Show Lounge entertainment to be excellent under the hand of Frank who we had met on the Island escape some years ago.
Like 'a few' others ( more like hundreds) we suffered from the dreaded bug(and are still) and so missed our main trip, Cairo and the pyramids, and also Leptis Magna.
Anatalya was a terrible choice of port as the city was 8 km away and only the risky dolmus to get you there, those who made the trip came straight back very frustrated.
Ramadan is not a time to visit Muslim countries as many places will be closed. Not our best holiday!

I agree with the below post and all i have to say is that one member of the showteam stood out from all the others. That was

LOUISE DAWSON

she is a fantastic girl who was great in the shows and a friendly member of the team who we saw around the ship plenty of times.
If you are visiting on this ship before they all get off speak to her. She is a fantastic girl and a credit to the Thomson Emerald Showteam.

I've read the previous reviews and clearly I wasn't on the same ship! Our cabin was spotless, the crew were both friendly and helpful, and the food and service in the Chanterelle restaurant was excellent.
I can't say that the fact that it was Ramadan had a negative impact on my enjoyment of shore visits, indeed it's part of experiencing Muslim life and culture!Yes,some passengers fell foul of the Norwalk virus but that's inevitable when you are spending time in an enclosed environment,be it a ship, a school or a care home. Taking extra care with personal hyiene in such situations should be a matter of individual responsibility, not just the responsibiliy of the crew.

We totally agree with D& J Garner & J. Keen
We both had the "bug", my husband came off worse than me. We also had to cancel 2 excursions!
Our cabin was fumigated and there were 46! other cabins on the list at that time. We also saw the man in the "chemical Warfare suit"! Could't find out what he was fumigating!!
The crew seemed to be doing what they could, but the Thomson reps, only seemed interested in making sure we saw the doctor so we could cancel our trips!! We also witnessed them being very rude and offhand to passengers who were understandably worried.
It was perhaps more disappointing for us as we had been on the Emerald in May and had no problems

Ancient Wonders, last cruise of the year for the Thomson crew, before being handed back to the owners.

The overall impresion of the ship was tired and a bit tatty.

This was not the worst cruise of the ten i have been on - it is the only BAD one.

The food in the bistro was luke warm, but it was the amount of flies which was the most concerning. Dozens were flying about, of various species. It sparked immediate concerns regarding health.

Sickness and Diahorria became widespread, with some people being hospitalised. It took nearly a week for the crew to embark on a clean-up of the ship, to install anti-bacterial hand washes, and to issue advice on cabin confinement.

Letters were sent to those affected - free doctor, room service, and free laundry, stayin your room for three days. Our cards were de-activated, preventing us from leaving the ship. Our cabin was to be disinfected by specialised crew.

In reality, it took 2h 20mins, two phone calls, and a visit by a friend to reception before i received my toast - others were only given a choice of boiled rice or potatoes. My cabin was not disinfected. And reception said i could leave my cabin, and go ashore, once the symptoms had abated. Not what the doctor order!

The ship was cleaned, we hadn't realised how dirty it had been - it looked so much better.

Generally onboard, the food was passable, but repetitive. The restaurant was never used for midnight buffets, no gala buffet or choc-o-holics nights. The bistro had a midnight curry night - but no-one told the passengers.

Entertainment was poor, butlins style, and often the crew were late or failed to show for daytime activities.

The excursions were expensive, we had a guest lecturer who talked of Eygpt two days after we had visited there. A Greek language lesson, too late, we had been there.

On the day 13, the engine spewed soot over the deck, the crew did nothing to warn people, they wiped to tables. I and many others sat and had lunch, we then realised there was a problem, we moved, the waiter wiped the table. Anyone who complained were offer laundry service. But what about the food we had eaten.

The last day, most of the Thomson crew left on an early flight. Most of the passengers had evening flights. There was no entertainment - not even a movie!

With the exception of the waiters, the entire crew were suffering from 'ship apathy', which bordered on rudeness.

A very nasty cruise.

We paid for a Premium cabin and all we got extra was a mini bar(no use if you take the all inclusive package)and a bath as well as a shower.Total waste of money.
The cabin was dowdy and ill lit had to unplug the fridge to plug in my hair dryer.The toilet exploded in the middle of our second night and we had to wait for someone to come and clean it all up totally spoilt our day in Athens.Constant noise in cabin 454 not just cabin rattle constant banging impossible to get a good nights sleep.
The food in "Le Bistro" was dreadful always the same and cold. Chantrelle was a bit better,but not cruise ship standard.
Trips expensive and not very good the Turkish Sultans feast and belly dancing was dreadful the feast would only have fed a sultan on a diet.
The shows were of the Butlins variety and the last night for some strange reason was a collection of war songs!!!!!
Passengers mainly Brits,they would NEVER get away with this if they were selling to the US market.
Constanza was a total waste of time,nothing to see just run down shops and beggars.Odessa was lovely and will be a major holiday destination one day.
Too many ships in Santorini for a pleasant experience.
totaly surprised by Istanbul a fantastic city hope to go again one day.

Just returned from the Black Sea Odyssey.

Ship was smaller than others we have been on. Felt it was a bit old and tired. However, it was very clean. Our bathroom tiles around the bath were old and had been replaced at sometime with white mastic. However, toilet, bath and sink spotlessly clean.

Cabin was 4 berth (there were only 2 of us) and quite roomy. The cabin steward was very friendly and was always making us animals out of towels - very clever.

The food in the Lido Buffet was adequate but could have been better. Sometimes breakfast was cold by the time you got to the table. Got fed up with the same old vegetables/meat etc.

Bar waiters in Monte Carlo court were excellent.

We did not attend any of the shows but watches game shows and entered quizes.

We would not sail on this ship. Not as good as the Thomson Celebration.

However, we enjoyed the destinations we visited. The one blight on the holiday was that we were mugged in Constanta in Romania. We did not like this place at all - children begging etc. We were approached by 2 burly men who told us they were police and that we had been talking to a cocaine dealer (the man in question stopped to ask my husband the time). I suppose we fell for the oldest trick in the book but at the time they were very "in our face" and we felt quite threatened. They ended up stealing quite a lot of euros from my purse - without me seeing I might add.

However, the 3 places in the Ukraine, Istanbul and Greece were entirely different, beautiful places.

We will never go to ROmania again. And would warn anyone to be very careful if they are approached by anyone. We felt we were not warned by Thomson that this might happen in the newsletter the night before.

Just returned from our holiday on board the Emerald.I wanted to write a review because these helped me before i went, along with the discussion forum. Everything about the ship is excellent. This is my first cruise so i do not have anything to compare it to. I had a thought in the past that it was only the elderly that went on cruises, how wrong was i!!! all age ranges, and quite a lot in their 40's like us. However i felt so comfortable with everything and should not have worried about anything. The dressing up for dinner was really nice, but as long as you looked smart it didnt matter what you wore.The other option for dining was the buffet. All the food options were really good and this all depends on your preference. Some people were complaining about everything, FOOD, TRIPS, WEATHER. The food was fantastic, if you do not like the choice you have made, then you can choose something else. Some of the trips were a bit pricey, but this is a good service for anyone who cannot make their own way, or you don't really know where to go. We went on a couple of not so good trips, maybe we chose the wrong ones, but that was not anyones fault. The best thomson trip we went on was the ISLANDS and VENICE. We went to Murano, this was where the glass factory was. Then to Burano, where you can buy Lace. this was a very pretty island with coloured houses and small canals running all the way through it. Then on to Venice, well what can you say!!!!!! A fantastic day all round, leaving with the feeling i wanted more. The price of the trip was £34.00 each, and worth every penny, compared to the other 2 trips we had been on.What a fantastic time it was leaving Venice down the Grand Canal on the ship!! AMAZING. The weather was not too good for the first 3 days, but we cannot blame THOMSONS.The rain on our first trip in Rovinj, had us all laughing on the boat trip down a FJORD we were wet through,thunder and lightening hahaha.We made our own way round in Split, a really lovely place.You didnt need to go on a trip as you were only a short walk there. The shopping, market, and the water front were amazing. I would love to come back to this area, it really is a lovely place. We made our own way into Dubrovnik. 10 Euros each way, but if you get another couple to share its even better value. We walked round the city wall, this only cost 5 Euros. It was fantastic. I was glad we did this as soon as we got there because it was getting too hot and crowded later on. I would definately return to Croatia a fantastic place, again when we left,. i left wanting more.We had not been to any of the places on the Adriatic Explorer, Venice, Split and Dubrovnik were fantastic and i will definately return. We were told that EUROS were not widely accepted in croatia, however we did not have a problem paying with Euros. The ship was spotless, the staff were fantastic. Our cabin steward was really nice and kept our cabin spotless the whole time. Our cabin was quite large and it was said that the Emerald had the largest cabins of any of the Thomson fleet, it felt more like a hotel room than a cabin. My only gripe is that there are no tea/coffee making facilities. I do have these my self, but i had read a previous review and it was said that these were not aloud. I never asked so i do not know the answer to that. Tea/coffee was available all day, and you could take it back to your cabin. I guess im lazy i didnt want to get dressed first thing in the morning, put makeup on, (or id have scared everyone enroute ) to bring tea/coffee back to the cabin while i enjoyed the view, BUT THATS ME. HAHAHA.We did tip certain people whom we felt treated us well, but this was at your own discretion.The entertainment staff were great and really put their all into it, the only problem was sometimes you couldnt get a seat to sit comfortable and enjoy it, dont think was due to the fact i had eaten that much at dinner i couldnt sit down, i needed to lay down. The entertainment in the Chanterelle dining room was fantastic and was a show its self. The waiters were fantastic and we were very pleased with the service we were given. The table we were allocated was for six, our company was fantastic.I could go on about the ship, food, people we met and places of interest forever, the main thing is, it was a fantastic experience on our first cruise. I know i would like to go on the Emerald again, because it was a lovely ship and the places visited are interesting. I would now like to try the other ships in the Thomson fleet.

Just a fantastic week on the Emerald doing adriatic explorer.Ports of call were fantastic altho first 3 days it rained didnt spoil it for us. Day 1 at sea so plenty to do onboard . Day 2 rovinji by tender boat,did our own thing here looked round the town etc.Day3 treiste. did a half day tour to the caves ..loved it. Day 4 venice. well yes what do you say!!!! we got a water taxi down to the square and spent 5 hours just strilling through the little narrow streets finishing off with a gondola ride. expensive but had to do it. back onboard for a fantastic departure down the grand canal.truly amazing.Day 5 split. here we did a full day tour to the waterfalls i absolutley loved this day.Day 6 dubrovnik. again we made our own way into town 10 euros in the taxi, walked through the sights etc.Day 7 as we didnt have to leave the ship till 8pm, we went in a taxi, quite expensive, 25euros, to dassia beach.to do parasailing and swimming etc.

The ship is very old 50+ years i believe but very clean like the other thomson ships always cleaning etc going on. Our cabin was big too compared to the other thomson ships.

The staff were fantastic, nothing is to much trouble for them , they work long hours and are always smiling and willing to help you in any way Our 2 waiters were ali and waleed ,lovely freindly guys always making us laugh with there singalongs and little tricks. We also had lovely companions for dining ,, hi there elaine, alan and eileen we had a lovely week with you.

Entertainment was first clas. The shows in the regency were fantastic such a talented team lead by Mr Frank Hammond.The venetian nights show had us in tears (louise you were fabulous.. thanks). Summer holiday.. west end wonders.. frank and freinds and revival ,they were all superb. The ents team also did a fantastic job with quizzes, games etc and they had us in stitches at times, resident band Juice, played a real good mixture of songs to suit every1.Thoroughly enjoyed them.Truffle ,the duo were nice easy listening, and altho we didnt see him, i heard that Greg the pianist was very good and also funny.

All in all i enjoyed every minute , enjoyed all the food altho sometimes le bistro it was luke warm instead of hot. All the entertainment.The itinery, the company and ship altho alot smaller than the other thomson ships very very freindly. Thanks everyone for a fantastic week

just returned from holiday on the emerald, our party enjoyed it very much we went on the pearls of the agean trip and every port of call was very nice. the ship itself is excellent we were worried when we read some of the reports about it as its an old ship but we found it lovely. our cabin was on deck 7 with a large double bed and it opened out right on the rear of the ship couldnt fault it. staff not quite as pleasent as the staff on the spirit but got on with there jobs.food was very nice too no qualms. all in all a lovely holiday wouldnt hesitate to go on it again.