Emerald Waterways Completes Handover of a Trilogy of New Ships

April and May have been busy months for Emerald Waterways, during which the growing river cruise line has taken delivery of three innovative new Star-Ships—Destiny, Liberté, and Radiance—bringing its total fleet to seven. Each of these three new state-of-the-art ships has been built to follow the design specifications of its already successful fleet, and customized to sail a variety of Europe’s most-iconic rivers.

The 186-passenger Emerald Destiny was christened on May 9 in Vienna by Godmother Coleen Christie, a well-known Canadian broadcaster. Destiny is the river cruise line’s fifth ship to sail through the heart of Europe on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.

Emerald Liberté was custom-built to sail France’s Rhône and Saône, as part of the new Sensations of Southern France itinerary, from Lyon to Avignon. The sleek Emerald Radiance, sailing round trip from Porto, Portugal, has a serenity pool on the Sun Deck that is perfect for making the most of the Portuguese sun, as it sails on the Secrets of the Douro cruise.

“We are thrilled to unveil the Emerald Liberté, Radiance and Destiny, as we continue to build on our fleet of innovative river ships,” said Lisa Norton, Vice President of Brand Management, Emerald Waterways North America. “When building our latest ships, it was important to listen to our guests, who have told us they love our relaxed, contemporary design.”

Since the launch of its first Star-Ships, Sky and Star, which were christened in Amsterdam three years ago by fashion icon, Twiggy, the line has enjoyed phenomenal growth within the European river cruise market.

Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours’ Family of Brands has grown over its 30-year history to include award-winning, all-inclusive escorted tours that take participants to many of the world’s most fascinating destinations; two award-winning river cruise lines—Scenic and Emerald Waterways; and, in 2018, the World’s First Discovery Yacht—Scenic Eclipse. Emerald Waterways' seven Star-Ships offer deluxe cruises in Europe, the Mekong, and Russia, while Scenic’s 15 Space-Ships offer the only truly all-inclusive, five-star river cruises in the same destinations as well as the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. Additional information can be found by contacting your local travel agent; on Emerald Waterways’ website, EmeraldWaterways.com.