The ship’s design takes inspiration from Emerald’s fleet of luxury yachts, including art installations in partnership with leading European galleries and collaborations with luxury design houses such as Missoni and Freifrau.
Other firsts on Emerald Astra include complimentary guest laundry facilities and a reimagined Sun Deck with new furniture and refreshed outdoor spaces.
The 180-guest ship will set sail on its inaugural cruise on May 3, departing Budapest for a nine-day ‘Enchantment of Eastern Europe’ voyage, visiting Kalocsa, Hungary; Vukovar, Croatia; Belgrade, Serbia; Donji Milanovac, Serbia; Vidin, Bulgaria; Rousse, Bulgaria; and Bucharest, Romania. Prices start from £3,164pp.
Following this, the vessel will operate a variety of European river itineraries, including the ‘Rhine Castles & Moselle Vineyards’, ‘Jewels of the Rhine’, ‘Splendours of Europe’ and ‘The Majestic Rhine’.
The ship will be officially welcomed to the fleet by its godmother, Toni Day, at a christening ceremony in Amsterdam, in May.
Day founded Toni Tours, a travel agency specialising in luxury ocean and river cruises, in 2004. She was previously with the New York City Fire Department and was a first responder stationed at Ground Zero during the rescue and recovery operation following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Dominic Keely, head of marketing - Rivers & Land at Emerald Cruises, said: “Emerald Astra represents a bold new chapter for river cruising, blending the intimacy of Europe’s great waterways with the design of a luxury yacht. With innovative new guest amenities and a striking contemporary style, the ship is designed to elevate the river cruise experience from the moment guests step on board.”
Emerald Astra will become the 10th ship in the river fleet.
