Reader Review: EMERALD RADIANCE Cruise & COVID Protocols Review by Karen S.

Emerald Radiance Cruise & COVID Protocols Review.

REVIEWER

Karen Stroder from the USA.

CRUISE LINE

Emerald.

SHIP

Emerald Radiance.

DESTINATION

Portugal.

# OF NIGHTS,

6.

DEPARTURE PORT

Porto, Portugal.

DATE OF CRUISE

April, 2022.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE RATING

2 out of 5 stars   (5=excellent, 4=very good, 3=good, 2=poor, 1=terrible)

-Food Rating: 3

-Cabin Rating: 4

-Service/Crew Rating: 3

-Itinerary Rating: 3

REVIEW

We decided that since one of us had never traveled overseas and the other had not done so for over 30 years, this was a good jumping-off point to initiate international travel, since the planning would be done for us and we wouldn’t have to book separate excursions outside of the trip plan itself. We flew into Lisbon, where we spent two nights in a decent hotel, the Avani Avenida Liberdade.

The first night there, we were provided a nice meal with all of the others who would be making the cruise with us. We met a couple of very nice ladies with whom we would spend much of our cruise time. Be aware that the adapters needed for Portugal and Spain are different than the rest of Europe, so make sure you bring the right ones. The hotel did try and find us a loaner that would work, to no avail, so we spent some of our off time in locating one that would work for our trip.

Although the trip and cruise started off well, by the end of it, it was an entirely different story. We will address that further in our review.

On our way to embark on the cruise, we stopped at Our Lady of Fatima and Coimbra. Fatima was extremely busy and a bit of a tourist trap in that it seemed far more commercial than a religious site. Although we did spend time wandering the grounds to see the cathedral and the vision site, there seemed to be a great deal of trinket selling, which detracted from what we anticipated. In Coimbra, we visited the oldest university in Portugal. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to spend much extra time there, as what time we did have was allocated to finding a place for lunch. The place we did eat had great food and service and the young waiter was just the right amount of attentive.

We embarked on our cruise in Porto.

We were concerned, as the ship failed to follow the protocol we had been advised of prior to boarding.

We had been given Health Care Questionnaires to complete and submit upon boarding. To be able to travel at this time, we figured that this was a wise cautionary action on their part. No one ever asked us for these documents and they are still in our possession.

As we had upgraded to their highest room level, we were not a bit disappointed in our choice. The room was very nice and had plenty of space for all our belongings. The mini bar was nicely stocked and part of the cost of the room and it was restocked daily. We cannot say enough nice things about our steward, Bruno, as he was a charming young man and maintained our room in tip-top shape, providing us with little extras throughout the day and nightly turn-down service. It was nice to have a seating area apart of the bedroom, where we could relax with a glass of wine before joining the rest of the passengers for activities. The one down-side was the luggage storage, which was under the bed; the panel kept falling over and the maintenance individual was unable to repair it.

The ship was small, which was what we wanted for our venture overseas. We felt like a river cruise was intimate enough to get to know some of our fellow passengers, without getting lost in the crowd.

It was fascinating to sit top-side or in our room to go through the locks, as neither of us had experienced that before. The one bad point in our room is that the storage panel for the luggage, which is under the bed, was broken and the panel kept falling over. We reported it to the maintenance manager, but he was unable to repair it.

We had almost daily excursions to see sights, plus some afternoon and evening activities. The cruise really wouldn’t be considered a family outing, but more enjoyable for adults only. The meals were scheduled with a 1½ hour time frame, so you weren’t locked into eating at a specific time each day. The breakfasts were good, but after a few days of the same fare each day, it would have been nice to have a little more diversity. The lunches and dinners were different daily, with a variety of items for lunch and two dinner entrée choices. Unlimited beer and wine were included in those two meals. We could have opted for an unlimited alcohol package of any drink of our choice throughout the day for $25 per person, but didn’t feel we needed that option, since we could have wine or beer with our lunch or dinner, as well as our mini bar without additional cost.

Now for the not-so-pleasant part of this trip and why we gave this trip such a low overall rating.

On our next to last day on the cruise, we were tested for COVID, as that is required by the US for return to home. Immediately upon receiving the test results, the Hotel Manager, Cornel Oprescu, removed us from the line where we were waiting for our pre-paid excursion and told us we had to go to our room immediately. Upon learning of our testing positive, we understood his request. However, we were given approximately one hour to get our belongings packed to leave the boat. Even though our cruise was not over until the next day, we were told we had to leave at that point. We were willing to isolate in our room until the next day, when the cruise was completed, but were not allowed that option.

We were placed in a cab, with a non-English speaking driver, and driven to a hotel unknown to us and told we would have to stay there until we received our notice that we were “Fit To Fly.” We were told not to speak with others, but to just leave. We were more than overwhelmed, to say the least. Cornel told us not to tell the hotel staff when we checked in that we had COVID, so we would be free to do as we wanted; we just couldn’t stay on the ship nor fly home. He said the hotel didn’t need to know.

When we asked if the crew would be tested, as we had contact with several of them, he told us that the crew members aren’t tested unless they show symptoms. That’s pretty frightening, considering they would have new passengers embarking the next afternoon. We later learned that the cruise line’s protocol required them to be tested before new passengers embark or when a passenger tests positive. According to Cornel, that wasn’t going to happen.

We were sent to the hotel with no information as to what would happen next or how to navigate being in a foreign country and what their protocols were in regards to how COVID was being addressed in their country, so that we could follow the proper steps. We were incredulous that we were told just to “enjoy our extra time in Portugal,” not just by the staff, but by Mayflower, who coordinated the cruise for our tour group, as if having a communicable disease shouldn’t have been an issue whatsoever.

We were able to return home after receiving our “Fit To Fly” document. That, in and of itself, was a joke, as that document was nothing more than another “COVID test” saying we were negative. This form came from the same company who administered the cruise ship test. It is important to note that we NEVER took another test, so have no idea if we were negative or not.

NUMBER OF SMALL-SHIP CRUISES TAKEN UNDER 300 PAX

1