Yacht you can!
There’s a new way of travelling and it’s making waves.
It’s cruising the ocean on a yacht like the rich and famous, on-value-for money rates.
“We call it Emerald Yacht Cruises. We have two yachts currently in operation, Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara, and a new one coming in 2026, Emerald Kaia. There are only 100 passengers, 50 suites. So it’s one yacht, 100 people, and you have five levels, ” says Anthony Laver, group general manager of Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, which includes Emerald Cruises.
“So we go along the Mediterranean coast, and we go along the French Riviera, Italian Riviera. Greek islands. We go up to Turkey, up to Croatia, and we go along. But the beautiful thing is the yacht. You go right into the dock and then you get off the ship and then you walk to restaurants. For instance, unlike the big cruise lines that can’t go right into Venice because they’re too big, you have to take a tender to the port, our Emerald yachts go right into Venice, up to the main canal,” he elaborates.
Laver and Marilen Yaptangco, president and CEO of Baron Travel Corp., announced last week their new partnership, bringing Emerald Cruises Luxury Yacht and River voyages to the Philippines.
Yaptangco noted that the Philippine market was first introduced to ocean cruising, then river cruising, and now it is right for them to experience yacht cruising.
How affordable anyway are these yacht cruises that we see only in movies and Netflix?
“Let me do a comparison for you,” begins Laver. “So if you were to do 10 nights on an Emerald yacht in the Mediterranean you would probably go to six or seven ports. Your travel along the Italian coast, maybe go to Greece and then up Croatia. If you had to do that by flying, by train, by bus, and stay in a different hotel, of the same five-star standard, it would be much, much more expensive. In the hotel you have to pay for your breakfast, you have to pay for transfers, you have to pay for tips. And meals. And tours. And everything that you touch, you pay for. On the ship, once you get on, you put your wallet into the safe, and you close it. And unless you want a massage, which is separate, you can have all your food, all your drinks, all your day tours, everything can be included.”
“Emerald is luxury,” is how Laver describes the brand. “So in other words, if you think of it as in terms of cars, you have your Mercedes, you have your Audi. You have peace of mind, high-quality service, exceptional food, exceptional experiences in places where other people don’t always go. We don’t want to be where everyone else is.”
On the Emerald yachts, there are only about 100 guests and about 70 to 80 staff, almost one is to one.
“It’s like your private yacht. So you think about this. We go on a yacht, only a hundred guests, 50 suites, and maybe you bring your friends. When you are there and you’re doing activities and going around and you walk around, you think, wow, this is like my yacht. I have butler service. I have all my meals. And you feel like you’re, wow,” says Laver. Listening to him, I feel like I can channel my inner Jackie Onassis on those yachts.
Is the Scenic Group the first to introduce yacht cruising to travelers?
“That’s exactly right. First for the Scenic brand, first for the Emerald Cruises brand. And now everybody’s saying, ‘Oh, wow, that’s such a good experience because you can go into all the ports, you can go everywhere, you go to places no one else goes’.”
If you prefer river cruises, Emerald has that facet, too.
“We have six ships in Europe for Emerald River Cruises. One in Mekong. Emerald River Cruises do all of the main rivers. They do Amsterdam to Budapest. They do the French Riviera.”
Laver sees the potential in the empowered Philippine market.
“Emerald Cruises has recognized the significant demand in the Philippine market for luxury river and ocean cruises,” Laver says.
Yaptangco, for her part, says, “We are honored to announce our new partnership with Emerald Cruises, which comes at a time when the Philippine travel market is aligning with the aspirations for clients to embark on luxury yacht and river cruising in Europe, the Med and other stunning destinations.”
A floating gem
Laver describes the facets of an Emerald yacht and ship.
The suites are quite large, even larger on the yachts.
“But what we pride ourselves on is that on most of these all of them are veranda suites. We don’t have inside cabins. It’s not like you go on and then you say, ‘Oh, you know, it’s a beautiful day today, but I have an inside cabin’.” We have four or five restaurants on board just for a hundred people,” Laver adds.
River cruising also has its sparkle.
“I think the beautiful thing about river cruising is that Europe was built along the rivers, which are the arteries. So in those tiny little cities and towns along the rivers, you cannot get accommodation anymore because a lot of people from Europe go to them and a lot of people come in, but our ships will come in and go right next to the town. You get off the ship and you’re in the Christmas markets. I mean, unbelievable!”
On the river cruises, there can be up to 180 guests, and about 80 or 90 staff. “We have the highest guest-to-staff ratios,” says Laver proudly.
In addition, Emerald has a young fleet.
“The Emerald brand started only 10 years ago. So our ships are very new,” Laver, who once was an executive of Volkswagen, says proudly.
Why he made the leap from land to sea, so to speak, has much to do with his role in promoting lifetime experiences with the latter.
“In all my different jobs, I always loved meeting people of different nationalities and cultures. And the second thing is, I think life is too short. We should all enjoy the different beautiful places of the world. So when you’re in travel, you do two things. You travel with friends and family, but you also meet so many amazing people. Experiences. We sell life experiences. That’s what we do.”
Emerald Cruises celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024, and was recognized in the 2023 Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards as a favorite river cruise line. It was also voted the No. 1 small ship cruise line for their fleet of luxury ocean yachts.
Yacht you can!
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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