Most Emerald Cruises guests have a night or two in Amsterdam around their sailing. The contemporary Star-Ships, such as Emerald Sky, Emerald Star and Emerald Dawn, often begin or end their Rhine and Dutch itineraries here, so there is usually time to enjoy the city before you board or after you step off. Below you can follow the Emerald fleet live, check the 2026 and 2027 docking dates and find the exact quay your ship uses. Sailing the Rhine? Low water can change itineraries at short notice, so check our live Rhine water level tracker before you travel.
We turn those days into a private tour built around you: the canals, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, or a day out to Keukenhof in spring and the Zaanse Schans windmills. Your own guide, your own pace, no coach and no fixed group. Active days need a bit more planning, not less, so if we are out on bikes or walking far from the quay we build the return into the route. Emerald’s crowd tends to be younger and keener to move, so most of our Emerald days involve more walking, cycling or countryside than the average shore excursion. Tell us your dates.
Not sure which Emerald Cruises ship or sailing is yours? Find my river cruise matches your line and dates to the ship, its Amsterdam berth and how long you are alongside.
Emerald Star-class ships have a minimum operational draught of 1.45 m, among the shallowest in Europe. The 2022 ships draw about 1.70 m. That means the ship needs roughly 1.55 m of water to keep clearance under the keel.
The shallowest point we track on the Rhine today is Kaub at 1.12 m, measured 7 October 2026, 18:00 (Europe/Amsterdam). That is not enough for a 1.45 m ship at that point.
See live water depths at every Rhine gauge or check the Danube.
Emerald Cruises and the ship's captain decide whether a ship sails, not this page. This is water level information we receive from the official gauge services (PEGELONLINE, Rijkswaterstaat, BAFU), converted into navigable depth. A ship also changes its own draught by taking on or releasing ballast, and at high water the limit is bridge clearance rather than depth. Always check with your cruise line.
If Amsterdam is a port call rather than your embarkation day, we build the day around the hours your Star-Ship is actually here.
Every Emerald call below is pulled live from our Amsterdam river cruise calendar, so the berths and times stay right.
Emerald’s Star-Ships, like every river vessel, depend on there being enough water in the Rhine, so it is worth checking the live Rhine water levels ahead of your cruise.
Emerald Cruises ships berth centrally in Amsterdam. These are the quays used for Emerald Cruises calls, each with a map so you know exactly where to meet:
Piet Heinkade, city centre · 20 min walk to Centraal
Right on the IJ waterfront in the city centre, a 10 minute walk or one tram stop from Central Station. LP is your berth number, and “via Muziekgebouw” or “via Vriesseveem” simply tells you which walkway leads to your gangway.
Western harbour · 15 min taxi or ship shuttle
A working harbour about 4 kilometres west of the centre, used when the central berths are full. Nothing lies in walking distance, so plan on a ship shuttle, a 15 minute taxi, or a private pickup right at the gangway.
Behind Central Station, west side · 5 min walk to Centraal
Behind Amsterdam Central Station, on the west side, so you are inside the station within 5 minutes of stepping ashore. The Dam, the canal ring and the Jordaan are all within an easy and very pleasant walk.
Behind Central Station, east side · 8 min walk to Centraal
Just east of Central Station, 10 minutes on foot from the main station hall. NEMO Science Museum, the OBA library and the Maritime Museum are close by, around Oosterdok, and the old centre starts a 10 minute walk away.
Most people book Emerald’s eight day Jewels of the Rhine and get one night in Amsterdam. There is a ten day version, sold as Amsterdam and Jewels of the Rhine, where days one to four are all in Amsterdam. Three nights in the city before the ship goes anywhere is a completely different holiday, and it needs filling with something better than repeated laps of the Dam.
Emerald’s other Dutch products are Holland and Belgium in Bloom, the eight day round trip, and Waterways of the Netherlands and Belgium at eleven days. Splendours of Europe carries on to Budapest across fifteen days, and Discover the Rhine, Main and Danube runs all the way to Bucharest in twenty three.
The Star-Ships take up to 180 guests, the largest of the premium river ships working this stretch, with about 51 crew. Emerald Astra arrived in 2026 with grey tinted glass borrowed from the Emerald superyachts and the fleet’s first complimentary guest laundry. The heated indoor pool has a roof that slides back, and on selected evenings it becomes a cinema with popcorn.
Emerald is the Scenic Group’s value brand, and the difference shows in one specific place: drinks are complimentary with lunch and dinner rather than all day, and paid packages extend that. The excursion structure splits three ways. EmeraldACTIVE covers guided hikes, bike rides and canoeing, with trekking poles supplied in the suite. EmeraldPLUS covers included cultural extras. DiscoverMORE is the paid tier, bookable on board. If you are looking at a DiscoverMORE price for a coach into the countryside, compare it with a car, a driver and a guide for the four of you.
A coach excursion
Your active day with us
Tell us how energetic you want the day to be, and we will plan the route. Plan your private day
Emerald’s guests tend to be a little younger and rather more active than the river-cruise average. That is precisely the group a forty-seat coach suits least.
A private day can be as energetic as you like: a bike through the canal ring, a long walk around the Jordaan, or a drive out to the windmills and back. You set the speed, choose the stops and never wait for anybody else to finish their coffee.
Emerald’s Star-Ships usually berth at the Passenger Terminal, at Coenhaven or along De Ruijterkade, all an easy transfer from the old town, so you lose none of your day getting started.
On an Emerald sailing? Get in touch and we will shape the day around your pace.
Header photo: Emerald Sky by Rolf Heinrich, Köln (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Cruising with Emerald? Alongside your tours, we can arrange a private Schiphol airport transfer or a chauffeur between the airport, your hotel and your Emerald Star-Ship, timed around your embarkation and disembarkation. Private transport to your ship.
We look after guests from every river and ocean line calling in the Netherlands. Pick your cruise line to see the tours, berths and docking details that apply to your ship:
Emerald Star-Ships berth centrally, most often at the Passenger Terminal, at Coenhaven or along De Ruijterkade behind Central Station. Your exact berth is shown in the schedule above.
Yes, and Emerald guests often ask. We can build in a bike ride through the city or the countryside, a longer walk, or a mix of cycling and the canals, at whatever pace suits you.
Emerald Destiny, Emerald Sun, Emerald Luna, Emerald Dawn, Emerald Sky and Emerald Star are among the regulars here. The schedule above shows which ship is in on which date.
Yes. Your private guide meets you at the gangway, the terminal or your hotel, and the whole day runs on your timing.
The sooner the better for spring and peak dates, but we can often arrange a private guide at shorter notice too.