Emerald Lumi Enters Water Ahead of 2027 Seine Debut
The Star-Ship will have sixty-six staterooms and forty-eight crew, with itinerary experiences including Giverny, Normandy D-Day sites and oyster tasting in Honfleur.
Emerald Cruises held the ceremonial water launch of Emerald Lumi on July 2, 2026, advancing the 110-meter Seine River vessel toward its planned debut in 2027. The 130-guest Star-Ship is being built in Romania in partnership with MKM Yachts and is scheduled to enter service on a new northern France itinerary from March 2027.
The ship is designed for Seine operations between Paris, Honfleur and Normandy. Emerald Lumi will carry 48 crew and include 66 staterooms across four passenger decks.
New Seine program opens in March 2027
Emerald Lumi will sail the eight-day “Sensations of the Seine & Normandy” itinerary, operating round-trip from Paris with calls including Honfleur and La Roche-Guyon. The program includes extended time ashore and overnight stays, with later departures in selected ports.
“Emerald Lumi’s water launch is an exciting step in bringing a fresh style of river cruising to the Seine,” said Elisabeth Sadler, vice president, river cruise product at Scenic Group. Sadler said the itinerary pairs local history and culinary programming with EmeraldACTIVE shore options.
Daily programming is expected to include a guided tour and active excursions such as e-bike rides, hikes and kayaking. Experiences listed for the itinerary include a Giverny visit focused on Claude Monet, a full-day guided tour of Normandy’s D-Day landing sites and a Honfleur walking tour with fresh oyster tasting.
Purpose-built for the Seine
Emerald Lumi’s onboard spaces will include restaurants, bars and a heated indoor pool that can be converted into an evening cinema. Staterooms and suites will feature all-weather balconies, a configuration used across Emerald’s river product.
The vessel’s capacity is in line with other France-focused river ships, where waterway dimensions limit ship size compared with larger Central European deployments that can carry up to about 180 guests. Emerald Lumi is a modified Star-Ship design similar in scale to Scenic Gem, which carries 128 passengers.
MKM Yachts, headquartered in Rijeka, Croatia, is managing construction work for Scenic Group river vessels in Romania. The arrangement is part of the shipbuilding group’s subcontracting model, with Croatian oversight and equipment supply tied to work at Romanian facilities.
Emerald Cruises currently operates eight river Star-Ships and three ocean yachts, with additional river and yacht capacity scheduled through the Scenic Group fleet plan. Alongside Emerald Lumi, the group has listed Emerald Nova for the Douro and new Emerald yacht tonnage for delivery from 2027 onward.
Emerald did not announce fares in the launch update.
