Douro River Problems April 12, 2018

Currently headin downstream on Uniworld Queen Isabel. We were just informed that the river has been deemed too dangerous to sail due to high water. Captains and authorities are meeting to discuss. In the meantime, we are docked. :cool:

Taking this cruise & ship in June. Whatever happens Do not let the Captain wreck our ship!

Best wishes on an exciting & enjoyable cruise.

Philw - it’s stills a great trip despite the inconvenience. We are scheduled to resume sailing by 10:45am Friday and complete the day’s tours by evening and be back on schedule.

Please keep us informed we depart with Scenic on 28th April. Not really surprised though there has been a lot of rain recently, enjoy the rest of your cruise. CA

As of 11:50 CET, we have been informed that high water continues to prevent navigation. Mainly caused by the the lock’s inabilities to handle the water volumes. We remain docked in Pocinho. The staff is diligently working on contingency plans. Pax are understanding and we have plenty of provisions. The scenery and weather are beautiful.

11:40 CET Saturday. Queen Isabel sailed about 4 hours before ship traffic was again halted due to river conditions. Tomorrow is scheduled disembarkation day. We are 2 hours coach ride to Porto. Pax with flights before noon will be driven to a Porto hotel this afternoon for subsequent airport transfer Sunday morning. Others will transfer in the morning directly to airport. No tours mentioned for today.

Plans changed. Guests were offered an option Friday to take a bus to Porto for a tour (2+ hours each way with 3hours in Porto). 40 probably took that option. For the rest, the ship was at a remote dock, no nearby villages, beginning around noon. It was then decided all passengers would be bussed to Porto and check into a Crown Plaza. Departure time would be 5:00pm. We arrived at 8:00pm, checked and finished a group dinner by 10:00pm. Meanwhile, the Porto excursion bus returned to the ship to pack and turn right back around and drive the 2+ hours to the Crown Plaza.

Sailing on the Queen Isabel from Lisbon to Porto in August. Have taken many cruises with Uniworld and wonder how this boat compares to the others in the fleet. I have been told that the ship is rented from a fleet in Portugal. Sorry about your problems, but Uniworld will do well by you. It is a great line.

Sailing on the Queen Isabel from Lisbon to Porto in August. Have taken many cruises with Uniworld and wonder how this boat compares to the others in the fleet. I have been told that the ship is rented from a fleet in Portugal. Sorry about your problems, but Uniworld will do well by you. It is a great line.

My understanding is that all of the ships are owned by Portugal and the staff members other than a few are Portuguese. We traveled with Uniworld several years ago from Lisbon to Porto and it was wonderful. Returning this year with Vantage because they have a "harvesting" theme that starts in Madrid and ends in Lisbon. It appears that any time any of the companies experience either high or low water, they bend over backward to accommodate their guests. Looking forward to our return trip.

Cole

The Queen Isabel was built in 2013. It’s as nice of a river ship I have sailed on (7 cruises). We rafted next to Viking Hemming and the ships were identical except for the unique Viking bow design from their long ships. Both were built be the same shipyard. The only Uniworld employee was the cruise manager.

Thanks for posting, cool cruiser. Many of the postings about The ship say it is terrible