?? for Pacmom

[H2Otstr]

Pat, how was your trip to Portugal? Haven't seen any comments or a report about it on here.

 

Sharon

[pacmom]

We have been back a week--came home needing to watch a sick grandson while his mom went to school and then a few days later he had to move in with us because our daughter was admitted to the hospital and placed in isolation--they thought it might be h1n1, but it wasn't. Now that everyone is in their proper place I can mull over our trip.

 

At the airport we were greeted by "your flight to Philly has been cancelled BUT we'll fly you to D.C. and then on to Philly. You will have plenty of time to catch your flight to Lisbon. Famous last words. We did get to Lisbon 12 hours later than originally planned via Oslo of all places. We lost a whole day we had planned for independent touring. The Tiara Park was lovely. It is used by both AMA and Uniworld. It is near nothing. We met our CD Christian and toured with AMA and a bit on our own. The trip to Sintra was lovely just not long enough--could have skipped Caiscais. We did go to Fatima on our own and enjoyed the trip. Next year AMA is going there in the way to the boat instead of Coimbra. Personally I think this is not a good move. Fatima could be offered as an optional. Coimbra was a lovely old town--the library at the university was similar to the one at Melk. Porto is a beautiful old city. By the way, did I mention the hills? Very little flat land in northern Portugal. Many times I felt as if I was walking uphill both ways. The boat was leased from Duoroazul. Cabins a bit short on drawer space but otherwise very adequate. Walls are quite thin,we were fortunate to have an empty cabin on one side and two wonderful Irish women on the other side. All we ever heard was their laughter. We did have passengers complain about the cabin noises, and one couple actually changed cabins.

This was the most international mix of passengers we have ever encountered--U.S., Canada, So. Africa, Isreal, Norway, UK, Ireland and Australia. We were agreat mix and enjoyed yhe company.

More tomorrow. Pat

[H2Otstr]

Sorry to hear about the emergency in your family. Hope all is well now.

 

I agree with the international mix. We also had people from all over the place on our trip - Norway, Israel, Turkey, US, Canada, etc. We were on the same boat, but I don't recall the walls being thin.

 

Look forward to hearing more and seeing any photos you might have to share.

 

Sharon

[pacmom]

Sharon,

 

Have not learned to post photos yet. All are well in the family. In fact our daughter got a great gift--her first child support payment on over a year. So life is really good at her house.

 

My 2 disappoints with the cruise were too long on buses and too few nite actually sailing. We arrived at the boat on Sat. after a full day of travelling and stop in Coimbra and a bus tour of Porto. Wish they had spent more time in coimbra and no Sat. tour of Porto. We didn't sail til Sun morning. Sailing all day Monday was wonderful especially since it was a federal hoilday in Portugal. Tues in Salamanca was glorious weatherwise. Time on our own well planned because of siesta. Paella lunch was only soso. All our local guides were very good. Of course bought a frog to give as a gift.

 

The dinners off the boat were good. The wine and port flowed freely at all dinners--never had such a small bar bill. Was not really impressed with the food at dinner. Buffet breakfasts and lunches were quite good. Dinners were soso--too much cod. We didn't go to the entertainment. The dancers from Spain were after the long day in Salamanca. Too bad they didn't have them the nite we arrived at Portugese/Spanish border. We have attended Fado on other trips to Lisbon so opted out of that. I would never judge AMAwaterways by the Duoro cruise. It is a rented boat with a Portugese staff who were very good at their jobs. Don't think the boat is as upscale as their others. Really wish there had been more than 5 nites sailing and more free time. We do like to wander on our own after the group tours, but it is truly a beautiful country.

 

We also got to experience their federal and local elections--very interesting. If you think of anything else you might want to know let me know. Pat

[cruisemuse]

Hi Pacmom. Thanks for your feedback on the Douro cruise. I'm doing this one next September. A couple of quesitons: How much actual driving time was there from Lisbon to Porto (not including the break in Coimbra)? Our trip stops in Fatima, of course--but I am curious how long it took to get to Porto on the bus, as ours will be similar. Second, I am doing an independent stay in Lisbon, booking my own tour to Sintra. I am debating whether to even try to include Cascais....what would you suggest? I have a driver for a full day, and so I can do whatever I wish.

Thanks for any help you can give. Cheers!

[pacmom]

Good morning,

 

We basically spent the whole day from about 8:30am til 3:30pm to get from Lisbon to Porto. The Fatima stop is about 1 1/2 hours out of Lisbon. It is probably meant as a lunch stop. This is a lovely little town, but will have not as much meaning if you are not Catholic. Spend as much time as posible in Sintra. A drive back along the coast will give you as much of Caiscais as you need. Make sure you go to Pena Palace in Sintra. Hopefully your driver is part guide. Other wise get an audoioguide for the palace. Felt we did not have enough time in Sintra. Make sure to check out the cork purses, belts, etc. Lisbon on you own is easy. Viatour offers a good HOHO bus trip. Also indulge in the pastries near the monastery. Skip the Coach museum--dark and very dusty. Hopefully you are staying closer to downtown than the Park Atlantic. Don't hesitate to use the subway and buses--very user friendly. With the declining value of our dollar, everything seems expensive. When you have the dinner at the vineyard be sure to try the white port--it is excellent. Unfortunately, the bottle we brought home fell of a shelf before we opened it. Happy to try to answer any questions. Pat

[UUNetBill]

Be sure to try the white port--it is excellent. Unfortunately, the bottle we brought home fell of a shelf before we opened it.

NOOOOOOOO!!!! :p

 

My wife got her first taste of white port on our last Med cruise - we can easily agree with you on that - it IS excellent.

[pacmom]

UUNetBill,

 

Thanks for the sympathy!! I was not a happy camper--we leave in a month for Antartica on Prince Albert II--maybe I'll find the white port at their bar. I don't like really sweet drinks. The tawny and red ports didn't appeal, but that white port.......... Pat