Viking Douro Cruise

[hoou]

I could barely find anything on this cruise when I was looking around so I am going to post something now that we've been on the Viking Douro. There will be a new ship next year which is likely to be more spacious and I don't know what staff they will have then as this seems to be a contracted ship.

We took our own taxi from the airport to the Tivoli Lisboa hotel, only about 25 euros. Hotel is in a lovely central location and the room and bed was fine.

Viking provided a city tour for half a day which was a good introduction. We spent the other times wandering around ourselves.

We had to take a long bus journey before getting onto the ship in Porto. About 4 hours I think. They broke the journey by taking us to visit the University town of Coimbra and provide us with a very good lunch and Fado singing.

As mentioned by others before, there are daily bus trips on this cruise because none of the sights are by the river. Having said that, the river scenery is beautiful, a lot of vineyards, and olive groves, hence the lack of sizable towns.

We had French balcony rooms which was good to get some fresh air now and again. As this was winter so it's not like one can sit outside for any length of time. Surprisingly chilly for Southern Europe. Room was fine, not huge but bed was comfy and shower was powerful so no complains there.

Most of the ship staff were Portuguese, incredibly friendly and helpful.

Food on the ship was a bit basic, especially compared to other Viking cruises, not sure why. One would have thought being in Portugal, they can offer a lot of seafood, but perhaps they have to cater to international tastes. We had better and more varied food on their Russian cruise!

Compared to other cruises ( this is our 4th Viking) this cruise offer most meals outside the ship. Apart from the Coimbra lunch, there's also a lovely dinner in a ex-monastery with more singing, and a good lunch in Salamanca with flamenco dancing. Maybe the food budget has gone onto this ;-)

Lastly, the included tours. We don't mind the bus rides, we don't mind the slow walking ( you stay in the same group from day 1 all pre-assigned), but it's the lack of content that is disappointing.

In addition to the Program director, who was great, and seem to be doing all the work and presentations; there were 3 Portuguese guides on board the ship, one for each tour bus.

In some places, we get a local guide once we got to the destination, and these were fine.

However, the ships guides seemed pretty useless to me, or at least the one on our bus served very little purpose. Again, I think back at Russia, when the on board guides would give lectures, in addition to lots of interesting information provided when we were out on the tours. These on board ship guides did nothing except help shepherd people on and off the buses.

On Rhine & Danube cruises they seem to use local guides only I'm not sure why they don't do this for the Douro cruise. I kind of resented at having to tip my guide but there was no option because they were included in the whole ship's staff gratuities.

I do not think this would be the best cruise to start as a first river cruise as one might think that river cruises are all so sedate, and dare I say it, slightly boring?! The Rhine & Danube & definite Russia river all have incredibly interesting excursions, and a lot of the towns the ship docks at are picturesque and allow for some pleasant wandering around. Not this one, the tiny towns we docked seemed deserted, at best there would be a few shops and cafes and not too scenic. One excursion we drove for over an hour to a hilltop town for a half hour wander around the deserted streets, then we had the opportunity to shop for almonds and drink teas at what seems to be the only teahouse open, definitely for the Viking tourists.

In conclusion, this cruise is pleasant, sedate and the Douro river region is charming, but one might find the other cruise itineraries offers more to see and experience and more varied food. I have to say the Portugese wines they offered during mealtimes were great though!

[emileg]

I could barely find anything on this cruise when I was looking around so I am going to post something now that we've been on the Viking Douro. There will be a new ship next year which is likely to be more spacious and I don't know what staff they will have then as this seems to be a contracted ship.

We took our own taxi from the airport to the Tivoli Lisboa hotel, only about 25 euros. Hotel is in a lovely central location and the room and bed was fine.

Viking provided a city tour for half a day which was a good introduction. We spent the other times wandering around ourselves.

We had to take a long bus journey before getting onto the ship in Porto. About 4 hours I think. They broke the journey by taking us to visit the University town of Coimbra and provide us with a very good lunch and Fado singing.

As mentioned by others before, there are daily bus trips on this cruise because none of the sights are by the river. Having said that, the river scenery is beautiful, a lot of vineyards, and olive groves, hence the lack of sizable towns.

We had French balcony rooms which was good to get some fresh air now and again. As this was winter so it's not like one can sit outside for any length of time. Surprisingly chilly for Southern Europe. Room was fine, not huge but bed was comfy and shower was powerful so no complains there.

Most of the ship staff were Portuguese, incredibly friendly and helpful.

Food on the ship was a bit basic, especially compared to other Viking cruises, not sure why. One would have thought being in Portugal, they can offer a lot of seafood, but perhaps they have to cater to international tastes. We had better and more varied food on their Russian cruise!

Compared to other cruises ( this is our 4th Viking) this cruise offer most meals outside the ship. Apart from the Coimbra lunch, there's also a lovely dinner in a ex-monastery with more singing, and a good lunch in Salamanca with flamenco dancing. Maybe the food budget has gone onto this ;-)

Lastly, the included tours. We don't mind the bus rides, we don't mind the slow walking ( you stay in the same group from day 1 all pre-assigned), but it's the lack of content that is disappointing.

In addition to the Program director, who was great, and seem to be doing all the work and presentations; there were 3 Portuguese guides on board the ship, one for each tour bus.

In some places, we get a local guide once we got to the destination, and these were fine.

However, the ships guides seemed pretty useless to me, or at least the one on our bus served very little purpose. Again, I think back at Russia, when the on board guides would give lectures, in addition to lots of interesting information provided when we were out on the tours. These on board ship guides did nothing except help shepherd people on and off the buses.

On Rhine & Danube cruises they seem to use local guides only I'm not sure why they don't do this for the Douro cruise. I kind of resented at having to tip my guide but there was no option because they were included in the whole ship's staff gratuities.

I do not think this would be the best cruise to start as a first river cruise as one might think that river cruises are all so sedate, and dare I say it, slightly boring?! The Rhine & Danube & definite Russia river all have incredibly interesting excursions, and a lot of the towns the ship docks at are picturesque and allow for some pleasant wandering around. Not this one, the tiny towns we docked seemed deserted, at best there would be a few shops and cafes and not too scenic. One excursion we drove for over an hour to a hilltop town for a half hour wander around the deserted streets, then we had the opportunity to shop for almonds and drink teas at what seems to be the only teahouse open, definitely for the Viking tourists.

In conclusion, this cruise is pleasant, sedate and the Douro river region is charming, but one might find the other cruise itineraries offers more to see and experience and more varied food. I have to say the Portugese wines they offered during mealtimes were great though!

I really want to thank you for an excellent and objective review of your Douro River cruise on Viking.

 

We will be on the new Viking Hemming in April and you provided a lot of information. If you feel that the guides were not adequate, then we will do a little more research ahead of time regarding the stops we are making.

 

Again, thanks for the informative review.

[Sparky333]

Thanks for this review -- you're correct in that there's not much info available on it!

 

I wonder about the difference in the winter vs. spring/summer atmosphere. Maybe the season had a lot to do with the slightly boring nature of the cruise?

 

emileg - if you see this please do write something when you return so we can learn about the April version of the cruise and also how Viking's new ships there are vs. the leased one in 2013. Also, your opinion of the guide situation would be helpful.

 

Thanks for the info, hoou!

[emileg]

...emileg - if you see this please do write something when you return so we can learn about the April version of the cruise and also how Viking's new ships there are vs. the leased one in 2013. Also, your opinion of the guide situation would be helpful. ..!

Will gladly do.

[molymoo]

We are just back from our Douro cruise with Viking and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! This was our fifth Viking cruise and although we did not feel that we could fairly compare this one with our summer China or Russia trips it was our favorite of the European ones thus far!

 

Our brief stay at the Tivoli was pleasant and as stated by "hoou" the bus trip from Lisbon to Porto was comfortable and the break at Coimbra was a surprisingly pleasant experience! The ship was smaller than the Viking ones we have enjoyed in the past and although a bit cramped, the stateroom was adequate ... and the French balcony did make the room seem larger. The thing I missed from the Viking ships were the "nooks and crannies" that can be found throughout the ship that can provide a quiet place to relax while sailing. The "Douro Spirit" had few places to read and relax other than the lounge which could fill up quickly ... especially on the cold and rainy days we experienced pretty much throughout the trip.

 

The service on the ship was great and we actually thought the food was better than we enjoyed on the Russian itinerary! The wait staff was wonderful and the wine flowed freely every lunch and dinner!

 

We enjoyed all of the excursions but did not choose to take any of the optional trips ... there were very few of these. The busses were large and comfortable and each of the longer trips included "comfort stops" along the way. Our tour escorts were great and kept up informed as to the length of each trip, the walking conditions, and of course the requisite history lessons along the way! They were additionally called into service to act as translators for many of the passengers needing trips to the local "farmacias" as there was a nasty upper respiratory bug running amuck amongst the passengers throughout the trip. By the end of the week the the evening "port talk" in the lounge sounded like a TB sanitarium!

 

Viking did their usual outstanding job of planning and executing contingency plans as flooding on the river did disrupt our itinerary. Although we had to overnight in an unplanned location and some time had to be made up once we were allowed through the locks and the disembarkation point was some distance from Porto, they were able to complete all of the scheduled excursions and accommodate everyone's transfers to the satisfaction of most aboard.

 

As we spent Christmas aboard there were a few special events that made the trip even more memorable. The crew sang Christmas carols for us on Christmas night, "Santa" made a visit (he looked remarkably like our tour escort, Jorge) with a present for everyone, and there was a very nice Christmas dinner that included the uncorking of enough very expensive bottles of vintage port to serve everyone with dessert ... which included the baked Alaska and a buffet of traditional Portuguese dessert treats.

 

All in all we loved our experience on the Douro and are already working on choosing an itinerary for this summer! :D

[Sparky333]

Welcome back molymoo and thanks for posting!

 

I'm considering this itinerary for 2015 so our trip would be on one of Viking's new ships there. Maybe it will have the "nooks and crannies" you were missing.

 

Sounds like a wonderful time despite the colds people got and maybe less than perfect weather. I definitely would be going in the summer - being on a river cruise in the winter is not my cup of tea even tho' people do rave about the Christmas markets which is a little tempting. We were on the Viking Passage to Eastern Europe itinerary at the end of November and it was chilly but not cold, cold. I think that's as late in the year as I'd want to go.

 

Thanks again for the review - very nice to hear you had such a great time!

[emileg]

We are just back from our Douro cruise with Viking and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! This was our fifth Viking cruise and although we did not feel that we could fairly compare this one with our summer China or Russia trips it was our favorite of the European ones thus far! ...:D

Thanks you for sharing another point of view on the Douro cruise experience. Out of curiosity, what kind of room does Viking put you in at the Tivoli Lisboa? Do you recall whether it was refurbished and on a high floor? Thanks.

[Sparky333]

Hi again to those that have already taken this cruise --

Can you please tell me how many people they have in each group for excursions?

 

I was on the Viking Passage to Eastern Europe last fall and they divided us into 5 buses of approx. 40 people and then each group stayed together on arrival at the different excursion stops. I thought it was too many people to have in a group - made for very slow going and crowding when trying to see certain sites. So I'd very much like to know if that is the same amount in each group on the Portugal itinerary.

 

When I spoke to Viking about that after my return she said the # should not have been that high and also there should've been options for slower and faster paced groups -- which we didn't have. Can you let me know what your experience was? Thanks.

 

I'm going to post this as a new question also in case you don't come back to this thread.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Sparky333
correcting error in # of buses

[molymoo]

I think we were on the 3rd floor. Couldn't say for sure if the room was refurbished or not but it was very nice and nothing seemed to be amiss. The furniture was very fresh looking and the paint job seemed to be fairly fresh. The bathroom was in beautiful condition as well. We had a great view out our window ... not the main street directly but a section of the side street and enough of the main boulevard to watch some of the comings and goings of the pedestrians who were out and about.

[Rami077]

Hoou and Molymoo:

 

Thank you both for the wonderful reviews. We are on the Viking Hemming sailing on Oct. 26th. We added four days before in Lisbon. Any tips on must see places in Lisbon?

[emileg]

I think we were on the 3rd floor. Couldn't say for sure if the room was refurbished or not but it was very nice and nothing seemed to be amiss. The furniture was very fresh looking and the paint job seemed to be fairly fresh. The bathroom was in beautiful condition as well. We had a great view out our window ... not the main street directly but a section of the side street and enough of the main boulevard to watch some of the comings and goings of the pedestrians who were out and about.

Thank you for answering my question about the Tivoli Lisboa. We are looking forward.

[TravelBugM]

We really enjoyed our stay at the Tivoli in Lisbon. We booked an extra night prior to the Viking tour even though the cost was higher than we normally would spend on a hotel and so glad we did. We felt pampered the whole time.

 

We were on the 6th floor and had a wonderful, large room with a view over Lisbon.

 

We ate breakfast on the terrace level each morning and loved it. We spent a late afternoon afternoon at the pool which is an oasis. The roof top bar was also enjoyable for a nightcap. The lobby is a nice spot to sit and rest or have a coffee.

 

We did a fabulous walking tour with Lisbon Explorer (http://www.lisbonexplorer.com). Our guide Paolo was fabulous.

 

Lisbon is a wonderful city. This was our second visit and we enjoyed exploring.

Edited January 8, 2014 by TravelBugM

[Sparky333]

TravelBugM - sorry if you already mentioned this in your review - but did you do a side-trip to Sintra? If you did, did you go with a private tour or was as it offered as an optional excursion by Viking? Or maybe you went there on your last trip to Lisbon?

[TravelBugM]

We visited Sintra on a previous visit to Portugal. Fabulous place to spend the day. Just don't try and do all the attractions in one day as you won't do them justice.

 

I believe if you do the extension with Viking it's offered as a day trip.

 

Sintra is do-able on your own, taking the train from Lisbon and then the bus around Sintra. I've read of private tours on Trip Advisor. We took a bus from where we were staying in Cascais and navigated our own way around Sintra.

[emileg]

We really enjoyed our stay at the Tivoli in Lisbon. We booked an extra night prior to the Viking tour even though the cost was higher than we normally would spend on a hotel and so glad we did. We felt pampered the whole time.

 

We were on the 6th floor and had a wonderful, large room with a view over Lisbon.

 

We ate breakfast on the terrace level each morning and loved it. We spent a late afternoon afternoon at the pool which is an oasis. The roof top bar was also enjoyable for a nightcap. The lobby is a nice spot to sit and rest or have a coffee.

 

We did a fabulous walking tour with Lisbon Explorer (www.lisbonexplorer.com). Our guide Paolo was fabulous.

 

Lisbon is a wonderful city. This was our second visit and we enjoyed exploring.

Thanks for the info. We are also coming to Lisbon a day prior to the official two-day stay. We were not sure what kind of room to book because we weren't certain what category room Viking would book for us. So we just booked an advance purchase minimally priced room. If Viking puts us in something better, perhaps we could talk the hotel into an upgrade. What kind of room did you book ahead of time?

[TravelBugM]

Emile - We did the extra night booking through Viking as the rate they could get for us was much better than going direct to the hotel. I can't recall the level of room, but it was wonderful.

[Sparky333]

Thanks TravelBugM!

 

I did see on the Lisbon Explorer website that they do a day trip there - not cheap at over 300 euro (for up to 3 people). I wonder what Viking charges for that optional trip.

[emileg]

Emile - We did the extra night booking through Viking as the rate they could get for us was much better than going direct to the hotel. I can't recall the level of room, but it was wonderful.

 

Thank you. I was able to get a room at the Tivoli from Hotels.com for 115 Euros a night. Viking posts an extra night at $400. In fairness, we didn't contact Viking to find out a true rate. I figure when we arrive at the hotel we will tell them that we are with Viking and see what they do.

[hoou]

Hoou and Molymoo:

 

Thank you both for the wonderful reviews. We are on the Viking Hemming sailing on Oct. 26th. We added four days before in Lisbon. Any tips on must see places in Lisbon?

 

We Stayed on the 6th Floor with a view towards the main boulevard out front, it was lovely and comfortable. I must say I did not expect that nice a room with Viking, group packages and all, not the company per se.

 

If you like eating, you have one or two free nights, I suggest booking yourself Feitoria at Altis Belem hotel , it is near the place the 1/2 day tour takes us to with the large map of the world on the ground and the Belem tower. Or Belcanto at Largo de Sao Carlos which is 15-20mins walk from the hotel.

They have really good food. The first one more seafood, the second one has this tasting menu of about 20 courses it's kind of fusion and presentation you have to like that sort of stuff but both I feel are good value and neither place are pretentious which is important to me.

If you do lunch it will be even more economical.

[TravelBugM]

We definitely did not pay $400/night. I recall it was around $250.

 

I'm sure Tivoli will treat you right.

[milling73]

Thank you for your detailed review. Reviews like this help others to decide whether to take or pass on a particular cruise.

[emileg]

We Stayed on the 6th Floor with a view towards the main boulevard out front, it was lovely and comfortable. I must say I did not expect that nice a room with Viking, group packages and all, not the company per se.

 

If you like eating, you have one or two free nights, I suggest booking yourself Feitoria at Altis Belem hotel , it is near the place the 1/2 day tour takes us to with the large map of the world on the ground and the Belem tower. Or Belcanto at Largo de Sao Carlos which is 15-20mins walk from the hotel.

They have really good food. The first one more seafood, the second one has this tasting menu of about 20 courses it's kind of fusion and presentation you have to like that sort of stuff but both I feel are good value and neither place are pretentious which is important to me.

If you do lunch it will be even more economical.

We appreciate your suggestions. Thank you.

[delraydoll]

We're doing this cruise, using a big credit from last May's Berlin-Prague cruise that was curtailed due to flood waters. Frankly we would have used Uniworld for the Portugal trip otherwise as we were disappointed in Viking overall altho' I must admit they did an excellent job of substituting places/transport due to the flooding.

 

Made reservations several months ago at Tivoli thru http://www.booking.com for 2 nites for total cost of $478 for the 2 nites which includes breakfasts (always look for free cancellation, just in case!). I'm sure Viking will charge a lot more.

 

Since Viking seems to just dump us back in Porto, we'll probably take the train back to Lisbon -- staying at the Tivoli for that night before flying back home.

[emileg]

...Since Viking seems to just dump us back in Porto, we'll probably take the train back to Lisbon -- staying at the Tivoli for that night before flying back home.

We are renting a car in Porto and driving to Seville at the cost of over $800 U.S. for a one day rental. Compared to buses, trains and planes, automobile is the fastest and least expensive way to get to Seville. We will stay three nights in Seville and then take the high speed train to Madrid where we will spend five nights and Easter Sunday.

[RiverheadLady]

Has anyone taken the Portugal: River of Gold Cruise recently or planning to do so?