laverendrye Posted May 16, 2018 #1 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I cruised the Douro almost 6 years ago (November 2012) and enjoyed it very much. I’m returning next week with friends who have not been on the Douro before and am certainly looking forward to my return. Last time the ship was the Douro Spirit, chartered with crew by Uniworld from Douro Azul, as are most cruise ships on the Douro. (At the end of that season it went to Viking and Uniworld chartered the Queen Isabel which it still uses). Emerald and its parent Scenic, on the other hand, own their own ships. We’ll be on the Emerald Radiance, launched last year, which seems similar to Emerald ships on other European rivers except smaller to fit the many locks on the Douro. When I booked last year the price was significantly lower than a similar Uniworld cruise. Emerald is almost all-inclusive with main exception being bar charges and a couple of optional excursions. I have been a great fan of Uniworld in the past (5 cruises) so I’ll be very interested to compare the two. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cole Posted May 16, 2018 #2 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I cruised the Douro almost 6 years ago (November 2012) and enjoyed it very much. I’m returning next week with friends who have not been on the Douro before and am certainly looking forward to my return. Last time the ship was the Douro Spirit, chartered with crew by Uniworld from Douro Azul, as are most cruise ships on the Douro. (At the end of that season it went to Viking and Uniworld chartered the Queen Isabel which it still uses). Emerald and its parent Scenic, on the other hand, own their own ships. We’ll be on the Emerald Radiance, launched last year, which seems similar to Emerald ships on other European rivers except smaller to fit the many locks on the Douro. When I booked last year the price was significantly lower than a similar Uniworld cruise. Emerald is almost all-inclusive with main exception being bar charges and a couple of optional excursions. I have been a great fan of Uniworld in the past (5 cruises) so I’ll be very interested to compare the two. Sent from my iPad using Forums We are doing something similar. Sailed with Uniworld 2 years ago and with Vantage in October this year, due to the fact that they have a Wine Harvesting focus at that time. We begin in Madrid and depart from Lisbon. Please come back and give a review as to your experience. We are looking forward (as are you) sharing this with friends who have not sailed the Douro. Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubinstein2r Posted May 16, 2018 #3 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Eager to hear your experience. We are looking at Douro for 2019 and liked Uniworld but are not big drinkers. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krillsister Posted May 16, 2018 #4 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I'm doing the Douro with Viking June 2nd. Looking forward to this itinerary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canal archive Posted May 17, 2018 #5 Share Posted May 17, 2018 We have just returned from our Douro cruise with Scenic. The food was fantastic, the food is always good on Scenic but this was exceptional. If you go aim for Maris Helena as your tour guide you can’t go far wrong she is superb. I had never been to Portugal before, what a beautiful country and friendly people. In all a most enjoyable cruise. CA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw1776 Posted May 17, 2018 #6 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Uniworld had a good price this June for Douro. Looking forward to Portugal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Pepes Posted May 20, 2018 #7 Share Posted May 20, 2018 I cruised the Douro almost 6 years ago (November 2012) and enjoyed it very much. I’m returning next week with friends who have not been on the Douro before and am certainly looking forward to my return. Last time the ship was the Douro Spirit, chartered with crew by Uniworld from Douro Azul, as are most cruise ships on the Douro. (At the end of that season it went to Viking and Uniworld chartered the Queen Isabel which it still uses). Emerald and its parent Scenic, on the other hand, own their own ships. We’ll be on the Emerald Radiance, launched last year, which seems similar to Emerald ships on other European rivers except smaller to fit the many locks on the Douro. When I booked last year the price was significantly lower than a similar Uniworld cruise. Emerald is almost all-inclusive with main exception being bar charges and a couple of optional excursions. I have been a great fan of Uniworld in the past (5 cruises) so I’ll be very interested to compare the two. Sent from my iPad using Forums Let us know who this trip goes and post lots of pix. We have only done Uniworld and actually booked Emerald Portugal for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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