The Douro-----

[Salbags58]

We are due to sail with Scenic in 4 weeks time.  I know the mean temperatures will be high but was hoping that sailing through the day should be cool as in the valley and on the river?

Also was wondering if the 9 hour round trip to Salamanca is worth it?

 

Thanks

[Canal archive]

 

Salamanca is one of the worlds heritage cities just to sit in the square and watch the world go by is a privalege when we went they where preparing for a world book event. It’s a city that wraps itself around you so vibrant and beautiful in my mind it was certainly worth the actually quite interesting journey which certainly did not seem that long.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Salbags58 said:

We are due to sail with Scenic in 4 weeks time.  I know the mean temperatures will be high but was hoping that sailing through the day should be cool as in the valley and on the river?

Also was wondering if the 9 hour round trip to Salamanca is worth it?

 

Thanks

What attracted us to Scenic for this cruise (coming up next September) is the option of an interesting excursion in Portugal [Freixo de Espada à Cinta silk museum and in-home lunch] rather than taking this long bus ride.  On most other lines you are pretty much stuck with Salamanca or nothing.

[Canal archive]

One of the reasons I like Scenic is that we could most probably do each of their cruises again because of the two excursion choices per day and the change of excursions over the years.

[jpalbny]

Salamanca is a beautiful city, with many sights, and definitely worth seeing. Only YOU can decide whether you want to sit in a bus for that long.

 

We did a DIY Douro trip in November 2019. We spent a few days in Porto and did day trips to the surrounding areas. Then we took a whole day to drive to Salamanca, making stops along the way. We stayed overnight, then continued on to Madrid. 

 

We had thought that Salamanca would be a blowoff stop just to rest for the night, but we were very surprised by how much there was to see and do. I would have enjoyed another day there.

 

I have pix of Salamanca on my blogger site. Link in my signature. 

[Carolfay]

Salamanca was in fact one of the highlights for me.  We had an excellent local guide who brought the city's history to life.  Our bus ride took less than two hours each way and didn't feel excessive.

[watcher30]

On 6/12/2022 at 8:16 AM, Carolfay said:

I've just returned from seven days via Ama Waterways on the Douro.  I loved it and would be happy to repeat this route one day.  I'd welcome any questions.  We started and finished in Porto, which is a beautiful and lively city.  We lucked out with weather; clear and sunny and not excessively hot - so long as you can find some shade.  English is widely spoken, and the locals are friendly.  Port wine was offered just about everywhere, though we were served decent table wines at lunch and dinner, too.  Excursions were well planned. I wouldn't have missed the Salamanca day - gorgeous city with much to see, and the bus ride each way didn't seem objectionable.

 I was on the same cruise as Carol (hi, Carol!) and liked it a lot, even though it wasn't quite up to the usual Ama standards.  I have a review here in the queue to be posted, and I blogged the trip (with too many photos) at https://readthisblog.net/category/travel/iberia-2022/?order=asc 

Go for the wine; go for the scenery.  Some of the excursions (Salamanca, Lamego) were great; others, like the one to Mateus Palace and Quinta de Avessada, could have been better.  Unlike most European river cruises, you don't dock in the middle of big cities, so your choices are limited.

[Carolfay]

Well done, watcher30 David - you've captured our tour beautifully.

[pontac]

On 6/12/2022 at 5:40 PM, Liz said:

I usually budget $30/day (€ equivalent) on cruise days for incidentals.  Does that sound reasonable to the “Douro alumnae”?

 

The only incidental spending I made on our Douro cruise was a punnet of cherries from a roadside seller and a souvenir in Salamanca. By the time we'd got there and had included lunch there wasn't that much free time before heading back

 

@salbags58 - cruising provides a refreshing breeze. I found the coach drive to/from Salamanca tedious. Salamanca was interesting, especially if one has an interest in history (Mrs P is especially interested in the Peninsula War in which Salamanca had a starring role), but when we do the Douro again, I'm not sure I'd go back to Salamanca solely because of the long coach journey.

[Canal archive]

Ahhhhh ‘Sharp’ Bernard Cornwall has a lot to answer for.

[aldukenew]

On 6/19/2022 at 12:06 PM, watcher30 said:

 I was on the same cruise as Carol (hi, Carol!) and liked it a lot, even though it wasn't quite up to the usual Ama standards.  I have a review here in the queue to be posted, and I blogged the trip (with too many photos) at https://readthisblog.net/category/travel/iberia-2022/?order=asc 

Go for the wine; go for the scenery.  Some of the excursions (Salamanca, Lamego) were great; others, like the one to Mateus Palace and Quinta de Avessada, could have been better.  Unlike most European river cruises, you don't dock in the middle of big cities, so your choices are limited.

What is the electrical outlet/usb port situation on the AmaDouro?

[watcher30]

5 hours ago, aldukenew said:

What is the electrical outlet/usb port situation on the AmaDouro?

 

We were in a “B” cabin (205).  All outlets were 220v 2-pin European; there was one outlet in the headboard on each side of the bed and two by the desk (though one was occupied by the QuietVox charger).  The outlets in the headboard were covered and looked just like the switches.  There were 2 USB-A ports on each side of the bed, probably only 1 amp.  

 

I brought a US cube-tap and a 1-foot US extension cord to give me a little more flexibility.

[aldukenew]

31 minutes ago, watcher30 said:

 

We were in a “B” cabin (205).  All outlets were 220v 2-pin European; there was one outlet in the headboard on each side of the bed and two by the desk (though one was occupied by the QuietVox charger).  The outlets in the headboard were covered and looked just like the switches.  There were 2 USB-A ports on each side of the bed, probably only 1 amp.  

 

I brought a US cube-tap and a 1-foot US extension cord to give me a little more flexibility.

Thank you! I have a European plug adaptor but maybe I will buy a few more. We will have 2 phones and an Apple watch to charge.

[watcher30]

1 hour ago, aldukenew said:

Thank you! I have a European plug adaptor but maybe I will buy a few more. We will have 2 phones and an Apple watch to charge.

 

You can charge the Apple Watch using the USB port from the ship with no problem. Your phones should charge overnight using the USB ports, but if you want to charge faster, use the charger that came with the phones or a multi-port USB charger (I use Anker chargers of various vintages and descriptions) and plug it into the 220 outlet with a suitable adaptor.  

 

I had an iPad, a MacBook Air, an iPhone 13, an Apple watch, and a USB charger for my camera batteries;  my wife had an iPad, an iPhone, and a camera battery charger that had to plug into the wall, so we used all the outlets.  It was much easier than on most ships!

 

 

[pontac]

20 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Ahhhhh ‘Sharp’ Bernard Cornwall has a lot to answer for.

 

Funnily enough, I have just finished Sharpe's Sword about the Salamanca campaign. I'm re-reading the Sharpe series, just cannot stop when one is finished I just have to start on the next.

 

But Mrs P has many non-fiction books about the Peninsular War, Wellington and Napoleon and she recently organised a visit to the Essex Regiment museum in Chelmsford to see the first captured Eagle 

 

I thought we went on the Douro cruise because it visited wine lands - which is my interest - but maybe the real reason was so Mrs P could  visit Salamanca.

 

Essex Regiment’s most prized trophy, the eagle was captured at sword point on 22 July 1812 from Napoleonic troops by Lieutenant William Pearce of the 2nd battalion, 44th (East Essex) Regiment.

[aldukenew]

11 hours ago, watcher30 said:

 

You can charge the Apple Watch using the USB port from the ship with no problem. Your phones should charge overnight using the USB ports, but if you want to charge faster, use the charger that came with the phones or a multi-port USB charger (I use Anker chargers of various vintages and descriptions) and plug it into the 220 outlet with a suitable adaptor.  

 

I had an iPad, a MacBook Air, an iPhone 13, an Apple watch, and a USB charger for my camera batteries;  my wife had an iPad, an iPhone, and a camera battery charger that had to plug into the wall, so we used all the outlets.  It was much easier than on most ships!

 

 

Thanks for the very helpful info.

[Canal archive]

pontac wife there’s now way you can see that rifles uniform without hoping they’ll march

Edited June 21, 2022 by Canal archive

[TFree]

On 6/19/2022 at 9:06 AM, watcher30 said:

 I was on the same cruise as Carol (hi, Carol!) and liked it a lot, even though it wasn't quite up to the usual Ama standards.  I have a review here in the queue to be posted, and I blogged the trip (with too many photos) at https://readthisblog.net/category/travel/iberia-2022/?order=asc 

Go for the wine; go for the scenery.  Some of the excursions (Salamanca, Lamego) were great; others, like the one to Mateus Palace and Quinta de Avessada, could have been better.  Unlike most European river cruises, you don't dock in the middle of big cities, so your choices are limited.

David:

We just got back from an extended vacation that ended with a Uniworld River Cruise on the Danube.  On the river cruise, we were joined by two other couples that we have known for a number of years.  I sent around a link to your blog to the others, and the comment that came back from the others was that they wish you had said more about the ship and the quality of the service.  The six of us have only done river cruises on Uniworld (we have done two, and the other couples had not done a river cruise before), but are interested in learning about other lines as well.  I see from your signature file that you have also cruised on American Cruise Lines, and I would love to hear any comments on that line, since we have considered taking one on ACL.  My email is linked in my signature file if you care to correspond that way.  Thanks,

 

Tom & Judy

[watcher30]

11 hours ago, TFree said:

David:

We just got back from an extended vacation that ended with a Uniworld River Cruise on the Danube.  On the river cruise, we were joined by two other couples that we have known for a number of years.  I sent around a link to your blog to the others, and the comment that came back from the others was that they wish you had said more about the ship and the quality of the service.  The six of us have only done river cruises on Uniworld (we have done two, and the other couples had not done a river cruise before), but are interested in learning about other lines as well.  I see from your signature file that you have also cruised on American Cruise Lines, and I would love to hear any comments on that line, since we have considered taking one on ACL.  My email is linked in my signature file if you care to correspond that way.  Thanks,

 

Tom & Judy

 

I'm still waiting for my review to be published here; the short version is that I gave it four stars (I would have rated all my other Ama cruises five stars).  The room was good (a little small but not uncomfortably so), and most of the crew was excellent (especially our waiter and room steward).  Food was good (not quite up to other Ama cruises, but we never had problems finding something we liked) and the Internet service was fast, at least for uploads.  The bar service was the weakest part of the cruise - we had a "free drinks" package which probably caused more confusion than it was worth.  

I don't know how much of the difference between this cruise and previous Ama cruises was because of the restrictions on the Douro (to the best of my knowledge, Ama doesn't own the ship), how much was because of Covid, how much because of the post-Covid labor shortage, and how much was because we were on a part-charter with some issues between the charterer and Ama.

I haven't sailed Uniworld yet (we're booked next year for a B2B on and around the Rhine) so I can't compare the two lines directly.

 

I'll email you my full review and we can chat about ACL offline.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

No USB outlets in the 100 cabins. Reception has some European/USB plugs you can borrow.  I had a "river" day the day of Salemanca and it was great. We were onboard first week of May and weather was pleasant, but they told us it is "toasty" all summer.

[Liz]

Sharing some information I received yesterday from Uniworld:

If you are doing Uniworld’s three-day post-cruise extension in Lisbon, there are several Masterpiece Collection tours available that appear on the “schedule at a glance” document.  You purchase them onboard.  Prices are:

Bike tour  €39
Sintra and Cascais €55
Cooking class €149
Foodie tour €99.

I do not have descriptions of the tours.

 

Liz

[texasstar]

If can't believe they are charging you for those.   Most river cruises would include those.  We priced them for the Douro in 2023 and they were much higher than AmaWaterways and even Tauck.

 

[Canal archive]

Picking myself up off the floor are these the costs each or for a couple?

[Liz]

Don’t shoot the messenger, folks - just trying to be helpful! The costs are per person.  And yes, other lines might include some of the tours, but Uniworld waived the solo supplement on more cruises than other lines on the Douro.  And since I’m traveling on a voucher from 2020, I really can’t complain.

 

Liz

[Canal archive]

Liz just enjoy yourself have a wonderful time.