Douro River recommendations, experiences, and tips.

[Canal archive]

Is this what you meant?

 

 

 

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

Is this what you meant?

 

 

 

Yes - don’t know why my pic didn’t show - it did when I sent it. But yours is better anyway 😊

[Bill Y]

22 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Having just done a Douro cruise with Tauck, I would highly recommend seeing the region by car instead.  It is easy to drive and would be much more interesting than the boring “sea days” and underwhelming port towns along the river.  The river is beautiful but the cruise was almost too much of a good thing and became boring after the first full day of sailing.  If you haven’t been to Portugal it is so easy to navigate and see Lisbon and Porto as well as the Douro region in 10 days or so.

We enjoyed our Douro cruise on Douro Serenity although I appreciate that different people look for different experiences in a cruise. It was hot in July upper 30’s C but then there were heat waves throughout Europe them.

 

A brief background, The Douro flows from Spain through rural Portugal. The only large towns are Porto, Portugal’s second city and normally an excursion to Salamanca an old university town in Spain. So apart from theses there are not many opportunities to explore at riverside stops. As this is a rural region the cruise lines try hard to provide excursions for education further afield, which are included by most lines and some high end lines may offer choices. I imagine that these offerings are similar due to what is available within reach.

 

It’s not a like comparison to “Sea Days” where a whole day is spent out of sight of land, on the Douro or any other river you are always insight of the banks so when you are sailing the scenery is drifting past during the day. No night sailing is allowed on the Douro although sailing may start early 6am. The most sailing we did in a day was seven hours, with an excursion every day.

 

Although some may find a fly-drive attractive, cruising is a completely different experience. With a cruise you just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience just present yourself for a meal or an excursion and listen to the guides. The information from the guides throughout this holiday was excellent, cultural, historic and local.  

 

So does this Holiday appeal?

[Canal archive]

On one days excursion and a Sunday at that, we certainly got the lot sightseeing, history, meeting the locals, beautifully  exquisite village architecture a lesson in making the local sweets during which the police arrived to view Madams guest and banking books. No by your leave or apologise to us plebs. Evidently it’s the law they can arrive and do this at any time of day or night whatever (!) you are doing. Well Madam took off with them to her office Maria Elena our tour guide took over and eventually all was well as we waved the police on their way.

 

Little piece of history England and Portugal have the oldest alliance between two countries in the world. We go to their aid if required and they come to ours. Dates from the early 13hundreds.

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Little piece of history England and Portugal have the oldest alliance between two countries in the world. We go to their aid if required and they come to ours. Dates from the early 13hundreds.

And a good thing it was during the wars of shifting alliances.  Whether England was fighting Spain or France, you could always count on the Portuguese ports (in so many strategic locations) for your Navy.

[Canal archive]

Okay okay so there’s a method in our madness but the joint naval exercises according to our guys are legendary.

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Okay okay so there’s a method in our madness but the joint naval exercises according to our guys are legendary.

I recently read all the Aubrey/Maturin naval novels, so I am aware of how helpful that alliance was to Britain.  😀

[mozfoz]

I appreciate all the feedback and comments. Its starting to sound like a totally different type of river cruise, That is, sailing all day, instead of morning tours, followed with a little free time. I can live with that, but my wife does enjoy small villages and a few. shops. So, after stopping at one winery, and one castle, will we disappointed. We are not trail hikers either. Are there night shore actvities.Long bus rides are a no-no. Can anyone proved a time frame for a typical day. We do like Uniworld, though we know no different,  and contrary to a lot of cruisers, we like the the over the top decor, if for only a week. We like the plush heavy decor as opposed to the Ikiea, Scandinavian , simplicity  style. So we are looking at the  Porto to Porto itinerary.

[Canal archive]

I’d forgotten the Patrick O’Brian novels I read them so long ago, so non on the kindle the ones I have are in the various book cases around the house.

[Gourmet Gal]

50 minutes ago, mozfoz said:

I appreciate all the feedback and comments. Its starting to sound like a totally different type of river cruise, That is, sailing all day, instead of morning tours, followed with a little free time. I can live with that, but my wife does enjoy small villages and a few. shops. So, after stopping at one winery, and one castle, will we disappointed. We are not trail hikers either. Are there night shore actvities.Long bus rides are a no-no. Can anyone proved a time frame for a typical day. We do like Uniworld, though we know no different,  and contrary to a lot of cruisers, we like the the over the top decor, if for only a week. We like the plush heavy decor as opposed to the Ikiea, Scandinavian , simplicity  style. So we are looking at the  Porto to Porto itinerary.

You are correct, this is a much different experience than some other European rivers. The river-side villages and towns do not compare with those on the Danube, Rhein or Moselle at all and your wife may be disappointed.  There can be morning and afternoon excursions in the same day  depending on cruising time and overnights.   The ship may also move while there are shore excursions, usually by bus.  Expect a fair number of bus trips and a fair amount of free-time.  The nightlife is really only in Porto but most of the better cruise lines will have an evening event with dinner at a winery quinta. You should expect multiple demonstrations and performances on your ship during some of the sail times and in the evening.  The scenery is beautiful and very dramatic in some places but in general the cruises can be very slow-paced because of the daytime sailing.

 

I’ve sailed on der Rhein, Moselle, Danube, Mein Canal, Rhône, Sâone, Garonne, Gironde, Dordogne and Seine along with numerous French Canals and I would say the Douro river was my least favorite but I really like the country of Portugal.

[Canal archive]

I have also sailed the majority of European rivers except the shall we say eastern end and each has its own appeal but I think what gives the Douro a slight edge in some respects is the people, so welcoming, helpful and friendly.

[Gourmet Gal]

Yes, the Portuguese are very friendly and hospitable. Most of the ships’ crews have to be majority Portuguese by law and I must say the crew onboard the Andorinha was outstanding.

[pontac]

On 1/3/2023 at 8:59 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

we'll have even more "sea days"

 

A pedant writes:-

 

 

Unless the Scenic boat is an awful lot slower than the others, you'll do the same amount of cruising -- from Porto to the Spanish border and back to Porto. The difference is Scenic spend extra time docked and do more land tours. As you say in an earlier post (and in a different context) - Port, Port and more Port.  😁

[pontac]

On 1/4/2023 at 12:09 PM, Canal archive said:

Is this what you meant?

 

The Portuguese company that operated the Viking boat had a very relaxed attitude. Whereas Viking would close the sundeck when passing under low bridges, on this cruise crew just suggested that those on the sundeck should duck.

 

[Canal archive]

Something else the Portuguese seem to be quite adept at is building & weaving bridges.
 

[Bill Y]

18 hours ago, mozfoz said:

I appreciate all the feedback and comments. Its starting to sound like a totally different type of river cruise, That is, sailing all day, instead of morning tours, followed with a little free time. I can live with that, but my wife does enjoy small villages and a few. shops. So, after stopping at one winery, and one castle, will we disappointed. We are not trail hikers either. Are there night shore actvities.Long bus rides are a no-no. Can anyone proved a time frame for a typical day. We do like Uniworld, though we know no different,  and contrary to a lot of cruisers, we like the the over the top decor, if for only a week. We like the plush heavy decor as opposed to the Ikiea, Scandinavian , simplicity  style. So we are looking at the  Porto to Porto itinerary.

The navigable Douro extents approx. 125 miles east of Porto, you sail up it and back to Porto. So the distances involved aren’t great over seven days so I can’t imagine any cruise line sailing all day. All our excursions were optional, if you stayed on the boat meals were provided. The long excursion that most lines do is to Salamanca two hours in each direction.

 

We had plenty of free time in Porto and on excursions most of the time we were given a back at the coach time so we could have a brief wander and take photos. We had one town Regua where we docked before diner stayed overnight and sailed before lunch the next day, so you could have gone out at night and spent time wondering in the morning at your leisure but at most other stops apart from Porto there was not much to see riverside.

 

You mention Uniworld. If you are thinking of using them suggest asking them for more details of their itinerary or see if someone who has travelled with them can give you details. I feel that the itinerary for our cruise will be different in the details and timings.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bill Y

[sbjornda]

On 1/4/2023 at 5:08 PM, mozfoz said:

Its starting to sound like a totally different type of river cruise 

We did the Scenic 11 day cruise in July 2022 (with the Lisbon and Madrid extensions). It was different from our previous river cruises (Rhine and Danube), and I wasn't familiar with the language. I've got some fond memories now, though when we arrived back home I had the feeling that it was the weakest experience of our 3 river cruises - very good but not outstanding. But looking back at the photos and remembering the excursions, I'm glad I did it. Yes it was different from previous river cruises, and was paced more leisurely, but in hindsight it was worth it. It had a different "feel" to it that has taken me some time to fully appreciate.

 

As others have pointed out, at many of the docks there's not much close by to where you are docked, but on those days the evening's on-board entertainment was quite sufficient. In Porto and one or two other places you'll find on-shore options.

 

Most excursions were within an hour's bus ride of the dock. The ship's guides travelled with us and provided enjoyable commentary along the way, of history, geography, economics, culture, nature, etc. (The crew and staff were all from Portugal, which made for a more integrated experience than I found to be the case with the Rhine and Danube cruises.) Scenic uses their own buses, which are very clean and comfortable. There were one or two excursions every day except for a couple of "sailing days".

 

We took their excursion to Vila Real and it really was a slice of small town life up in the hills; very charming and rustic (I chose to buy my souvenirs there). One of the guides had grown up near there in an even smaller farming community - so for her Vila Real was a large town 🙂.  Especially there at Vila Real I felt that rural Portugal had a bit of the feel of "eastern Europe" - a bit run down, but clean and safe, very proud of their history and culture. 

We chose the bus tour to Salamanca despite regrets expressed by some on this board that it was a long bus ride, but I'm glad I went - I suppose it depends on how much you're interested in history and art; during our free time we visited the Art Deco / Art Nouveau museum which (lucky for us) was displaying all 100 of Dali's prints illustrating Dante's Divine Comedy; that was a major highlight of the trip for me. Salamanca was a long day, but we had several hours to wander after the guided portion so if you're in good shape and enjoy exploring an old, historic city, it's worth it. Or enjoying a coffee/beer in the Plaza Mayor, people-watching.

 

The Côa Valley Archeological Park is worth it if you're interested in paleology. It was really well put together, very clean and modern. The actual rock carvings themselves are difficult to get to (several hours in an ATV), so the museum mostly displays copies, moulds, and rubbings. They do a good job of showing how this site compares to other paleological sites in Europe and around the world.

 

We took their excursion to Aveira, south of Porto, for an example of a smaller seacost city. The guided portion was a canal cruise, in case you hadn't had enough water yet. 🙂 There was plenty of free time to browse shops afterwards. 

 

So yes, it's a different sort of cruise from the Rhine or Danube, more leisurely and charming. It took me some time and reflection to appreciate it more fully. Of course it didn't help that we were distracted by COVID and the horrible air travel experience of 2022 and lost luggage - but now that those painful memories have receded, it really was a nice little cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Apparently Vila Real is only offered if the Monastery of Saint John of Tarouca is not available, but otherwise I have incorporated all your suggestions into my itinerary for this coming September.  Thanks!

[Canal archive]

Sbjornda you chose the exact word to describe the Scenic Douro cruise that summed it up perfectly ‘charming’ old fashioned maybe but perfect.

[pontac]

I've been thinking about something @Host Jazzbeau said earlier in this thread.  Sorry @mozfoz this isn't relevant to your query.

 

As I understand it @Host Jazzbeau thinks there is too much emphasis on wine in the trip. Some people on my recent Bordeaux cruise thought that about that cruise. For myself, there cannot be too much when in such iconic wine places .

 

But... why don't cruise companies have cruises on different dates focusing on different things, e.g. a wine focused tour in Douro/Bordeaux and a non-wine focused tour in Douro/Bordeaux.

 

And if you pick the wrong one - as the Muslim couple did who were on a wine tour of Southern France I went on - then they have no cause for complaint.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

I cruised the Douro in May 2022 on Scenic for 7 days, so will mention the time of year recommended for this cruise. Our CD said the heat really starts mid-May (when we finished our cruise) and continues to mid-October. Early May was great. Late October/November offers harvest time.

 

We never had a cruising only day. Usually a few hours of sailing in either the morning on the afternoon. As mentioned above, you can only sail during the day, but the ports are close together, so always a tour available. All tours were by Scenic bus, and the travel time was usually an hour each way. Also many roads are curvy.

 

We did the Lisbon pre-cruise tour and loved it. Never been to Lisbon before. Also a great opportunity to get to know fellow cruisers. Did not do the Madrid post-cruise since we spent time there before we joined the Scenic group in Lisbon. Friends who did the post-cruise reported it was very good though.

[mozfoz]

On 1/8/2023 at 12:04 PM, pontac said:

I've been thinking about something @Host Jazzbeau said earlier in this thread.  Sorry @mozfoz this isn't relevant to your query.

 

As I understand it @Host Jazzbeau thinks there is too much emphasis on wine in the trip. Some people on my recent Bordeaux cruise thought that about that cruise. For myself, there cannot be too much when in such iconic wine places .

 

But... why don't cruise companies have cruises on different dates focusing on different things, e.g. a wine focused tour in Douro/Bordeaux and a non-wine focused tour in Douro/Bordeaux.

 

And if you pick the wrong one - as the Muslim couple did who were on a wine tour of Southern France I went on - then they have no cause for complaint.

I do not like disappointments, especially ones that I could have avoided. And a river cruise is far too expensive for me to be disappointed. Thats why I feel research is paramount. Cruise Critic is a great resource. I wish I enjoyed wine, I do not. I am sure there is more than wine on the cruise, but I now feel I would be setting up a disappointment if I did a Douro/Bordeaux cruise. I will find another river or ocean.

[Got2Cruise]

Re: too much wine on the Duoro Cruise. I’ll speak regarding Uniworld because this was my experience. We also did the Libson extension. Libson wine is not the focus so no need to worry there. Side trips to Sintra and Cascais are available. 

 

Now onto Porto. Let’s get it out of the way PORTO=Port Wine. Lol. Porto is a wonderful city with the beautiful hand painted tiles, the emphasis is not on the Port wine at all unless you chose to visit a tasting room in your free time. 
 

Salamanca, Spain;  Guimares, Portugal; Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal three stops not wine centered. I did love the almond liquor at Castelo Rodrigo. 
 

The day at Pinhao, There is a choice of visit to archaeological park or vineyard tours. So you don’t need to have anything to do with wine. 
 

That leaves the day at the Duoro Museum and the Quinta Dinner. You can stay on the ship during the museum visit. The Quinta is a beautiful place, the owner entertaining. You get a feeling of life at a winery. 
 

Truthfully, there is just as much drinking available on a Rhine or Seine or Danube cruise.  Europeans drink a lot of wine and beer. Lol

[Canal archive]

As far as I can see Jazz did not say the Douro cruises was wine heavy the remark was more aimed at Port which Ive been led to believe is a fortified wine only properly produced by the Portuguese which they make from very rich drunk in small glasses not by the gallon to the most superb light ‘pink’ port served cold on the sun deck.

 

Yes I do appreciate a good port and the Portuguese drink it and use it in their cooking endless opportunities for its use.

[pontac]

23 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

 Europeans drink a lot of wine and beer

 

Yes, wine with meals*. Allelujah!!!

 

Q) What's the name foe a meal without wine? A) Breakfast 🙂

 

Though river cruise boats do have fizz available for self-pour at breakfast, presumably to spoil with orange juice.

 

@Canal archive Port is fortified. If it's not, then it isn't Port.

Edited January 13, 2023 by pontac