Douro - Queen Isabel Review

We just returned from the Douro River Cruise with Uniworld and we would give this cruise 5 stars if we could! First of all, we flew into Lisbon and spent 3 nights in the Tiara Hotel, which we thought was beautiful. The local coordinator Petra and her assistant Isabell were our guides for Lisbon and from Lisbon to the ship. We opted to take the optional tour to Sintra the second day and would highly recommend it. We learned the first night that our ship was unable to reach Porto for us to board because the lock the ship had to travel through to get there was having a "small problem", so the day from Lisbon to the ship we were on the bus an hour longer than it would have been and that was a long day, but Uniworld gave everyone on board $250 credit for any future river cruise through 2016 for any inconvenience. The cabins are small because the locks are smaller that the other European rivers. The ships can only travel from port to port during the day and that provides a great opportunity to see the beautiful countryside. The ride to Salamanca was 2 hours each way, but again - the scenery is beautiful. The Flamenco show was terrific. Another highlight was dinner at Quinta Da Avessada.

Uniworld is "all inclusive" and they mean what they say. You are not charged for any alcohol you order during the day, for lunch or for dinner. After dinner, when you go to the lounge to listen to the music, they meet you at the door with a nice glass of Port.

If there are any negatives to speak of - the small cabins would be one (but again that is due to the size of the locks). We had a "French Balcony" which is not a "French Balcony" but a patio door. The dining room in the evenings when everyone is having dinner is extremely noisy due to the low ceilings. Breakfast and lunch buffets were very good with many choices, but the evening meals did not live up to Uniworld's standards. Plus one evening after a long day of touring - the meal was another buffet. Our opinion is that all evening meals should be sit down meals.

The Douro is now our new favorite river in Europe. Portugal is beautiful, the people are lovely and we would highly recommend this river cruise. Our thoughts were that after the word gets out - this itinerary will be high on everyone's Bucket List.

If you have any questions, just post them and I will be glad to try to answer them. This is our 4th river cruise and second one with Uniworld.

Cole

Why does Cruise Critic have an outdated reivew of the Uniworld Queen Isabella. Since it is now all inclusive, including tips, drinks, etc. I think this is a disservice to Uniworld and to travelers.

Why does Cruise Critic have an outdated reivew of the Uniworld Queen Isabella. Since it is now all inclusive, including tips, drinks, etc. I think this is a disservice to Uniworld and to travelers.

This review is not out dated!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

This review is not out dated!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You are correct. We did this cruise April 2014. Three months ago doesn't seem to me to be "outdated." ;)

Cole

Why does Cruise Critic have an outdated reivew of the Uniworld Queen Isabella. Since it is now all inclusive, including tips, drinks, etc. I think this is a disservice to Uniworld and to travelers.

The OP cruised in April. It is now July. It is certainly NOT outdated Also, he is reviewing the cruise and the ship, not the perks.

Also, it is a great review. Most of the "reviews" on CC are not reviews but multi-page multi-post diaries which tell us far more than anyone needs to know about the cruise including a whole bunch of really bad photos of everything from the reviewer's dog to their great aunt to a picture of the toilet in their pre-cruise hotel.

To me, a cruise review should include what was good, what was bad, and whether the overall cruise was a good experience. Cole - keep up the good work.

DON

Thanks for the report!

The OP cruised in April. It is now July. It is certainly NOT outdated Also, he is reviewing the cruise and the ship, not the perks.

 

Also, it is a great review. Most of the "reviews" on CC are not reviews but multi-page multi-post diaries which tell us far more than anyone needs to know about the cruise including a whole bunch of really bad photos of everything from the reviewer's dog to their great aunt to a picture of the toilet in their pre-cruise hotel.

 

To me, a cruise review should include what was good, what was bad, and whether the overall cruise was a good experience. Cole - keep up the good work.

 

DON

Thanks Don - I agree it should be short and sweet. Just it the high (and low) spots and if anyone want more all they have to do is ask.;)

Cole

I agree. Cole did a great job reviewing this ship and his cruise. We are going to be on this ship in six weeks and Cole's review was important to us when making several decisions.

Cole, one question. In Salamanca, is the lunch worthwhile or would we be better served eating on our own and touring the city more?

Thanks Don - I agree it should be short and sweet. Just it the high (and low) spots and if anyone want more all they have to do is ask.;)

Cole

Did you ever notice that sometimes it takes longer to read most CC cruise "reviews" than the total time it took to take the cruise. LOL!!

There may be some useful stuff in them but it is not worth it read through them to find the minimal gems of wisdom.

DON

I agree. Cole did a great job reviewing this ship and his cruise. We are going to be on this ship in six weeks and Cole's review was important to us when making several decisions.

 

Cole, one question. In Salamanca, is the lunch worthwhile or would we be better served eating on our own and touring the city more?

Our lunch was not included in our tour (although the Flamenco was included and loved it!) so we stopped at one of the sidewalk restaurants that had an all inclusive lunch (appetizer, meal and dessert) and it was wonderful. Of course each of us had to have some of their special "ham". I have read somewhere else that an included lunch on their tour was disappointing, so my recommendation would be do it on your own and enjoy "people watching".

Cole

Have you ever cruised with AMA? I am wondering with your negatives....which were minor would you have preferred to be on another riverboat?

We are just now starting to plan and we have it narrowed down to Uniworld or AMA but we have definitely decided on Portugal and Spain.

I for one love very detailed reports/reviews....the more info the better for me

Thanks for the info ..

Have you ever cruised with AMA? I am wondering with your negatives....which were minor would you have preferred to be on another riverboat?

We are just now starting to plan and we have it narrowed down to Uniworld or AMA but we have definitely decided on Portugal and Spain.

I for one love very detailed reports/reviews....the more info the better for me

We have never traveled on AMA buthave done 2 with Uniworld (plan to do3rd in 2016 as soon as schedules are available) but the negatives we did not attribute to Uniworld since the ship is not their ship (Portugal owns all of the ships, not the companies). We felt like Uniworld probably had little control over the small negatives that I mentioned. Whichever company you choose, I don't think you will not be disappointed.

Cole

I was not referring to any of the recent posts but to the review you get of the cruise written by cruise critic By Gabriella Le Breton, Cruise Critic contributor.

I, too, think Coles review is very informative.

We are leaving next week for our Douro Queen Isabel cruise.

I was not referring to any of the recent posts but to the review you get of the cruise written by cruise critic By Gabriella Le Breton, Cruise Critic contributor.

I, too, think Coles review is very informative.

 

We are leaving next week for our Douro Queen Isabel cruise.

I know I am repeating myself - but I think you are going to love it! Be sure and come back and post your review.

Cole