Live from Portugal's Douro-- and a wine-themed cruise!

Hi, MarbellaSD. Got an answer for you: On a Douro cruise, you cannot pay shipboard tips with onboard credit. This is the only ship in the Ama fleet that has this rule, according to Ama executive vice president Kristin Karst, who answered this for you. Has to do with laws set down by Portuguese authorities. Interestingly -- and fortunately we were warned about this very early in this thread -- it's also the only Ama ship where you need to pay tips with cash (I'm heading to the ATM today!).

In all other Europe cases, Ama ships permit you to use onboard credit or credit cards to pay tips.

This only applies to gratuities; all other onboard charges can be paid by credit card.

Carolyn

Can you use shipboard credit for tips? I am doing this trip in October and took part of our travel agent's rebate as a shipboard credit--specifically to use for tips. I'll want to change that if possible if that's not possible. What else is there use it for onboard? Almost everything else is included, right?

 

Thanks!

Marlene

If DouroAzul operates the ship, the cruise lines do have the opportunity to tweak décor, menus, entertainment and tours. Viking Hemming (link to review: http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=786 ) feels like one of the company’s popular Longships but there are similarities and differences. On the one hand, in all cases, the ships are smaller than those that operate on the Rhone, Rhine, Danube, etc. Viking River’s Longships in other parts of Europe hold 190 passengers; here its twin ships carry just 106.

Same goes with Uniworld and AmaWaterways in terms of smaller ships and smaller passenger capacities.

Where you can really see similarities, at least with Ama and Viking River, are in the cabin designs. Those cabins on these Douro ships reflect the ambience of those on the bigger vessels. For instance, here, Viking Hemming and Viking Torgil still have the two-room suites that are quite unique to the Longboats design, though they’re a bit smaller than the rest (I’ll admit though that the design of these suites on the Douro boats are actually slightly refined and improved over the others, particularly when it comes to closet space!).

On AmaWaterways, its own unique suites, which are in one room but feature both a French verandah and an actual balcony, with two chairs and a table, you’ll still find that here. The big difference: the French verandah has been changed to simply a floor-to-ceiling window). They are comfortable and well-furnished. And there’s lots of light.

Where you see more obvious differences, Viking River had to greatly cut back on its Aquavit Terrace; the lounge is lovely, but the indoor/outdoor dining and seating area that’s so fabulous on the standard Longships is greatly curtailed. And on AmaVida, there’s no back-of-the-ship Erlebnis, the alternative restaurant with a chef’s kitchen.

Carolyn

Gosh, a week sure passed quickly. Whirlwind! Feel like I barely just got here and now I'm in the airport waiting for the flight home, and plan a photo album on some of the highlights of our Douro tours, plus a blog on hits and misses of the region (will post links when we have 'em).

My only regret: I should have found time for pre- and/or post-cruise adventures. Having been to Lisbon, a delightful city, I think my choice would be to stick around in Porto for a few more days. Next time!

Is there anything you still want to know? Any questions I didn't yet answer? Please post 'em here and I'll check in again tomorrow. Thanks.

Carolyn

Do you know why ships on the Douro don't ever cruise at night? The river is not equipped for night-time navigation. What that means is you get more time cruising in the daytime (captains can go from sunrise to sunset), more scenic cruising, and also -- it's easier to see the scenery during the day! Just a little fun fact.

Carolyn

Thanks for the info ..

Thanks for all the information. We have a group of 8 going on this cruise in October. We are doing the pre and post cruise additions, we can't wait.....thanks again

July was an absolutely gorgeous month for cruising the Douro (and it really wasn't as hot as I expected) but I'll bet that October is simply sublime. Keep us posted, RichNY!

Carolyn

Thanks for all the information. We have a group of 8 going on this cruise in October. We are doing the pre and post cruise additions, we can't wait.....thanks again

Hi, we've just posted our third (and final) photo album from the Douro River cruise trip -- this time we focus on the places we visited. Please take a look!

Go to Facebook.com/CruiseCritic, and scroll down just a bit. It's right after the Princess chocolate item.

Thanks.

Carolyn

Thanks for all the information. We have a group of 8 going on this cruise in October. We are doing the pre and post cruise additions, we can't wait.....thanks again

Also going in October, starting in Lisbon on the 11th. When are you going, Rich?

We'll be getting into Lisbon on the 18th, boarding the Amavida on the 21st..

July was an absolutely gorgeous month for cruising the Douro (and it really wasn't as hot as I expected) but I'll bet that October is simply sublime. Keep us posted, RichNY!

 

Carolyn

Will do. Thanks for the review and the pictures. We sailed on the AmaLegro 2years ago, our first river cruise, and really loved it..The Vida looks even nicer.

Thanks for the review..

We've just launched my recap of the Douro River cruise -- both hits and (very few) misses! http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2014/08/05/just-back-from-a-douro-river-cruise-hits-misses/

Thanks for all the supportive comments -- it's been a blast.

Carolyn