Douro river cruise

I am interested in doing a Douro river cruise (Northern Portugal). It seems that Uniworld is big there. I see Vantage has one cruise there a year. I am looking for those who have done this cruise, what cruise/travel company, if satisfied and any other comments of interest.

We're booked on Uniworld this August on the new Douro Spirit and we can't wait. We were on Uniworld a few years ago and were very satisfied.

We've cruised with Uniworld four times and have been very satisfied each and every time. We did the Douro River trip a couple of years ago and it stands out as one of our favorites. See if your budget and time off schedule can accomodate the pre-cruise tour through Spain and Portugal -- it was spectacular!

Best wishes....

We have sailed this river with AMAwaterways. At that time all the lines used boats from Duoro Azul. Cabins are smaller, but totally adequate. All lines visit the same places on the river. The only difference is the pre-cruise if you choise it. In fact the year we went both AMA and Uniworld used the same hotel in Lisbon. We stayed 2 nites on our own on Porto and took the train back to Lisbon before flying home. Pat

people have asked this question,,and good replies,,

We took Uniworld,,and loved it...wonderful area,,very scenice,great towns,,one of my favorite s too...did pre cruise extension,,and really worth it...:D

Considering the Douro river in conjunction with a flying into Barcelona. It appears that the rail connections between Oporto and Barcelona are not super. Are one way car rentals expensive in Portugal and Spain expensive?

Considering the Douro river in conjunction with a flying into Barcelona. It appears that the rail connections between Oporto and Barcelona are not super. Are one way car rentals expensive in Portugal and Spain expensive?

You could fly from Barcelona to Lisbon using EasyJet or Vueling Airlines. Last year we flew into Lisbon from Frankfurt and then after spending a few extra days in Porto flew TAP to Barcelona. Very easy and inexpensive to do.

You will love the Douro River on Uniworld!

Bill

Not much been reported about the new boat. So please Condocat and then Simba3 give as much info. as you can about everything - including the TAP flight from Porto, etc. Plus anyone else. Thanks Larry

Larry,

I will keep you posted. Just wish I could find someone also booked on my trip.

Not much traffic on the riverboat roll calls, must be a function of there being such a small cadre [elite?] of people who river cruise. Probably not too many more people on all riverboats at any one time than on just one mega ocean cruise ship. However, the average river cruiser being experienced you would think that a decent proportion would be on these boards. I'm still 5 months out so some could pop up. Thanks, Larry

Not much traffic on the riverboat roll calls, must be a function of there being such a small cadre [elite?] of people who river cruise. Probably not too many more people on all riverboats at any one time than on just one mega ocean cruise ship. However, the average river cruiser being experienced you would think that a decent proportion would be on these boards. I'm still 5 months out so some could pop up. Thanks, Larry

You will be quite surprised to find how many people on river cruises have never heard of CC. After talking to people on your trip some might be interested in joining though.

River cruises really need no preplanning, so people are not necessarily looking for additional information. Since all tours are included and there are few optionals, just pay and go :D. Some of us are always looking for more details, just to expand our knowledge of the trip.

Have fun on your cruise. We will be taking our seventh in September :).

BTW, if you look under my name and search from Sept 2008 you can read the lengthy review that I did while on our AMA Douro cruise.

We were on the second sailing and had some very bad experiences. We understand the first sailing was horrendous as well. I suspect that people aren't commenting on their experiences because they're busy trying to get money out of Uniworld.

The boat's decor was cold and unpleasant, the furniture didn't fit (had to move the furniture in order to move around our room), the ventilation/air conditioning system was broken, a pipe burst in the dining room and water leaked from the ceiling onto the food and guests for about a day, many of the staff didn't speak English (although Uniworld advertises that they do) the room phones didn't work and the cruise was understaffed.

Major overhauls occurred while we were on the boat including fixing the air conditioning and ventilation, water leak in the dining room, new sun deck furniture and the chef was replaced. The Uniworld staff were clearly exhausted, both emotionally and physically. The main issue seems to be that Uniworld does not own the boat and had little control over who was hired for many of the non-management positions. Many passengers who have travelled with Uniworld on other cruises felt that this was a three star cruise rather than the usual five star.

:cool:

We were on the second sailing and had some very bad experiences. We understand the first sailing was horrendous as well. I suspect that people aren't commenting on their experiences because they're busy trying to get money out of Uniworld.:confused:

 

WHY IS WINE LOVER SO WORRIED ABOUT THE FIRST SAILING CRUISERS?

MAYBE TO JUSTIFY HIS COMMENTS ABOUT THE SECOND CRUISE???

 

The boat's decor was cold and unpleasant, the furniture didn't fit (had to move the furniture in order to move around our room), the ventilation/air conditioning system was broken, a pipe burst in the dining room and water leaked from the ceiling onto the food and guests for about a day, many of the staff didn't speak English (although Uniworld advertises that they do) the room phones didn't work and the cruise was understaffed.

 

Major overhauls occurred while we were on the boat including fixing the air conditioning and ventilation, water leak in the dining room, new sun deck furniture and the chef was replaced. The Uniworld staff were clearly exhausted, both emotionally and physically. The main issue seems to be that Uniworld does not own the boat and had little control over who was hired for many of the non-management positions. Many passengers who have travelled with Uniworld on other cruises felt that this was a three star cruise rather than the usual five star.

THIS AN ATACK BASED ON EXAGGERATED VERSION OF SMALL PROBLEMS THAT DID OCCURE ON THE TWO FIRST CRUISES. AND THAT DID LAST MINUTS, AND NEVER DAYS. THE TEAMS WERE READY TO SOLVE ANY SURPRISE, THAT IS DUE TO HAPPEN ON FIRST CRUISES.

WHEN THE WINE LOVER SAYS THAT THE DECOR WAS COLD AND UNPLEASENT, CAN FOR SURE CONFIRM THAT THE DECOR IS THE SAME AS PRINTED ON THE BROCHURE, SO WHY CHOOSE IT??? THERE WERE MANY OTHER MORE VERSAILLES TYPE OPTIONS!!!

IT IS FALSE THAT THE SHIP WAS UNDERSTAFFED, ALSO IT IS TRUE THAT THERE SOME THAT DONT SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT YOU ONLY MEET THEM IF YOU ARE WASHING PLATS OR CLEANING THE ENGINE ROOM:rolleyes:

TO ALL CRUISERS, THAT LOVE CRUISING, SHOULD KNOW THAT THE LIMITATIONS OF THE LOCKS ON THE DOURO RIVER ARE 80 METERS SO THE VESSELS ARE A LOT SMALLER THAN THE 130 METERS ONES ON THE CENTRAL EUROPE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THERE IS NO EXPERIENCE LIKE THE BEAUTY OF THE DOURO VALLEY. ENJOY YOUR CRUISES WORLDWIDE LIKE I DO AND BE POSITIVE WITH LIFE, PEACE.:)

We were on the second sailing and had some very bad experiences. We understand the first sailing was horrendous as well. I suspect that people aren't commenting on their experiences because they're busy trying to get money out of Uniworld.

 

The boat's decor was cold and unpleasant, the furniture didn't fit (had to move the furniture in order to move around our room), the ventilation/air conditioning system was broken, a pipe burst in the dining room and water leaked from the ceiling onto the food and guests for about a day, many of the staff didn't speak English (although Uniworld advertises that they do) the room phones didn't work and the cruise was understaffed.

 

Major overhauls occurred while we were on the boat including fixing the air conditioning and ventilation, water leak in the dining room, new sun deck furniture and the chef was replaced. The Uniworld staff were clearly exhausted, both emotionally and physically. The main issue seems to be that Uniworld does not own the boat and had little control over who was hired for many of the non-management positions. Many passengers who have travelled with Uniworld on other cruises felt that this was a three star cruise rather than the usual five star.

Hi wine lover,

First of all I’m sorry to hear that your experience wasn’t the most pleasant one. The Douro River Valley is a truly splendid region with unparalleled beauty. As we’re talking of a brand new ship, it’s “bound” that some technical glitches might occur on the first sailings. While we can’t say it’s normal, because all companies want to provide their guests with the most stellar service right from the beginning, it’s something that occurs with most new ships or venues.

The Douro Spirit has a clean and modern décor with purified colors, with lots of light, which tries to create a more contemporary atmosphere that distances itself from the traditional décor one sees in most riverboats. The furniture used, for instance, complies with the international standards used in the hospitality industry.

It’s probable that the sense of lack of space you felt was due to the fact that the Douro Spirit, like all riverboats that sail in the Douro, is smaller than the riverboats that sail on all other major rivers. That is due to the size limits that are imposed by the dams scattered across the river. This limits the size of the ship areas and of the staterooms size. On the upper end, smaller ships like the Douro Spirit tend to provide a more intimate atmosphere that best suits river cruising, especially those that take place in the Douro region.

Regarding the staff, namely the fact that many didn’t speak English, DouroAzul – the company that owns and operates the Douro Spirit - is known for having a well-trained and experienced staff. For instance, the majority of the staff on Douro Spirit worked previously on the Douro Queen. To be qualified to work on DouroAzul’s riverboats, staff member must speak English and another language, besides from Portuguese.

In order to quickly respond to the situations you previously mentioned, a technical team was placed on board in order to analyze and repair every situation as soon as possible to them. While this isn’t the ideal situation, it was done in order to guarantee guests satisfaction.

Once again, I’m really sorry that you hadn’t a pleasant experience.

I just returned home today from last weeks Uniworld's Douro River Cruise. The region is beauitiful and the staff was energetic and enthustiastic to please its guests. There are however several problems Uniworld needs to resolve in order for their customers to receive value for their dollar.

Concerns:

Safety: We never had a safety drill. There were first time cruiser who would not have a clue as to what to do, or where to go. This could have spelled disaster in an emergency.

Life vests were located on the top shelf of the closet. Being 5'9" tall it's not a problem for me personally. Anyone under 5'4" would not be able to reach them. They need to be located on the second shelf of the bookcase or another accessable area.

A series of chrome switches are next to the bed. They are not labeled. There are approximately 5 of them. One of these is the emergency call button! You guessed it, thinking I was turning on a light I had a phone call asking if I needed help. I explained I didn't realized what I had done. The staff agreed the button needs to be labeled and painted red. Sadly, in a real emergency, a person wouldn't know which button was THE emergency button.

Staterooms:

Electrical Outlets: It was nearly impossible to plug in an electrical device as the outlets were fitted to tightly with a safety feature. I had the ship's engineer to our suite who tried 4 times to plug in the ship's hairdryer and finally said he would have to remove the safety feature to make it easier. That made no sense to me, however I was tired of contacting the front desk to plug anything in the outlets.

The hairdryer provided by the ship is located on a shelf under the bathroom sink, however it is not allowed to be plugged into the only electrical outlet in the bathroom. One must use an outlet in the bedroom area. The hairdryer should be stored there with a note explaining it's only to be use in that area. The outlets were very frustrating.

TV

A beautiful flat screen TV was in the room, but many times it had to be reset. This was probably due to the mountains in the area, however, after mastering how to do this ourselves, resetting the TV was not enough and we needed more help. After waiting two days, still no one came and it was time to disembark.

Laundry

Laundry was done very well, however it took 72+ hours and a request to get it back.

Shower Gel: Was located next to the bathroom sink instead of inside the shower, not most convenient.

Food

I cannot sugarcoat this. The food off the ship, the first 72 hours was horrible. The lunch provided on the ride from Lisbon to the ship was terrible. It was featured as an authentic Portuguese Sunday lunch. A cabbage soup was served first which was fine but the main course was a chicken dish, consisted of bones and hardly any meat! I was finding neck bones I wouldn't use to make soup! Two days later we had cabbage soup again! Two nights later we had dinner at a monastary which was overcooked, tough pork. The following evening was dinner at a hotel. Again we had chicken, but this time it resembled SPAM. It mystified the majority of us why Uniworld fed us off ship. The food onboard was very good, but this got us off to a rocky and not happy start.

Off-Site Tours

All of the tours require bus transport, 1/2hr-2hrs each way. There is little to nothing to do in the towns the ship docks with the exception of Oporto. It was dissappointing only 3 hours were spent in Oporto, especially when the tour guide states, "The best thing to see is the palace, but it's very expensive, it's 4 euros." Our bus just kept on going to later stop for free time. It would have been nice have inclded the palace in the tour.

The day returning from Salamancha we only had 45 min. to get ready for dinner. They should have left the ship earlier that morning or left Salamancha earlier to allow more time for dinner.

Ship

The biggest drawback regarding the ship is the dining room. Unlike other ships it is located on the lower deck which is alright, but the biggest problem is the size. It appears to be too small to adequately handle the guests. The majority of tables are rectangles of 8 which makes it difficult to socialize. There are a handful of ovals but not as many. Space is very tight! Our hearts went out to the waiters every night who did an incredible job with limited space. I question this ship's guest capacity. We had 112 people on board and it was tight.

In Conclusion

On paper my comments may sound trite, however, they were annoyances that kept rearing they're ugly heads. We met many good people, had many laughs making the best of all these situations and had a good time.

Condocat, I'm sorry your trip didn't live up to your expectations. I'm getting just a bit nervous. This will be my 2nd Uniworld cruise and I'm beginning to think I made a mistake. , I remember that my prior cruise also didn't have a safety drill. I guess because the ships are so small, they feel that they don't require one. Hopefully they will iron out the kinks soon, although I don't think they'll change to dining options on the tours. How were the tours in Lisbon. Did you take any of the optional excursions?

Thanks for your info.

Jane

Hi, I was in one of the first sailings of the Douro Spirit, and yes there were some problems probably due to the fact that it's a new ship, but nothing that really hindered my enjoyment of the cruise.

I really enjoyed the food, both on board and on the tours (of course food quality is always subjective), the staff was always helpful and offered me explanations on why some things weren't working as planned. Didn't have any problems with the TV, although the phone wasn't working properly on the first day - but that was fixed by the staff. My laundry only took 24 hours to be ready, maybe I was lucky 

All in all, I loved the cruise. Even with all the minor issues, the landscape, the onboard atmosphere, the little villages you can visit, the vineyards on the stepped hills... really do make you have a great time.

I'm sorry to hear that Condocat didn't have such a good time as I did.

Regarding your worries simba3, as you're cruising in August, I expect that all these small issues will be fixed by then. If something you won't fell while cruising the Duoro is nervous. It's very relaxing.

Condocat thank you so much for your prompt report. It was however, distressing. Perhaps I will cancel my reservation since I have only paid the deposit. As Galadhrin states some of these items should be sorted out - although inexplicably this often doesn't happen. Most likely they wont change the eating off ship since they would have to make a major overhaul of their tours. I don't go until the end of October. Certainly hope that more updated reports are posted.

Condocat where do you live in NC? I live in Cary.

Again thank you both Condocat and Galadhrin.

PS Would be nice to have the Uniworld spokesman pop in and respond to this.

To Simba3 (Jane):

We arrived in Portugal a week ahead of the cruise so had toured Lisbon very thoroughly on our own and didn't take any of the Uniworld tours. I would suggest however going on the tour to Sintra and Cascais which are beautiful towns to see.

Lisbon is a very easy city to explore. If you are a good walker and comfortable doing this on your own, I would recommend going out on your own rather taking the tour. Get a good tour book, the Metro is clean, easy to use and a short walk from the hotel which puts the entire city at your feet! The trams are fun and you can see a lot in a day on your schedule, but that's up to your comfort level. I'm sure the tour is very good too, but of course limited.

To rundent:

I agree, I doubt Uniworld will be changing their schedule, but hopefully will be improving their menu and other issues by October especially if people make their voices heard. It was a beautiful part of the world, very peaceful and unspoiled; guess it has its price!

We're located in Pinehurst, not too far away from you!

Thanks for all the input...I actually wrote to Uniworld, mentioning the Cruise Critic's information. Just wonder what they will do.

Thanks again

Jane

Jane:

I have a letter in the mail to them. I hope more people from our cruise write as well.

We do know that they read this. There is a message on the boards that is obviously from one of their hired hands [read = Douro Info- he gets a little hot in his defense of the firm - never heard "the customer is always right"].

How do they sell the metro tickets? Did you talk to anyone who took a local company's independent tour of Sintra, etc?

Thanks again, Larry

Hi,

We're booked on the Douro Spirit in Nov. and now I am concerned. Hope that others on more recent trips post her and I also would like to hear from Uniworld. Should we cancel?

Also we are thinking of staying 1-2 days extra in Porto so would love to hear from anyone who has done that and where they recommend staying.

Thanks.

Susan

svlockwood@aol.com:)

We have sailed this river with AMAwaterways. At that time all the lines used boats from Duoro Azul. Cabins are smaller, but totally adequate. All lines visit the same places on the river. The only difference is the pre-cruise if you choise it. In fact the year we went both AMA and Uniworld used the same hotel in Lisbon. We stayed 2 nites on our own on Porto and took the train back to Lisbon before flying home. Pat

Hello,

We are on the Douro Spirit in Nov. and considering staying in Porto. Where did you stay and would you recommend?

Thanks.

Susan

svlockwood@aol.com

Larry:

Metro tickets are purchased at the Metro station. There's a machine that looks like an ATM where you initially have to buy a card for .50 Euros. On that card you buy your Metro trip purchases through the same machine. This card swips the gate to the entrance of the subway train. The first time you buy a ticket is a little intimidating but everyone is extremely helpful and will show you how to do it. After that it's easy! One way fare is .90 Euros. The machine will take coins, and bills up to 5 Euros.

We spoke to a couple people who took the tour to Sintra and enjoyed it. It was 49 Euros each. They toured through 1 Palace and had some free time and I believe lunch there (on their own), then they traveled to Cascais, a beach resort and through Belem on the way back but I don't believe the tour stopped there. PS: Museums, palaces etc charge 50% for seniors and some places were free on Sundays.

I would suggest going online and researching Sintra and see if this a place you'd like to spend a lot of time. There is a lot to see there, many palaces, an old fort and via a cab ride (approx 40 Euros round trip) you can visit a light house on the most western point of the european continent. You can travel to Sintra easily on your own by taking the train form the Rossio station not too far from the hotel (check with conceirge) for about 8 euros per person and takes 45 minutes.

Another idea, if you want to see Belem on your own, the Metro can get your there by changing trains which is not difficult. There is a wonderful Maritime museum, Coach museum and more all down by the Tagus riverfront.

Lisbon is easy to get around on your own, just bring good walking shoes as the hills and cobblestones will give you a workout!