beanpittsburgh

Fantastic review and very insightful.  I wish you had better weather!

I have sailed on both cruises with Viking.  The Rhine is more port intensive with chances to enjoy the day in town on your own and explore.  The Douro is more spectacular scenery wise and if you are a Port wine drinker the logical choice.  Overall, I enjoyed the Douro the most.  We did the pre- trip extension in Madrid too.  Madrid was easy to get around by metro.  We had an early flight from Madrid to Lisbon so we were also able to explore on our own before meeting the group.  I think if you get a chance - do both cruises.  

You will love this trip.  My favorite Viking River so far.  The small ports are not as nice as the Rhine but the views and PORT ARE FANTASTIC.

We did the Viking Bordeaux in 2015. My wife was 54 at the time and one of the youngest passengers on board.  (It was fun to show her off!!).  We enjoyed the trip for the food, wine, and ports.  The scenery to me was just so-so, the Rhine or Douro are much more spectacular in that regard.  Anyways, you will meet many interesting people of all ages and will never feel out of place.

Gourmet Gal is correct.  We did this trip in 2017 with Viking.  The locks on the Douro are only available during the day so ships travel then.  The ports on the Douro other than Porto are small and really don't have much of anything to do.  Viking bussed us everywhere and returned us to the ship.  I think there was one day where the ship travelled to meet us after visiting a Port House.  I remember taking a picture of our ship travelling up the Douro from high on the hill overlooking the river while drinking our glass of Port.

We are not vaccinated but have had Covid.  Any idea if Viking will lift restrictions in the near future.  We have a cruise scheduled (postponed twice by us) in May and are starting to wonder if we will have to postpone that one as well.  The airlines and most countries have lifted all restrictions.

Was in Jordan 8 years ago and they accepted USD and Israeli Shekel.  Of course, change will be given in Dinars.

We did the Douro with Viking in 2017.  It was amazing.  I thought the scenery was fantastic.  We had also done Bordeaux and the Rhine with Viking but I think the Douro was the best overall cruise.  Fall is the best time to cruise.. Avoid the summer because of the heat. 

Loved our trip to Salamanca.  The bus ride was not a big issue to us as we enjoyed the scenery.  The 2-hour ride includes a half hour potty break.  While the Douro River has been my favorite cruise so far, the small ports are not really meant for getting off the ship and exploring.  There is really not much to do off the ship.   The Rhine and Rhone offer great little towns to explore on your own.  With that being said, Salamanca is one place where you can spend many hours (if you had the time) to explore or relax in a cafe.  Make sure you try the churros if you go to Salamanca.  I have never been to Friexo so I can't comment on that.

Out of 3 river cruises we have been on, The Douro was my favorite so far.  We used Viking in 2017 and thought they did a fantastic job.  We did the pre-extension in Madrid which was a perfect way to start the trip.  This allowed us to get into Lisbon early and explore on our own.  I would say the only negative of the Douro compared to the Rhine would be the small towns where the ship docks overnight.  While the towns are quaint, there is not much to see if you have time on your own.  The ports along the Rhine offered more free time to explore.  I guess it doesn't really matter with the way travel is nowadays as you can't explore on your own.

Iwanttolivebythe sea,

Many thanks for taking the time to post pictures!!!

My wife and I consider ourselves wine snobs too.  We have found the house wines to be okay and would never consider the SSP.  On all  of the voyages we have taken,  we always purchase some great wines in port and bring them onboard.  We drink the house wine for meals and crack open the good stuff in the evening.  We don't have a need for the cocktails so no reason to purchase an expensive drink package.  I realize this is not a solution for everyone but if you are just wine lovers, buy the good stuff in the ports and bring it onboard.   

We did the Gold Circle tour with another company but I would say it was worth it.   Reykjavik s a nice but very expensive city.  The Blue Lagoon was probably the highlight of our visit.

We just returned from our Scandinavian trip to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.  We did not need cash ever.  I did get local currency at an ATM to use for tips  -- less than $100 USD -  however tipping is not expected in those countries.

I'm taking this in October 2020.  I'll be looking for your review.

Thanks for all three videos.  We have enjoyed them.

We recently went on the Flam railway(not with Viking).  There were no open cars.  From what we were told, it rains almost 300 days a year in Norway so the weather can be unpredictable.  The rail cars were crowded and there was not really one side that had better views the whole time.  The right side started out  with the best shots but the left had better views by the end of the trip.  I think the whole trip is only about 20 some kilometers so it goes quick.  There are 2 photo opportunities while stopped.  Once at a pullover so another train can pass.  You can't get off the train then.  The second stop is a gorgeous waterfall where everyone can get off and take pictures.  I'm not a great photog but it was hard to get a pix without anyone else in it or a pix with just us in it.  I think Terrier1 was extremely lucky to get the pixs he/she did.  That was not our experience.  It also rained for 90% of our Fjord cruise too so my pixs were mostly taken from inside the boat.  I hope you have better luck.

Douro in Portugal.  We did this one in October and the weather was great!  In my opinion, the Douro was way more spectacular than the Rhine.  All the sailing is done in daylight because of the locks.  The ports of call are not as good as on the Rhine , however, Salamanca is a must see. 

We just went to the Blue Lagoon last month(not with Viking) and it was amazing.  Depending on the package you buy, they give you a bracelet with a chip in it.  The bracelet opens a locker and keeps track of any purchased you make.  The package we had included a towel and a drink.  You can purchase up to 4 drinks total.  The day we went it was misting and about 44 degrees.  The water was about 98 degrees  and comes up to about chest high.  It was  very comfortable.  You shower beforehand.  There are blow dryers, soaps, and shampoos in the locker room.  Quite a set up.  Certain times of the year I think you need reservations as it gets quite crowded.  If you bought the excursion through your cruise company, they would have that covered.

We have done 3 Viking cruises.  Two(Douro & Bordeaux) could be called more wine specific.  Of the two, the Douro was actually the better "wine" tour.  We sampled more wine on this trip than in Bordeaux.  Also, the scenery was by far more fantastic in Portugal than in France.  Our ship in Bordeaux was little more than a floating hotel.  That doesn't mean that it wasn't a great trip because it was.  The ports in France were all enjoyable and the food was great!  Also, in Bordeaux you have the opportunity to bring some great wine onboard.  AS Roz mentioned, you can probably do an excursion on your own a day.  If I could only recommend one though, I would pick the Douro in September.

We did our Douro cruise with Viking in mid October of 2017.  The weather was good with only 1 day in Porto with rain and temps in the 60's.  We were able to wear summer clothes the rest of the week.  Remember, summer can get extremely hot (over 100) in this part of the world.  We were actually encouraged by a Portuguese gal who worked on our Viking cruise in Bordeaux to go in the fall.  She said the weather, fall foliage, and harvest season  would all be great reasons to go then.

Thanks for the great review!!!  It brings back a lot of memories.  We did Viking Douro in 2017 and visited most of the wineries, ports, and places that you did  I thought the Douro was my favorite river out of the 3 we have sailed (Rhine, Bordeaux, Douro).  For those contemplating this cruise -- check out early an October cruise when the weather is not quite as warm.  The vineyards still have foliage on them so the scenery is still spectacular.

Thanks for the Blog.  A canal cruise has been on my bucket list for many years.  I want to do one that is more "wine" focused though, possibly visiting a few vineyards.  It looks like there would be several places to taste wine in these charming villages.  I should just pull the trigger and book a trip!!  Thanks Again!!

Tauck is new to river cruising in Portugal.  They have rooms for singles.  Never done a cruise with them but have taken land based tour with them and was highly impressed.

I never let the wine stay in the stemless glass long enough to warm up.