AMA Douro River Cruise review - part 1

AMA Douro River Cruise

Pre-cruise: Lisbon for 3 days in the Tiara Hotel; part of the trip

Post cruise (on our own) in Porto at the Hotel da Bolsa

Dates: September 3rd through the 15th.

Departure: Philly to Madrid to Lisbon going

Porto to Barcelona to Philly returning

The Hotel in Lisbon is very nice. AMA Cruise Director, Pili Gil, was at the hotel at a the hospitality desk to greet us and give us our package of information about our trip. Breakfast was included for the three mornings that we were there. The purchased price for the breakfast was 26.50 Euros. We had dinner in the bar area the first night that we were there. We each had a hamburger, which came with fries, and tap water. The burgers were each 12 Euros. A can of Coke in the mini-bar was 6 Euros.

We took a cab from the airport to the hotel. We went to the Information Desk and purchased one of their prepaid trips. My tour book said it would be about 15 Euros, but it ended up being closer to 17 Euros. The driver came directly to the desk and escorted us to his Mercedes and drove us to the hotel. He was dressed in a shirt & tie and was very personable. He offered his card to us if we wanted to take any side trips outside of Lisbon. He was also a registered tour operator. Very nice service. Never had to worry about getting ripped off.

There were no activities planned on the date of arrival. We got to the hotel around noon, were able to check in right away, so we took a nap and then headed out. We walked all the way to the water, walked all around downtown area and then walked back. The Tiara is up a very steep hill and we were very tired by the time we got back.

Day 2 of the trip:

We were sitting in the lobby area waiting for everyone to gather so we could depart for our Lisbon bus trip. There was one man there who had tripped on the cobblestones, fell, bloodied his nose and his fingers. The streets and sidewalks in Lisbon are made of very small irregular pieces of stone that are laid in a layer of sand and come loose very easily. This man had fallen in one of the holes where the stones were missing. Another lady tripped and fell getting on the bus that morning.

We had a very nice 3.5 hour bus and walking tour of Lisbon. We went through Old Town, Baixa, Chiado, Rossio, and then to the Jeronimus Monastery. We had enough time here to visit the famous bakery that makes the custard tarts. They came in a sleve of 6 and were served warm, just out of the oven. They were VERY good.

After the tour we could either be left off in town or we could go back to the hotel. The rest of the day was on your own. Pili was at the hospitality desk from 12:30 to 5 pm if anyone needed her for anything. Several people did not arrive at the hotel until the 2nd day.

More to follow.

Pat, here is Part 1. Part 2 is a couple of days later.