Douro river cruise

[rundent]

The trick is that you have to look on TAP's site. I haven't found them on the search engine sites [Travelocity, etc]. I inquired with my TA if there was anything wrong with TAP and she assured me that she hadn't heard that there was.

Good to help each other. Larry

[cadreamer]

Callanetic - You were fortunate. We were on the Duoro Spirit June 5-12. I too wrote a letter expressing our disappointment which I sent to my travel agent who forwarded it to Uniworld. I am yet to get any reponse from them let alone compensation. I am wondering if you and your sister were members of a group traveling on the Duoro Spirit. There were several groups of folks from England on our cruise. Thanks for posting your experience.

[AZCARDLADY]

What problems did you encounter on this river cruise?

[cadreamer]

Our problems were similar to those described above by others. The dining room noise and overcrowdedness accompanied by way TOO MANY FLIES were problems. Room telephone did not work and was not fixed. There are structural problms which can't be changed such as high windows in the dining room making it difficult to see out and seats that face the back of the lounge (difficult when a speaker is at the front)which also has big pillars which block the view.There is too much furniture in the room making it a real challenge to walk around the bed. The suites looked very good. Food was just okay and we found ourselves ordering one the basic entrees available every night but this could be a matter of taste. We too commented on the shower gel holder being placed not in the shower but next to the sink. This and some of the other problems can be remedied. We understand much has already improved. The trip was still wonderful for us and the scenery is beautiful. The staff is outstanding and accommodating. I can't say enough good about the staff on board. I see you have booked for next year and you should definitely go as planned. Most likely the experiences of earlier crusier will cause things to be rectified to the extrent they can be before you arrive.

[AZCARDLADY]

Thanks for the info. When we booked it we did it with the idea the kinks should be worked out in a year!!! Hope so!!!

[I'm_no_guru]

Its a small thing, but I noticed that a library was not listed on the boat info page. Is there a library on the ship? or at least a place that they have books. I thought all ships had one. With luggage restrictions being what they are, I don't want to lug any books with me. Thanks, Jane

We were just on the boat, Douro Spirit. Yes, there is a small library, at the back of the lounge.

[I'm_no_guru]

How did you happen to choose Episode? I'm going on their site after this. Thanks for your post. Larry

sorry for the delay in replying, just got back from Portugal. I found Episode Travel on the internet. They handled things great in Portugal. We had an excellent private guided walking tour in Lisbon with Manuela. Rafaella is very conscientious.

[I'm_no_guru]

Hi, we travelled on the DS mid May and my sister two weeks later. Beautiful ship, modern decor, cabins adequate size. But...if this had been our first Uniworld River Cruise it would have been our last. We were very disappointed with the food which we felt was not good. We all complained to Uniworld who have acknowledged that there have been problems which they are endeavouring to put right. And to be fair to Uniworld we have all received compensation for our disappointment. The Douro is a beautiful river and you will enjoy the lanscape and of course the Port tasting. :rolleyes:

We just did this Uniworld Douro river cruise, starting in Porto on July 3. We feel the criticism posted on this site is over the top.

We thought the food was very good--and we have experienced a wide range of river boat food, from terrible on Avalon to outstanding on Peter Delman. Some meals were excellent, others so so; several dinners are off the boat, one was excellent, one so so. They do not shortchange on the included wine, which is very good, and do not try to upsell you to purchase wines. Soft drinks at dinner were included. The coffee was a little disappointing, but that has been our experience on other boats. We requested a nespresso/pod machine for expresso/americano coffee in our room: 1E per pod.

Yes there are some kinks, such as the aforementioned location of the shower gel dispenser--but big deal, they know about it and are going to fix it. That is trivial stuff imho. Internet and wifi is included free, and available wireless throughout the boat--that is not standard elsewhere is it? And it saves you big $ if you skype or video chat home. Large flat screen TV's in each room, movies available, OK swimming pool on deck, and the staff was very friendly.

This was our fourth river cruise, second on Uniworld, and I can say it was v good to excellent overall; so maybe they have worked out the kinks? And remember, this is Portugal: embrace the "differences", it won't be exactly like a 5* hotel in North America, nor will the food be. Frankly, I found the Portugese dinner night food to be somewhat "cafeteria-like", whereas another reader thought it was excellent. And we would rave about the captains dinner, we had shrimg scampi the size of a lobster tail, and an excellent filet steak. So "chaque a son gout" for the food.

Go on this cruise for the fabulous scenery, the comparative quiet and solitude of the river valley, port tasting, and the very friendly Portugese people who know their country is in trouble and are happy to have tourists. And Enjoy, I bet you will.

[simba3]

Thank you for the uplifting review. I'm glad there is a library on the ship. I love to read while on vacation but I hate bringing the books, especially with the strict limits on baggage. My trip is in a month. Hope to hear from anyone else, I too will post upon my return.:)

[nothescore]

Can you, or any of these previous cruisers provide any photos of the ship? Please? thanks so much!

[AZCARDLADY]

Any hotel recommendations for 2 nights in Porto after the river cruise?

[rundent]

Why 2 nights Irgoodman? TAP departs on Mondays and Thursdays and they would seem to be the way to go. I just booked them for my October cruise.

[H2Otstr]

Why 2 nights Irgoodman? TAP departs on Mondays and Thursdays and they would seem to be the way to go. I just booked them for my October cruise.

 

We stayed two nights in Porto after our AMA trip, too. Just wanted to see more of Porto. Took the HoHo bus and really enjoyed our stay.

[AZCARDLADY]

Any hotel recommendations for Porto?????

[H2Otstr]

Any hotel recommendations for Porto?????

 

We stayed in the Hotel da Bolsa (www.hoteldabolsa.com) per a recommendation from a travel friend. It was OK, but I wished that I would have spent the extra money and stayed on the waterfront. That is where the action is :D.

 

The frot desk personel at the da Bolsa were very nice, also they had a free computer for use at the desk. I didn't like the room that they put us in, but I didn't ask to change. We more-or-less just slept there, otherwse we were on the move.

 

Sharon

[kaliterri]

We are on the Douro in mid September and are very upset to learn a few days ago that they are putting several of us in a hotel about 30 km from Lisbon and 30 minutes away. We have a free day and half there and hoped to be in town or a short taxi ride away. This is our 2nd Uniworld Cruise and due to this our next ones will be with other lines. :mad::mad::mad:

[H2Otstr]

We are on the Douro in mid September and are very upset to learn a few days ago that they are putting several of us in a hotel about 30 km from Lisbon and 30 minutes away. We have a free day and half there and hoped to be in town or a short taxi ride away. This is our 2nd Uniworld Cruise and due to this our next ones will be with other lines. :mad::mad::mad:

 

That's really too bad. AMA put us in a hotel room NEAR town, but we still had to either walk a long way or grab a cab to get back and forth from the main downtown area. What area will you be in?

 

Our trip was in Sept. also and it was so beautiful at that time. All the grape vines are full and you might even see some of the harvesting.

[kaliterri]

Hotel Palacio Estoril & Golf

R. do Parque,2769-504 Estoril

2769-504, Portugalthis change for 10 couples only

NOT for entire cruise group

unwilling to provide paid transportation to Lisbon

they made their problem, our problem without realistic compensation or alternatives

$50 is offensive and is what the offered us to compensate

 

would not let us cancel cruise either

without penalty

i asked

[Betty Lu]

We were on the Uniworld Douro cruise a few years ago and loved every minute of it. We stayed an extra night in Porto at the Pestano which is right on the river. Be sure to go to the stock exchange - it's spectacular. Enjoy!

[AZCARDLADY]

We are doing the Uniworld next July. I will also be very upset if we don't have a great location in Lisbon as we are coming in a day early and wanted to be within walking distance of all the action!!! I have read many good reviews about the Pestano-!!! Thanks for input. If anyone has taken this river cruise these last months please or thee upcoming months please do a review. Thanks, Linda

[rundent]

I was disturbed when I read Kaliterri's post concerning being booked into an hotel so far out of Lisbon. I called Uniworld and the person that i spoke to, who seemed very knowledgeable, said she believed that you were just booked on the 7 day river cruise and made an extension to Spain or somewhere not with Uniworld- not the regular 10 day cruisetour with 3 days in Lisbon then the Douro.

She assured me that we will be in the regular hotel right in Lisboa.

[kaliterri]

We are on the 11 day trip and yes going to Spain on own before hand with another tour company we booked on own and customized, but we are on the regular 11 day cruise and booked it while on another Uniworld Cruise the Grand France. We often do our own independent travel before and after cruises as we are seasoned travelers and feel comfortable. They say it is a medical convention in Lisbon that caused this last minute change and now are offering free train tickets into Lisbon for us. I just feel since we have the few days in Lisbon before the trip they should have paid what it takes to have us stay in Lisbon. 10 couples are with us in Estoril. My guess is the other 20 were in the pre tour of Spain and they are in Lisbon but we were moved due to overbooking of hotel. I would hope this is a rare situation but coupled with some of the reviews of the ship, seems like a concern. We were prepared to do all of Uniworld cruises with them as we have literally done all of the ocean cruises Princess offers. We tend to be loyal customers and flexible travelers and rarely complain on ships. I am just concerned that someone who has never been to Lisbon is somehow getting a little less than hoped for. Will update after cruise and hope we enjoy it as much as we did the Grand France cruise.

[rundent]

Well that sets the record straight. I guess that damages their reputation. You are right, they should put you up at an equivalent hotel as the brochure guarantees! If you wanted to stay at a resort you wouldn't have booked a tour. Worse comes to worse = Train tickets? Demand limos. Seriously.

[Kellie Poodle]

Hi folks,

 

I am an experienced River Cruiser, including one in Europe on a Uniworld-owned ship.

 

We did a Moscow to St. Petersburg cruise in late June with AMA. (Uniworld had not announced their new boat when we booked) Everything on the AMA cruise was wonderful except the food. AMA, like every other company, leases the boats in Russia.

 

I am interested in doing the Douro River next Fall and hooking it in with a westbound transatlantic, but I am deeply concerned by the mixed reviews on the Uniworld Douro River cruise. I am also quite concerned by the fact that the ship is leased.

 

Having dealt with a leased boat cruise, I'm not sure I want do do it again, this is why it's important for me to get some good information. Here are my questions:

 

1) I have the Uniworld brochure and have visited the web site. I find it strange that the boat only sails in one direction. Can anyone tell me why the cruise only goes one way?

 

2) Is there a lot of packing and unpacking with all the hotel stays? One of the reasons I love river cruising is not having to keep schlepping luggage.

 

3) Is there really a lot of time spent on a bus and little to do in the ports?

 

4) During the walking tours, are the streets steep and hilly?

 

5) Is the food really that bad?

 

6) Are there outlets in the cabin where I can plug in my DH's bi-pap machine? (I bring an adapter plug, converter and a multi-plug strip with a breaker on it as well as an extension cord)

 

7) Are there refrigerators in the cabins? (need for medication)

 

Everything I have read about the scenery on the Douro makes me want to go, and if the price was reflective of inferior food, I wouldn't mind (Neither of us are that hard to please), but I would hate to pay a premium price for not premium food. Once burned.....

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance y'all might offer. My email is kelliepoodle@yahoo.com.

[H2Otstr]

Hi folks,

 

I am an experienced River Cruiser, including one in Europe on a Uniworld-owned ship.

 

We did a Moscow to St. Petersburg cruise in late June with AMA. (Uniworld had not announced their new boat when we booked) Everything on the AMA cruise was wonderful except the food. AMA, like every other company, leases the boats in Russia.

 

I am interested in doing the Douro River next Fall and hooking it in with a westbound transatlantic, but I am deeply concerned by the mixed reviews on the Uniworld Douro River cruise. I am also quite concerned by the fact that the ship is leased.

 

Having dealt with a leased boat cruise, I'm not sure I want do do it again, this is why it's important for me to get some good information. Here are my questions:

 

I will answer some of the general questions. I did this same tour with AMA in 2008. Uniworld was one day behind us on their boat. Both boats are LEASED by some Portuguese company. Ours was the DouroAzul. I have been following your Russian trip, so I kl now how you feel about AMA. Our trip with them to Portugal was wonderful.

 

1) I have the Uniworld brochure and have visited the web site. I find it strange that the boat only sails in one direction. Can anyone tell me why the cruise only goes one way?

 

The Douro River is not that long, so you sail to Salamanca, turn around, and come back.

 

2) Is there a lot of packing and unpacking with all the hotel stays? One of the reasons I love river cruising is not having to keep schlepping luggage.

 

We were in a hotel ONLY in Lisbon for the first 3 days, then on the boat. We stayed in Porto for 2 extra nights after our cruise.

 

3) Is there really a lot of time spent on a bus and little to do in the ports?

 

The ports in Portugal were the SMALLEST of any river cruises we have taken (#7 coming up next week). One town had a total of 35 people in it :eek:. The longest bus ride that we had was to the city of Salamanca; the other rides were 20 to 45 minutes. Not bad, and the scenery was beautiful.

 

4) During the walking tours, are the streets steep and hilly?

 

Not too bad.

 

5) Is the food really that bad?

 

The food on our trip was very good. The soups were VERY tasty. We had free wine with the meals, and every day there was a small card describing the type of wine and the kind of food it should be paired with. After every dinner we were given Port wine as a desert. We had to put our hand over the glass to prevent them from continually giving us more.

 

6) Are there outlets in the cabin where I can plug in my DH's bi-pap machine? (I bring an adapter plug, converter and a multi-plug strip with a breaker on it as well as an extension cord)

 

Can't answer this, but there probably are.

 

7) Are there refrigerators in the cabins? (need for medication)

 

Can't answer; don't remember.

 

Everything I have read about the scenery on the Douro makes me want to go, and if the price was reflective of inferior food, I wouldn't mind (Neither of us are that hard to please), but I would hate to pay a premium price for not premium food. Once burned.....

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance y'all might offer. My email is kelliepoodle@yahoo.com.

 

The AMA and the Uniworld boats were identical; again, NOT owned by the cruisline. The Portugal cruise is very different than most of the European River cruises that we have taken.

Good luck in your decision.

Sharon