Douro River - April or November?

[CJcruzer]

I realize both dates are "shoulder" season months, but which would be preferable, weatherwise, temperatures, etc.

 

I notice April is more expensive than November sailing dates.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

Edited January 24, 2017 by CJcruzer

[twototravel]

I read somewhere that one of the cruises in April got cancelled and had to be completed by bus. We are going in Nov...cheaper and right on the cusp of the start of the rainy season. Temps will be cooler but still should be very nice.

[CJcruzer]

I read somewhere that one of the cruises in April got cancelled and had to be completed by bus. We are going in Nov...cheaper and right on the cusp of the start of the rainy season. Temps will be cooler but still should be very nice.

 

May I ask around what time of month/date you are booked for?

 

Carol

[laverendrye]

I travelled with Uniworld on the Douro in mid November and except for a couple of rainy days, the weather was sunny and the temperatures quite comfortable. Most mornings there was heavy ground fog, but that usually lifted by 10AM.

 

I would go again in November.

[CJcruzer]

I travelled with Uniworld on the Douro in mid November and except for a couple of rainy days, the weather was sunny and the temperatures quite comfortable. Most mornings there was heavy ground fog, but that usually lifted by 10AM.

 

I would go again in November.

 

thank you for that information,

[twototravel]

May I ask around what time of month/date you are booked for?

 

Carol

 

We depart 3 Nov 2017.

[CJcruzer]

thanks, I am looking at Nov 2018, based on the above posts...there are a few dates available for beginning Nov.

 

Many thanks for the responses, it convinced me to book November instead of April.

[chlives60]

We were on a Viking cruise the last week of April 2016 and could not go up the river any further than the 4th lock (Pinhao), after that it became a bus trip. But keep in mind the Douro is not like other rivers like the Danube as there are no real sites to see once you leave Porto and you have to be bused to many sites. However we were lucky as we were bussed 3 hours to Salamanca Spain and got to stay overnight downtown, otherwise it was 6 hours on the bus for a short visit, and they supplied us with a dinner and Spanish show, but there are bus trips of one and a half hours to get to the Meteus Palace and different places. So if you have been on other rivers don't expect to see castles and interesting towns on your way up the river. Also because of the currents of the river it is not always possible to go up the river. The crew went out of their way, especially the cruise director, to get us to the sites as it was not their fault about conditions on the river.

[harbourside]

I am on the Scenic Azure end of April this year. Hopefully we do not get a repeat of last year.

Will start getting nervous just before departure. Have three days in Lisbon first.

[4774Papa]

I realize both dates are "shoulder" season months, but which would be preferable, weatherwise, temperatures, etc.

 

I notice April is more expensive than November sailing dates.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Carol,

We did the Douro River cruise with Vantage, great cruise.

Our cruise was in May 2016 and the weather was generally warm, but still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings.

 

I would opine that April in Northern Portugal would definitely be chilly. Probably temps in the mid to low 60s. Personally, I would not want to go in April, but I am a warm weather person.

 

The Douro cruise is wonderful.

 

Our cruise started after the Iberian Peninsula had just experienced a lot of rain. That affected the Douro and our cruise was planned to start in Porto, go upstream until the Spanish Border. Because of flooding, we boarded the boat upriver. We did not miss any ports or activities, we just didn't see the entire river twice.

 

Here is my review

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535267

[CJcruzer]

Carol,

We did the Douro River cruise with Vantage, great cruise.

Our cruise was in May 2016 and the weather was generally warm, but still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings.

 

I would opine that April in Northern Portugal would definitely be chilly. Probably temps in the mid to low 60s. Personally, I would not want to go in April, but I am a warm weather person.

 

The Douro cruise is wonderful.

 

Our cruise started after the Iberian Peninsula had just experienced a lot of rain. That affected the Douro and our cruise was planned to start in Porto, go upstream until the Spanish Border. Because of flooding, we boarded the boat upriver. We did not miss any ports or activities, we just didn't see the entire river twice.

 

Here is my review

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535267

 

Thanks! How have you been, it's been a while since our memorable Celebrity Millenium Japan cruise! Will read your review.

 

I have booked for November 2018. We were in Porto last December (right after the Japan cruise:D) and we had very nice weather.

[4774Papa]

Thanks! How have you been, it's been a while since our memorable Celebrity Millenium Japan cruise! Will read your review.

 

I have booked for November 2018. We were in Porto last December (right after the Japan cruise:D) and we had very nice weather.

 

Carol,

We are great. That Millennium cruise was one of our best. We had a great group from our roll call.

 

Last year we did the Douro River in May and Western Canada and Alaska in August/September.

 

Our next trip overseas is four weeks driving around England and Wales, then taking Eclipse back on a TA to Miami, via, Boston, NYC and Bermuda.

 

In 2018 we do two RCI cruises out of Sydney, Radiance to NZ, then five days later a Transpacific from Sydney to Seattle.

Then in September, we did 7 day cruise from Boston to Quebec City (NCL).

[LFS517]

We did a Douro cruise the beginning of April 2016. The weather was cool and we had some rain. It was cool enough that some of the higher hills along the river had a dusting of snow. I usually wore a light fleece jacket, especially in Salamanca, where we had chilly weather, very windy with a little light rain. We had a wonderful time, weather was not a problem!