The Douro-----

[Lois R]

Hi friends😀 I just returned home (very late) Thursday night from an Ocean cruise out of Lisbon for 12 nights😀.  It was FABULOUS......loved Lisbon and all the Islands surrounding it.  I loved it so much I have been re-thinking cruises for next year. I was looking at the Seine but now I want to do the Douro instead.

So of course the question is, which line? I have been on AMA and Uniworld and really loved both of those sailings.  Just want to get some feedback on those of you who have taken one on The Douro...........any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This would be for next summer🙂

[Canal archive]

We cruised the Douro with Scenic it was a superb wonderful cruise the Portuguese are lovely people. As the river is not long and you want the  best experience maybe make a chart to compare lines. None of the ships are large as they like on the Seine have to fit the locks so comparison is a little easier. I’ve said somewhere before I didn’t realise that Port could be used in so many recipes and be so tasty. 

[steamboats]

The Douro river is absolutely great and actually it doesn´t matter which cruise line. Both AmaWaterways and Uniworld have Douro Azul as "operator" - so it´s pretty much up to you which cruise line you prefer. The sights are the same for every cruise line along the Douro river - so are the excursions. Compare the itineraries. Compare the included values.

 

steamboats

[TakingFlight]

Hi Lois. Love your posts on the SS boards. Just want to interject here to say you may not get to sail your line of choice because almost everything on the Douro is booked full for next year. I went through this exercise last week as I’m looking for a specific time frame to book this river cruise in early October. In most cases if there was availability there was only one cabin left and it was the lowest category. Happy hunting, Lois! 

[Lois R]

28 minutes ago, TakingFlight said:

Hi Lois. Love your posts on the SS boards. Just want to interject here to say you may not get to sail your line of choice because almost everything on the Douro is booked full for next year. I went through this exercise last week as I’m looking for a specific time frame to book this river cruise in early October. In most cases if there was availability there was only one cabin left and it was the lowest category. Happy hunting, Lois! 

Hi, thanks for the kind words🙂 I appreciate it.  I will do my research and see what happens.

Actually, I have something else in motion with SS for August but still waiting to see if that comes through. It will now determine if/when I go earlier in the summer. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I haven't sailed on the Douro yet, but have researched it thoroughly and booked for 2023.  Most cruise lines offer 7 night itineraries, often with a choice of one-way Porto to the Spanish border (and on to Madrid by coach) or round-trip Porto.  But Scenic also offers a 10-night itinerary rt Porto that includes a wider variety of shore excursions [not all wine tasting all the time] – that's what I have booked:

https://www.scenicusa.com/tours/unforgettable-douro/12004

[notamermaid]

9 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But Scenic also offers a 10-night itinerary rt Porto that includes a wider variety of shore excursions [not all wine tasting all the time]

Looks a nice itinerary. I have been thinking of sailing the Douro, certainly even more after I watched a German TV series on river cruise itineraries. They stopped at a village on the Douro that is not visited much by international lines, they claimed, but I do not remember the name. Anyway, this is a German company itinerary: https://www.arosa-*****/river-cruises/douro/douro-river-cruises/experience-the-douro-select-premium2021.html

 

As you can see, not a lot of difference in the towns indeed, compared to the companies you will be more familiar with.

 

notamermaid

 

[TakingFlight]

Scenic would have been my top choice if they had availability on the dates I need. Alas, it's not to be. I will be booking on Ama Waterways.

[ljandgb]

Not at all what you asked, but if you're going to be in Portugal, tack on several days in Madeira.  It's an easy flight from Lisbon.  I spent a week there, after a week in Caiscais,  Feb 2020 and fell in love with it.  I really enjoyed mainland Portugal, but Madeira is really special. The interior and northern parts of the island are magical.

 

As for the Douro, I'd love to do that, so am happy to glean information from prior posters!

 

[jpalbny]

Cruise Critic Chris is currently on Uniworld's new ship, the SS Sao Gabriel. I assume she'll be doing a full report when she gets back. All part of the job.

 

Whatever you do, leave yourself enough time on either end to explore. There is SO MUCH to do in Portugal, besides the river. You may remember that Chris and I thought about doing a Douro cruise a few years ago, but when we started looking at all there was to do in addition to the cruise, we scrapped the cruise entirely and just toured Portugal.

 

Hope you can find a spot on a cruise and enjoy it!

[Lois R]

Hi folks, thanks for all the replies🙂I appreciate them.  Actually, AMA has a 7 night cruise with 3 nights pre-cruise in Lisbon. I know I was just there and love it. There is quite a bit I did not see, so thinking of doing this one........still researching.

[Gourmet Gal]

Both Tauck and Uniworld have brand new ships built specially for the Douro.  The itineraries are different so you would need to compare.  Having cruised  both lines I would highly recommend Tauck over Uniworld for the quality of the guides, the small tour groups and better food but Itinerary is always my first consideration.  I think they both offer extensions in Lisbon and Madrid.  That said, I’m booked next Oct. on Tauck after an SS cruise Southampton to Lisbon and a few days in Lisbon.  You have a fun decision to make.

[sjde]

After visiting Portugal 2 years ago,  we have been considering a Douro cruise on CriosiEurope, Riviera or AMA. One thing that has puzzled me is why the Douro river cruises seem more expensive  per night than most others, when Portugal as a country is quite inexpensive.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

After visiting Portugal 2 years ago,  we have been considering a Douro cruise on CriosiEurope, Riviera or AMA. One thing that has puzzled me is why the Douro river cruises seem more expensive  per night than most others, when Portugal as a country is quite inexpensive.

Because the locks on the Douro are smaller than on the rivers of Germany etc., the ships have to be smaller.  Fewer guests always translates to higher costs ['the dis-economies of small scale']

[sjde]

That makes sense. So how many passengers do the ships tend to carry? I think normally it's 150 approximately?

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, sjde said:

That makes sense. So how many passengers do the ships tend to carry? I think normally it's 150 approximately?

It varies by cruise line, so I'll give a comparison for just one: Scenic.  Their newest ships are 135m long and hold 163 passengers.  Their Douro ship (Azure) is 80m long and holds 96 passengers.

[steamboats]

9 hours ago, notamermaid said:

They stopped at a village on the Douro that is not visited much by international lines, they claimed, but I do not remember the name.

 

A-Rosa is definitely visiting the same sights as everyone else. Some of the mentioned stops are just technical stops for dropping/collecting passengers on shore excursions. Some are overnight stops as the ships are not allowed to cruise during the night. You are talking about "Verrückt nach Fluss". Phoenix has charters on CroisiEurope ships.

 

As @Host Jazzbeau said the locks are smaller and therefore the ships are smaller and have less capacity than those on the Rhine/Main/Danube rivers.

 

@ljandgb the Douro river cruises start out of Porto not Lisbon. But there also flights from Porto to Madeira although this wouldn´t be my first choice as an add on for a Douro river cruise. The Lisbon add one makes much more sense. Some cruise lines do offer this.

 

steamboats

 

 

[Canal archive]

 

The Douro at Porto, whoever you choose to cruise with it’s a beautiful country and lovely people don’t forget to try the Pink Port wonderful on a warm day on the sun deck!

[jpalbny]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

try the Pink Port

 

Pink Port and Tonic is very refreshing! We brought a bottle home from our trip and enjoyed it that way.

[terry&mike]

We just sailed the Douro last month with AMA and had a wonderful trip.  We also did a few days in Portugal before the river cruise, but did that on our own.  After that we moved on to the Bordeaux region of France and sailed with Scenic.  I wrote a brief daily post on the trip if you'd like to read it, 

 

[Lois R]

Good morning, Oh how my mind has seemed to have gone out to sea......(bad punn).  Terry and Mike, I followed your thread🙂

[Lois R]

9 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Both Tauck and Uniworld have brand new ships built specially for the Douro.  The itineraries are different so you would need to compare.  Having cruised  both lines I would highly recommend Tauck over Uniworld for the quality of the guides, the small tour groups and better food but Itinerary is always my first consideration.  I think they both offer extensions in Lisbon and Madrid.  That said, I’m booked next Oct. on Tauck after an SS cruise Southampton to Lisbon and a few days in Lisbon.  You have a fun decision to make.

Good morning, I checked Tauck and every cruise I was looking at is sold out already. Basically, their entire summer of 2022 has nothing available for this itinerary.  I will continue to research and see what comes up.

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

Pink Port and Tonic is very refreshing! We brought a bottle home from our trip and enjoyed it that way.

 

Only one??? We bought two at the Quinta and another one at the airport 🤣!

 

steamboats

[sharkster77]

RE:  Douro cruises being more expensive, it may have nothing to do with costs, I have absolutely no idea, but what is unique about the Douro as compared to other rivers is that sailing is only allowed during the day, not overnight.

[sjde]

I have never tried pink port but the white is wonderful and can’t find it in the US.

 

There were cruises available in the fall when I checked yesterday for three lines. 
 

CroisiEurope has five ships on the Douro that range from 132 to 142 passengers . If the ships have to be smaller,  does that mean the cabins are smaller to fit that many people?