pontac

There were no tables for two on Scenic Azure on Douro last month. Maybe seating has changed since 2018. However as boat was only 75% full and some guests were dining in other places it was easy to get a table for 6 for just two.

I've been on 2 Scenic cruises, they were quite different and the boats were different designs, and the ones on the Rhine & Danube will be different too. Scenic are OK overall, but I rate Viking higher. My biggest bugbear with Scenic is their over hype. ' Ultra Luxury' what's that? It's not having table cloths in their restaurant, it is having toiletries in refillable dispensers screwed to bathroom walls. Neither say 'luxury' to me, let alone 'ultra luxury'. 'Totally fully inclusive' no, it's not. They over promise, Viking over deliver because they don't make the boasts that Scenic do. OTOH, Scenic include gratuities to guides and coach drivers, Viking doesn't even on their gratuities included package. I am going on my third Scenic cruise tomorrow, on the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel so I'm hoping I'll come back with a better impression. I've heard that Tauck really is luxury. That may be hype, but if they were the same price then I'd try Tauck. But really, all the river cruise lines offer much the same. Each offer something the others don't. But whichever you pick, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Thanks for crediting me with vinous knowledge. The man obviously hasn't got Ch Cheval Blanc but I don't understand the cartoon, nor why the knives & fork are placed on the wrong side. I was told by a sommelier some years ago that his biggest mistake of his career was on a very busy night when some staff hadn't turned up. A rich host ordered Ch Cheval Blanc for his guests and the sommelier was so busy he forgot to show the bottle before opening and pouring it. The host later had a word with the sommelier; he thought he'd ordered a white wine! (His guests were thrilled so he took their plaudits.) Off tomorrow on our third cruise of the year, Romantic Rhine & Moselle, from Amsterdam to Basel with Scenic.

I think this is something only you can decide. I've not travelled on Tauck, but I have on Scenic. Book one for 2024 and if you like river cruising book the other for 2025. Problem solved. 🙂 Be aware that ocean cruising and river cruising are quite different. Don't expect to get an ocean cruise like experience but on a river.

Well, if you have narrowed down the year to 2024 and the route to Danube and cruise lines to just two and one of those lines is fully booked I don't understand what the problem is.

Our trip ended in Bucharest, so there was a transition from the affluent modern western world to the poorer eastern one, with some towns still showing signs of recent warfare. Two highlights was the excursion to the spectacular and scenic Belogradchik Fortress in Bulgaria, though what the weather will be like when you go in March I don't know. I wouldn't like to go in rain - or worse. and the Hungarian Horsemen were amazing

Drink Station- the other is the same, but mirrored.

It will be the same as the pictures and 360 degree view. All the Longships are the same. No pots in room. There are two 24/7 hot drink stations by the entrance to the lounge, also cold water, still or sparkling, and cakes or cookies. You'd get a better response if you said which trip, i.e. which direction you are cruising. I went on this cruise in 2019 but it's changed since then, and I have booked it for next year.

Reception is staffed 24/7. There will have been guests on the cruise just ended that have already departed. Others will be having breakfast or departing. It's a bit of a crazy time as guests have to leave their cabins and there will be groups of departing guests bags. So leave your cases with the crew to put in a safe space, don't add them yourself to a pile Ensure you have fixed your Viking luggage tags to all the bags you leave; they have your cabin number on so staff know where to take them

If you are talking about Scenic, over-hyping is what they do. But I think the wine Chateaux visited on Beautiful Bordeaux were a good representation - Ch Riviere (Libourne), Ch Lagrange, (3rd Growth, St Julian), Ch Lafaurie-Peyraguey, (1st Growth, Sauternes). (That was n the 2022 itinerary, since then Scenic visit Ch Siaurac (Lalande-Pomerol) which was on Vikings itinerary and there may be other changes)

Yes, no problem. There is an embarkation buffet lunch available 12:00- 15:00. Viking will put your bags in your cabin when it becomes available, which shouldn't be later than 15:00 and will most probably be earlier. The lunch will also be served on the last day should you have a late departure.

That's the big one. On this cruise we're in Bordeaux, centre of the worlds finest wines and home to more than 7,000 Chateaux (wineries making wines from their own vineyards) and this list of 'finest wines of the region made by the best wineries' has just one Bordeaux wine on it. The red, billed as a Bordeaux wine is made by the Rhone's respected Perrin and is from Ventoux, a not particularly prestigious appellation. Retail cost, about €6 incl 20% VAT You are correct that the listed grapes are typical for the Rhone and not found in Bordeaux. The white is a brand, made by Domaine Barons de Rothschild, which is owned by the same company that owns the well-famed and very expensive 1st Growth Chateaux Lafite Rothschild. Not made at or by Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and costing about €12.50 incl 20% VAT in France.

I missed that. There's also a capital 'T' on typical although it's the second word in the sentence They are trying to make the diners think they're very lucky with this 'special' wine although it's a bog standard cheapo. However there's a much much bigger mistake there........

Each cruise has a different mix; on our Scenic Bordeaux cruise over 50% were from UK. The split mentioned above means that two-thirds of those guests were from New World wine countries. There is also a mix on Viking, again, different proportions each cruise. And it seems that the same cruise with the same line differs. Every night on our 2022 Scenic Bordeaux cruise the waiters were pouring wines from the Languedoc. Depends what the definition of local is - they were French - but they weren't from Bordeaux. Just as well we could find Bordeaux wines on the wine list. On our night in L'Amour there was only one Bordeaux wine, and that was a cheap brand. These were the wines. Spot the mistake.

@austinetc and @JordanF it's a sad fact that many people on the Bordeaux cruises -not just Viking - have little knowledge of wine. Some people on my 2022 cruise there said there was too much focus on wine, and complained there were too many winery visits. Looking around the restaurant it was noticeable how many were drinking coke not wine. With the withdrawal of Russia and Ukraine cruising there are fewer itineraries in Europe and I believe many people are looking in brochures or website for places they've not been and booking Bordeaux without knowing its place in wine fame. My first Viking Bordeaux cruise, in 2015, was focused on wine, with an on-board sommelier and different wines each night from the appellation we were in. Viking have since found out that most people are not interested and have toned down the emphasis on wine. It would be good if they designated a few cruises per year as dedicated to wine, but I guess while they fill their boats with the current itinerary they don’t.

Best for what? Heat/cold - I like the heat so prefer mid-summer when tables are set up on the prow and I can eat outside, but on our August Rhone cruise many found it too hot and ate in the air-conditioned (i.e. chilly) restaurant. Best for water levels? Best for sightseeing? Best for Christmas Markets? Best for etc ?

We went on Viking's Rhine & Moselle Discovery. That is 8 days and started in Basel, went through the most scenic part of the Rhine, and turned at Koblenz to sail up the Mosel to Trier. The Mosel is very attractive, the towns along it are too and there isn't anything like the river traffic there is on the Rhine. You say you want a 7 day cruise, but the Emerald cruise you detail is said to be an 8 day cruise, and it doesn't go along the Mosel. Note however that cruise companies include the start day and the end day as part of the cruise days, thus an 8 day cruise usually only has 6 days actual cruising and flight schedules can mean leaving the boat before breakfast on the last day - thus you don't even get the 8th day on the boat! My trip report of my Rhine - Mosel trip is at

Disappointment is understandable, but the schedule is pretty clear about which vineyards are visited. The top classified growths are not open to casual visitors. They have no wine to sell, as all is sold before it's bottled to a middleman. An exception is the Margaux 3rd growth Ch Kirwan where Viking have a dinner paired with Kirwan's wine and you can buy bottles there.

So did we, and it was expensive but it was dead cheap* when we booked it. Problem was the trip was scheduled for 2020 and Covid prevented that. So we rebooked for 2021 and had to pay the full 2021 price (minus what we'd already paid) and didn't go because Covid was still about, so rebooked it for 2022 and had to pay the difference for the 2022 price. You don't say why you were pleased. We were pretty disappointed after reading all the rave things about Scenic on this board, but having taken a second Scenic trip to Douro last month found the experience on that ship quite different. However, though the Scenic cruise visited the world's greatest fine wine region, it wasn't a 'wine' cruise as such - and there were cruisers that complained there was too much emphasis on wine! * Scenic cruises are often heavily discounted; we were alerted via full page adverts from ROL (Readers Offers Online) in the Daily Telegraph, but found we could get the same price booking direct by phone with Scenic.)

There are some special wine focus cruises. See Ama Waterways for example. If you are in the USA (It helps if you have where you are in your profile) the American Wine Society have an annual wine focused cruise. Look at their website for details.

I do not know of others. But there are so many Cruise lines on the Douro now there might be another one that offers 11 days on the Douro. I'll leave it to you to do the searching 🙂 A word of caution though, many which advertise a longer trip still only have 7 days on the Douro, the extra days are in a hotel in Lisbon and for some also in Madrid. Read my report again, there aren't many Quinta visits on the Scenic cruise, and they don't go behind the scenes. It's a basic tourist experience finishing with a couple of inexpensive wines to taste. Scenic can be price competitive; ask for their brochure and get on their mailing list as they often have discount deals; some discounts are deep. There were services offered by Scenic that we didn't use, but you obviously like wine and you can choose what to drink from their wine menu at meal times, and outside meal times get drinks from the bar and you can get your in-room fridge stocked with drinks of your choice.

Boats generally moor facing up-river, i.e. facing direction of flow. Whether you face bank or river depend on what side of the river you moor. Also either side you may be rafted. When moving ,the most scenic part of the journey is the middle Rhine gorge which has many castles in a short stretch. But they are on both sides, so for the best views you need to be on the sundeck or in the lounge. So it doesn't matter which side your cabin is. What might be of more importance to you is direction of travel; whichever cruise line you are looking at will offer the cruise A to B and B to A. So check out flights. Does the line take you to Basel airport, does that fly to your nearest airport or do you need to connect. Does the line take you to Zurich airport does that fly to your nearest airport or do you need to connect. Ditto Amsterdam.

Daily Programmes

Day 11 – Monday 8 July 2024 Last day. We had to vacate our cabin by 08:30. Our flight to Madrid departed at 12:20. We were told that, by Scenic’s rules, we should be at the airport three hours before our flight, but as check-in/bag-drop at Porto didn’t open until two hours before flights, the coach departed at 09:15, and we had a wait before the check-in opened. Scenic had checked us in online the afternoon before and printed our boarding cards. Scenic Azure is on lower left of picture by line of trees on river bank Scenic Azure is on left of picture by line of trees on far side of river The flight left on time and we had a great view over Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, and we could see Scenic Azure at its moorings. Several couples were taking an extension in Madrid, but we were connecting to a London flight which left from the same terminal. There was no security and no queue at immigration to get the all-imported Schengen exit stamp. We had a hot meal in Iberia’s lounge. Note for others making an onward connection. Spain is an hour ahead of Portuguese time. When I said it was time to go to the gate, Mrs P replied there was another hour to go. She hadn’t adjusted her watch and would have missed the flight if she’d been on her own. We didn’t have the spacious long haul plane we’d come out, just a standard short haul jet. Back home we had a Chicken Piri-Piri from Nandos, delivered by Deliveroo – a South African take on a Portuguese dish - cooked in England. Let no one say I’m not a man of the world! And next day I found Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port in Tesco’s for £12, which is €14.24, only 62p more than the €13.50 Cockburn’s were charging

Day 10 – Sunday 7 July 2024 Our last full day on board. Emerald Radiance had gone by the time we went to breakfast, There was a choice of 3 excursions this morning. The 09:00 coach wound up Port's narrow streets to join the highway that bridged the Douro. It took four golfers to their course and then us to Cockburn’s Port Lodge. As we turned into the Lodge entrance I could see Scenic Azure across the Douro and I thought that if we’d been moored on this side of the river it would have been a short walk. Google maps showed it taking less than ten minutes to walk from the river to Cockburn’s Port Lodge. The tour of the Lodge with a Cockburn guide too us through extensive barrel cellar – and he made certain that everyone was aware that the 'ck' is not pronounced in the brand’s name – It is Coe-burn. The highlight of the tour was supposed to be seeing Cockburn’s coopers at work mending and remaking barrels. But it was Sunday, and the cooper’s day of rest. Cockburn’s are the only Lodge to have their own coopers, and the team is shrinking as they are finding it difficult to recruit people willing to learn the craft. I wondered if their working conditions were a factor. Then we sat in their tasting area with a glass of Special Reserve Ruby and a 10 year Tawny Port. Then we exited through the adjoining shop. At 18:00 there was a 6-Bridges Cruise, where the boat cruised up-river ten down to the mouth of the Douro and back to our mooring, passing under all six bridges that link Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. The chef seeked me out. When we’d had Lamb Shank earlier in the cruise I had jokingly said that all that was missing was mint sauce. He told me that for tonight’s Rack of Lamb he’d been chopping mint and to make sure I asked for mint sauce. I did. By now I’d got into Port and after dinner had two glasses. The house Port was Ferreira Tawny, which the Cruise Director said was the favourite brand in Portugal. I could see why. Overnight Location: Porto https://what3words.com/treaties.emails.streaks