cole

Adventurous single lady ocean-cruiser/world traveler going on first river cruise would like to get to know some fellow/sister travelers on this cruise as well as get any advice from former participants of this cruise. Is it a good idea to get some some local cash before I leave? What kind of weather can we expect? Are there any "formal" nights onboard?

We are taking this cruise on Avalon in June, and I have also wondered about the local cash issue. Seeing that each country has their own currency (and may or may not accept Euros), we are waiting until we get to each port and then access what we need from ATM's. Many times the ships have currency available for exchange, but not sure what their exchange rate would be. As far as "formal" nights, generally speaking there is one that is more "formal" than others - the Captain's Reception, but you will find that folks don't gussy up as much as they do on the large ships. Much more casual. Weather so far looks like low 70's during the day and cool in the evenings. Enjoy and hope you will come back and write a review when you return.

Cole

I have read that Vantage's office was not responsive. Yesterday I called to ask them to send my luggage tags and document case as they are no longer mailing documents. I also asked to speak to the air department, but after waiting a few minutes I decided to hang up and call the airline directly.

This AM I received a call from the air department to find out what I needed. Of course, my question had been answered by the airline. If that's not service I don't know what more could have done.🛩

I second the comment about the service. After booking our next cruise with Vantage, which will not happen until 2018 - I received a courtesy call from the office a couple of weeks ago asking if there was anything they could do to help with our planning. I fully expected them to give me a pitch to upgrade, add travel insurance, etc. but they just wanted me to know that they were there if we needed anything. Well done Vantage!

Cole

We had this cruise booked a couple of years ago, but cancelled because of the reviews that it was basically a bus ride to the various cities from a boat that rarely moved - in other words a floating hotel. We changed to the Douro with Uniworld and loved it. Having said that - I would recommend that you consider using Venice, Milan, Rome. or Naples and then book day trips yourself with private companies. A travel agent could book these tours for you if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. Use your time and $$$ for a real river cruise.

Cole

Thank you for the excellent advice. I have also read your reviews of your trip. Can you mention any other optional excursions along the Douro Valley or in Spain that should not be missed? Also, in Porto, do we dock close to town so we can walk into town or go to a concert, etc.?

My recall fails me as to the optional vs. the scheduled excursions, but I am sure another cruiser will be able to fill you in - but whatever they offered - we took and enjoyed every one of them. As far as docking in Porto - we were right in the town and it was an easy walk to wherever we wanted to go. We enjoyed this cruise so much that we are repeating it again next year, but starting in Madrid and ending in Lisbon. We wanted to see the area in the fall and participate in the harvest activities.

Cole

Pasteis de Belem.

Thanks - yes and yumm!:)

I took this Uniworld cruise a few years ago, but a "Do as the Locals Do" tour was not offered. I'm not sure why it and the city tour are offered at the same time, as the afternoon of Day 2 is shown as free. You can find the details of both tours on the Cruise Companion (look under the "Already Booked" menu.)

 

My choice would be the city tour, as it takes you out to Belèm and the Hieronymites Monastery among other sights. The "Do as the Locals Do Tour" is shorter and you can easily do those things on your own.

 

Day 3 is shown as a free day in Lisbon, which it was on my cruise. However, Uniworld in fact offered an optional day tour to Sintra and Cascais which I took and quite enjoyed. There is much to see in Lisbon though and you may want to spend your time there. (I returned at the end of the cruise and spent another 3 days).

 

It's a great cruise and I hope you enjoy it.

Agree on all of the above. The Lisbon tour also included a special treat - eating the pastry Lisbon is famous for (forgot the name). Also the Sintra excursion is well worth the extra $.

Cole

Definitely don't like it. Still searching for Roll Calls in river cruise section. Surely I will find it eventually.:mad:

From what I gather, there probably aren't many opportunties for optional excursions except for in Lisbon and Porto on the Viking Douro river cruise.

 

Can anyone let me know what optionals are available for this cruise? And what you recommend or thought was worthwhile (or on the flip side, what was NOT).

 

I do not need info on the post cruise extensions, as we have visited both Santiago de Compestela and Madrid, Toledo on previous trips.

 

As far as the tile museum optional in Lisbon, is it worth the price that Viking charges, or better to visit this on our own, one of the precruise days we are in Lisbon. I had read a review that time was spent creating your own tile - but did that cut into time touring the actual convent/museum? How much time was the tile making portion?

 

Thank you.

Sorry, we did not sail with Viking, but most companies offer an optional tour from Lisbon to Sintra. We opted for this one and thought it was well worth it. The drive along the coastline was beautiful and the visit to the palace in Sintra was very interesting. So you might consider this one if it is offered.

Cole

Here's hoping you go 2 for 2. We, unfortunately are 0 for 1 with their Boston office and are extremely unlikely to try them again. Too many changes (dates, advertised tours and meals), an unwillingness to adjust our flights, and total lack of assistance when we had flight problems.

Hopefully, since we always book our own flights - we won't run into any problems, but time will tell. I realize that we are responsible for our own arrival and transportation to and from the hotels, but willing to take that chance in order to be more in control. Fingers crossed.

Cole

I think you need to remember folks usually post about a "problem" and not when everything goes smoothly as planned. We have not done an European River cruise on one of their boats but the three more distant cruises and land portions were wonderful!

 

Vantage offers a good product although I do not think that they are the GREAT DEAL they once were. They count the days of a trip by including flight days (make sure to compare with other lines) .......Vantage Adventure "small group" promise may be a misleading. No name tags or luggage tags and you must download and print your own documents.

 

For the right itinerary and a competitive price we would definitely sail with them again.

Point taken! We attempted to book on another line through a travel agent for an itinerary in 2018 and the preferred date was completely booked! So, I took the leap and called Vantage and have to say, if the rest of my interaction with them was like my first, I couldn't have been more pleased. We have traveled with Vantage on one previous cruise and loved it, so I will assume that this one will be just as exciting!

Cole

After reading so many comments about the lack of customer service with the Boston office, I have to admit I am feeling very cautious about booking a cruise with Vantage with no travel agent to assist if something goes wrong. Anyone else feeling this way? We have done one with them and had no problem, but I sure don't want to take the chance if this is what to expect in the future.

Cole

While we enjoyed our stay in Lisbon (2 days) we absolutely LOVED our post-cruise time in Porto (3 days) staying by the waterfront and sampling the wonderful restaurant, shops, museums. Porto was easily navigable by taxi for places not by the waterfront. We were there late September early October.

We are interested in a fall cruise this time and wondered if you experienced fall colors when you were there in late September and early October?

Cole

How long do you need to book optional excursions before your cruise. I want to take the Sound of Music tour from Passau. Do they have a limit they take and sometimes sell out?

 

 

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Agree with other members that they seldom sell out. Many times I have seen them add another bus if more people want to go. The option to book ahead of time allows people to pay at that time rather than wait and pay at the end of their cruise,as a convenience.

Cole

We are thinking of doing something similar in 2018. Have you chosen the cruise yet? I didn't think many 2018 schedules were out.

 

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Vantage and AMA Waterways have their 2018 Douro river cruise itineraries out. We are opting to go with Vantage (new ship) and having done this before in the spring, we are planning on taking the Harvest cruise mid-October, starting in Madrid and ending in Lisbon. We flew from Lisbon to Madrid on the previous trip and found out that one day was definitely not enough time to see that beautiful city.

Cole

We did the Douro with AMA this year and I posted a detailed review of our experience here:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=544534

 

Excellent staff, crew, large and comfortable cabins. Food good but IMO not up to normal AMA standards but this is a leased ship and Douro Azul controls a lot of the onboard aspects of the experience.

 

Lots of long bus rides, some of which were harrowing. Awesome scenery.

 

We are glad we made the trip but would not repeat it as we prefer itineraries where we can easily walk into ports and this is not one of those.

Thank you for the review of AMA. Since we have done this cruise previously, we won't be caught unaware of the bus rides and daytime cruising. In fact, cruising during daylight hours we thought was one of the highlights.

Cole

We have done a Douro cruise in the past with Uniworld and yes - the ships on that river seem to be leased and not owned by the company - but we were very pleased with it. We want to return in the Fall to enjoy the beautiful colors of the vineyards that time of year and also to have a pre-cruise experience in Madrid. Thanks for all of the responses so far.

Cole

Curious as to whether any of the members have done a Douro river cruise with AMA. We are (already) looking at 2018 and considering AMA since they have a pre-cruise that begins in Madrid. Any comments/suggestions?

Cole

AMA Waterways has their 2018 schedule out, which you might want to check. I don't think the other lines have theirs out as of yet, but we are also looking to see what they offer. We did the Douro with Uniworld 2 years ago (loved it)and we started in Lisbon and ended in Porto (which is basically round trip), so you could opt to spend extra nights in Porto on that itinerary if you chose. We are wanting to begin in Madrid and end in Lisbon and go in the fall which should be beautiful. Also, I believe that the companies basically offer the same itineraries other than the pre-cruise and post-cruise options.

Cole

I assume that the only way to deal with Vantage is directly with them? :( Which really doesn't give the customer someone to deal with who might help with these kinds of issues.

Cole

When we were there in October, there were soldiers with assault rifles guarding the cathedral. In retrospect, we believe the cathedral was a potential target.

That being said, it's highly unlikely they'd now strike a heavily-protected site.

When we were there on a recent cruise, we were told by our tour guide that there are always guards around the cathedral, particularly on Sundays. We felt very safe.

Cole

It's our first time using this port so help is definitely needed!

 

I'm looking at staying at either the Country Inn & Suites or the Best Western. I hear they both provide a paid shuttle service to the port for cruisers. Any comment on either hotel?

 

As well, is it advisable to prearrange a car service from the port back to EWR? If so, is there a preferred company?

 

Thanks

 

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We used Metro Pro ( http://metropro.com/contact/)both going to the port and returning and were more than pleased. The drivers showed up at our hotel 30 minutes early and was waiting for us when the ship docked to take us back to the airport. Highly recommend them.

Cole

Help me to convince myself to try an Alaskan cruise!

 

I know my husband will love it! I'm a spring/summer, lay out by the pool, give me a beach anyday, kind of person-

I DO love new experiences and I think I would love it too I really do-But-

 

If you are on an Alaskan cruise what do you do on sea days?

I did read that the casino is open-

What are some must sees? Must dos?

 

Anyone out there who like me loved the islands/sand/waves/warm sun and tried an Alaskan cruise and loved it too?

Our first cruise was to Alaska and we have done 3 additional ones since then. So....as you can imagine - we loved it. Each port is so interesting and so many things to do to see that part of this gorgeous state. Sea days are just the same as if you were on one of the cruises to the beaches. A must see and do is the train ride from Skagway into Canada and back. Glacier Bay (or whatever glacier your particular ship visits) is amazing. And, if you do the south to north and have end in Seward, plan to stay a couple of extra days and drive from Anchorage to Denali Park. Alaska is like no other place you will visit in the US. You won't be disappointed.

Cole

We had connecting rooms with our brother and sister-in-law on our recent cruise and they had a different steward than we did. Their steward was assigned rooms toward aft and ours was assigned rooms toward the front of the ship. So - the answer is "no".

Cole

Ok, so my cruise isn't until next October, but I have been doing some research and I have a question. We are supposed to anchor around 7ish. My question is: Is booking a 10 am trolley tour to Acadia doable? My only experience with tendering has been on Carnival where I had priority tendering. Thanks if someone can answer my question. Never been on a ship that big!

We were in Bar Harbor last week and had Priority Tender Tickets and were able to make the 10:00 trolley tour (not a ship sponsored tour), but one of our family members who was on a lower deck missed the trolley. They were gracious enough to refund her fare since we told them she was not off of the ship. NCL tenders first the people who have a ship sponsored tours and Priority and then they do it by decks. Hope this helps.

Cole

We had family staying in an OV cabin on our recent cruise on the Gem (same design as the Jewel) and there was a tender right outside their window. They could not see anything and asked to be moved to a room with a clear view. Fortunately there were vacancies on that floor and they were switched. Hope this helps.

Cole