GaryH2018

Based on our one Windstar cruise this April in the Med:

60 will put you pretty much in the middle of the age range. Our cruise seemed to mostly range from 50-70ish.

Khakis and a collared shirt are fine for the evenings. We saw dress pants and sportcoats on occasion, but that's completely optional (and it was a bit cool on a couple of evenings so it may have been for warmth more than style).

Wines and liqueurs generally ran $7-9 a glass on our cruise. We're not big drinkers so we skipped the drink package.

The laundry service was great. We got the package since we were in Lisbon for most of a week before the cruise and knew we'd be coming aboard with a load of dirty clothes. Turnaround was fast - in by 9 AM and back by 5 PM (usually a bit earlier) and things came back nicely folded.

The things we loved about Windstar was how personal the service was and how unhurried and uncrowded it felt. There was hardly ever a line and we felt like we were dealing with people and not cogs in a machine.

We are flying in early to Lisbon too. I’m looking forward to visiting Sintra. How was the train? Did you then use the bus to get up to the Pena Palace? Any other recommendations for that day?

 

Did you visit any other areas outside of Lisbon?

 

Thanks!

The train is a basic commuter service, nothing fancy, but it runs about every 30 minutes or so during the day and takes about 40 minutes to make it to Sintra (which is the end of the line). It was quite crowded with tourists going to Sintra but less so in the afternoon. If you're at the front of the train there is a second set of fare gates there which might be less jammed than the main gates in the middle of the platform. I'd recommend going early in the day since it was very crowded in April.

We went to the National Palace instead of Pena so I'm afraid I don't have any information on the bus. We were swarmed outside the train station by people trying to give us flyers for various tours so you should have plenty of choices. The main HOHO bus leaves from the plaza in town which is a bit of a hike from the station and right in front of the National Palace.

The cruise also stopped in Portimao on the south coast of Portugal. It's a pleasant beach/yachting town where we did a winery tour and wine tasting. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see more of Portugal, but it's been added to our ever expanding list of places we want to see.

We did the April 20 Windstar cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. A few thoughts/observations:

Lisbon - We did five days on our own before the cruise and had a wonderful time. Lisbon is hilly, but easy to get around once you figure out the buses and subway. The tram tour of the Alfama district got us some great views (and saved walking up some steep hills); it's a HOHO so you can get off if you find someplace you want to spend more time at. We also did a day trip by train out to Sintra to see the old summer palace. Even in April it was getting pretty crowded by mid-morning so you might want to go early.

Malaga - We didn't think any of WS' tours sounded interesting so we took the free shuttle into town and walked around. We took the lift up to the Alcazaba, wandered through the gardens, had some ice cream, and headed back to the ship. We'd done a lot of walking the day before in Cadiz, so an easy day was just the thing.

Almeria - The tour to Granada was scheduled for nine hours and that was just too long for us. We took the WS walking tour of Almeria which was a good overview of the city and included the castle, the cathedral, and a stop at a bar for wine and tapas (which were quite good). Granada is really the main attraction here. Almeria is pleasant, but in hindsight we'd probably think harder about doing Granada.

Barcelona - Lovely city but very crowded; I understand why the locals are concerned about over tourism. Due to scheduling we only had a day here before heading home so we did he Gothic Quarter on our own.