AMA Douro

[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

[tipsygirl]

Just a word of warning...find out who actually owns the ship that AMA uses on the Duoro. We did a Douro cruise a few years ago on another well known river cruise line and found out after we boarded that the ship was leased, and so was the crew. So although the scenery was lovely and memorable, the cruise experiences had its problems.

 

I was told in a conversation recently with a TA who is experienced with Portuguese cruises that there has been a change in regulations regarding allowing ships that are not of Portuguese ownership to sail on the Duoro. So hopefully the AMA Duoro is actually an AMA ship with an AMA crew.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just a word of warning...find out who actually owns the ship that AMA uses on the Duoro. We did a Douro cruise a few years ago on another well known river cruise line and found out after we boarded that the ship was leased, and so was the crew. So although the scenery was lovely and memorable, the cruise experiences had its problems.

 

I was told in a conversation recently with a TA who is experienced with Portuguese cruises that there has been a change in regulations regarding allowing ships that are not of Portuguese ownership to sail on the Duoro. So hopefully the AMA Duoro is actually an AMA ship with an AMA crew.

 

I don't believe it is AMA-owned, but the reviews have been just as good as for their owned ships elsewhere in Europe. All ships on the Douro will be smaller than the newer ships in Germany because of the limitations of the river, but they are customized (in decor and staff training) to the requirements of the cruise lines.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[TravelerThom]

I think that Scenic Azure, built in 2016, may have been the first Douro boat not owned by the Portuguese company Douro Azul. As Jazzbeau said the boats leased from Douro Azul (AMA, Viking, etc) are customized for the individual companies. I did an April 2016 Vantage charter (using "charter" to indicate week by week; "lease"" being for at least a season) using Douro Spirit, owned by Douro Azul, and I found the crew and service to be quite good.

 

Thom

[4774Papa]

I think that Scenic Azure, built in 2016, may have been the first Douro boat not owned by the Portuguese company Douro Azul. As Jazzbeau said the boats leased from Douro Azul (AMA, Viking, etc) are customized for the individual companies. I did an April 2016 Vantage charter (using "charter" to indicate week by week; "lease"" being for at least a season) using Douro Spirit, owned by Douro Azul, and I found the crew and service to be quite good.

 

Thom

 

We also did the Douro with Vantage and were on the Douro Azul boat, using Douro Spirit. The cruise was wonderful. The food and service was top notch.

Here is my review of our trip

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

[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

[caviargal]

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.

Edited December 30, 2016 by caviargal

[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

[TravelerThom]

While I agree that other than Porto / Vila Nova de Gaia the ports were not the main attractions of a Douro cruise, there are definitely numerous port towns. On our 2016 Vantage / Douro Azul cruise everywhere we docked other than the overnight at the Spanish border station there was a town (with pubs etc) that was an easy walk from the boat. There was a quite nice wine museum 100 meters from our boat dock in Regua, which we had as an option to visit rather than a bus ride to yet another church. There were several bus rides that were about an hour one-way, but IMO the only long bus ride was to Salamanca and it was slightly under two hours.

 

Thom

[caviargal]

While I agree that other than Porto / Vila Nova de Gaia the ports were not the main attractions of a Douro cruise, there are definitely numerous port towns. On our 2016 Vantage / Douro Azul cruise everywhere we docked other than the overnight at the Spanish border station there was a town (with pubs etc) that was an easy walk from the boat. There was a quite nice wine museum 100 meters from our boat dock in Regua, which we had as an option to visit rather than a bus ride to yet another church. There were several bus rides that were about an hour one-way, but IMO the only long bus ride was to Salamanca and it was slightly under two hours.

 

Thom

 

This was not our experience. Most overnight (and even daytime) docking locations were not within walking distance of anything, nor was any town center within an a taxi ride.