Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Douro River

texkan

By texkan,
in River Cruising

 Share

Recommended Posts

TravelerThom

TravelerThom

Posted
Posted
Want to sail Douro River next Fall 2019. Anyone have suggestions or experience on Douro??? Waited to late to book for Fall 2018 so will try for next year ....
I did the Douro in 2016 and found the trip very enjoyable. I'm confused by "Waited to late to book for Fall 2018". A quick look at a popular consolidator site yielded 30+ Sep 2018 cruises that still have availability and a comparable number for Oct 2018. It appears that you have some booking restrictions (cruise line? cabin type?) that you have not shared; without knowing more it is hard to come up with suggestions.

 

Thom

Link to comment
Share on other sites
twototravel "Live from...." Rare

twototravel

Posted
Posted

We did the Douro with Viking this past year. We started with a few days in Lisbon seeing the city sites, then transferred to the boat. The Douro Valley is very beautiful. Lots of opportunities to taste different ports and wines. We found it a very leisurely cruise with not much walking. The day in Salamanca, Spain was a treat as well. We booked more than a year in advance of our travel dates and got the last cabin on the main decks. This area is very popular.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cole

cole

Posted
Posted

We did the Douro with Uniworld 3 years ago and loved it. Loved it because so much of the sailing is during the day and the scenery is beautiful. Started in Lisbon and ended in Lisbon. At that time, we flew to Madrid for an overnight and really thought Madrid was beautiful. We are booked with Vantage in October of this year to return to the Douro beginning with a 2 night pre-cruise in Madrid and ending in Lisbon. This particular tour is a Harvest Theme giving us the opportunity to experience harvesting of the grapes and making the wine and port. October should also be even more beautiful with the fall colors. Highly recommend this cruise.

Cole

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FuelScience

FuelScience

Posted
Posted

We'll be doing the Douro in April with Vantage. We chose Vantage because their standard Douro cruise includes 2 nights in Madrid and 3 nights in Lisbon. They also travel the Douro one-way rather than starting and ending in Porto. We'll be starting in Madrid. So our visit to Salamanca will be part of our transfer from Madrid to Barca d'Alva rather than an out-and-back from Barca d'Alva. The other thing that caused us to go with Vantage was the optional extension to the island of Madeira (3 nights). The Douro Serenity is in its second season, so the ship is new as well. They don't use travel agents, so you have to book directly with them. They have availability for one September cruise and three October cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beanpittsburgh

beanpittsburgh

Posted
Posted

We did the Douro in October with Viking and loved it. Many cruisers including myself have spent a lot of time reviewing cruises. I suggest you take some time to read them. Do a search in the upper right corner of the page or click under research (reviews) in title bar. Here is a link to my review. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2554088&highlight=viking+douro. I hope you find a cruise that suits you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texkan

texkan

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for all the great posts on the Douro. We had a certain cruise line and date we wanted to sail the Douro. Our options for cabin was not good either. So we have decided to research more cruise lines with Fall being the time of choice for us. Douro seems to be very popular river to cruise. Thanks again everyone !!! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texkan

texkan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I did the Douro in 2016 and found the trip very enjoyable. I'm confused by "Waited to late to book for Fall 2018". A quick look at a popular consolidator site yielded 30+ Sep 2018 cruises that still have availability and a comparable number for Oct 2018. It appears that you have some booking restrictions (cruise line? cabin type?) that you have not shared; without knowing more it is hard to come up with suggestions.

 

Thom

 

Yes, have cruise line/cabin type restrictions for late Sept 2018. Instead of booking something that is not what we want, have waited to book 2019.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TravelerThom

TravelerThom

Posted
Posted
Yes, have cruise line/cabin type restrictions for late Sept 2018. Instead of booking something that is not what we wand, have waited to book 2019.
I am trying to figure out if this is joke.You ask for suggestions. Only when pressed you admit you have restrictions, but you will not not revel what those restrictions are. Be forthcoming or don't waste the time of the many knowledgeable people on this thread.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TravelerThom

TravelerThom

Posted
Posted
We're booked for Sept 20th this year and not familiar with the weather. Any suggestions for dressing outdoors? Short sleeves and shorts or long sleeves and khaki?
AVERAGE temps the end of September are low 70s down to mid 50s (F), but that can vary a lot. Personally I think that shorts mark me too much as a tourist so I'd go with long pants, short sleeves and have additional layers if needed. Early Sep is pretty dry, but the fall rains definitely come in in October, so depending on the year be prepared.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
Posted

I don't see how your restrictions against booking this year have anything to do with your request for advice about Douro cruises in general. :)

 

Hopefully others who have cruised the Douro will chime in, but you can start by checking out the sticky at the top of this thread "RIVERS and AREAS articles on Cruise Critic"

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2220727

which has a couple of articles about the Douro, and then by using the Search tool on the word Douro which will bring up many relevant threads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
Benita

Benita

Posted
Posted
We did the Douro with Uniworld 3 years ago and loved it. Loved it because so much of the sailing is during the day and the scenery is beautiful. Started in Lisbon and ended in Lisbon. At that time, we flew to Madrid for an overnight and really thought Madrid was beautiful. We are booked with Vantage in October of this year to return to the Douro beginning with a 2 night pre-cruise in Madrid and ending in Lisbon. This particular tour is a Harvest Theme giving us the opportunity to experience harvesting of the grapes and making the wine and port. October should also be even more beautiful with the fall colors. Highly recommend this cruise.

Cole

We are booked on the October 5, departure for this cruise. We have the opposite itinerary and leave from Lisbon and end up in Madrid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...