Uniworld Duoro Queen in Portugal - review

[tobes]

Was on the July 26th sailing. The ship was very nice and the food was very good. Better than I remembered from a previous Uniworld cruise. Portugal is a very beautiful country and the scenery is gorgeous. Laying on the sundeck and watching it go by was truly awe inspiring. Went through lots of locks. Most of the ports are so small that it was necessary to get on a bus to go see something. We were able to visit two major wineries on foot. We also had dinner at two local restaurants, one walking distance and one by bus. Lots of wine, champagne, porto, etc. at all the meals (included). The crew was fabulous which I think is really important, again much better than my previous experience. There were only 42 people because this is not the season, however, the weather was perfect, in the 80s, so we lucked out. Apparently, the ships are full April, May, September, October. Happy to answer any questions. Judy:)

[CincyAL]

Couple of questions: Since the ship was 2/3 empty did they upgrade cabins? Was there a pre-cruise in Lisbon? Which cities did you fly in and out of? Also since this is "not the season" was the trip deeply discounted? Thanks

[CincyAL]

Also what made you decide on uniworld over the other cruise lines?

[tobes]

I had an upgrade because I was a previous customer. When people asked to be upgraded due to empty cabins, the response was that they couldn't because it wouldn't be fair to the people who had actually paid for an upgrade. Personally, the difference in cabins is the balcony which is so narrow I saw one man sitting with his leg over the side. I think the extra cabin space is better. My daughter and I did two nights pre cruise in Lisbon which was very nice. We actually spent 8 nights in Spain before that so we flew from Ca to Madrid, flew from Madrid to Lisbon to hook up with the cruise, and then coming home from Oporto to Madrid and then back to the U.S. There are many discounts out there, we chose the one that gave us our own cabins with no single supplement. That was a real treat. That was one of the reasons I chose Uniworld but Uniworld is one of the top river cruise companies and I had had a good experience in the past so it was a win win situation. Judy:)

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of questions: Since the ship was 2/3 empty did they upgrade cabins? Was there a pre-cruise in Lisbon? Which cities did you fly in and out of? Also since this is "not the season" was the trip deeply discounted? Thanks

[boards]

Would you explain how the upgrade works when you are a previous cruiser with Uniworld. For example if we book again we will probably book a cat. 3 cabin, so what will we get?

[CincyAL]

Cat 2 ( # 200's) & Cat 3 (# 100's) cabins are over the dining room & I guessing the kitchen. Any issues with noise or smells?

[tobes]

Would you explain how the upgrade works when you are a previous cruiser with Uniworld. For example if we book again we will probably book a cat. 3 cabin, so what will we get?

 

 

I booked a cat 2 and got upgraded to cat 3, maybe thats the only option.:)

[tobes]

Cat 2 ( # 200's) & Cat 3 (# 100's) cabins are over the dining room & I guessing the kitchen. Any issues with noise or smells?

 

 

We're talking about a pretty small ship so I would say everyone is over the dining and kitchen. I never noticed any smells or noise.:)

[VAGuy]

What was the name of the hotel you stayed at in Lisbon? Thank you.:p

[tobes]

What was the name of the hotel you stayed at in Lisbon? Thank you.:p

 

 

Tiara Park Atlantic (next door to the Four Seasons):)

[H2Otstr]

I went on the AMA Portugal trip last year and AMA uses the same hotel in Lisbon. Very nice, modern hotel.

[retiredslug]

We are interested in this cruise for 2010 and have read on these boards that Uniworld offers an interesting dining option. Did you get the opportunity to dine on the sun deck? Apparently this option is available to smaller numbers of people who prefer the less crowded conditions of the restaurant. Any comments?

 

Bill

[tobes]

We are interested in this cruise for 2010 and have read on these boards that Uniworld offers an interesting dining option. Did you get the opportunity to dine on the sun deck? Apparently this option is available to smaller numbers of people who prefer the less crowded conditions of the restaurant. Any comments?

 

Bill

 

They had a bbq on the sundeck one night and it was delightful. We sat up there chatting until quite late. It was always an option at lunch time to take your plate up there since lunch was always a buffet.:)

[sueswny]

Thanks for your review. I'm also going to do this cruise in 2010, and your feedback heps. I seriously thought about doing it on Croisieurope, but my travel buddy wants to use AMA (Amadeus) Waterways. So I guess we'll go with AMA, and my travel agent is giving us a nice discount. I know that Uniworld is also a great company, and it sounds like you have a wonderful time. I think the AMA trip is pretty much the same itinerary.

 

My only question is this--Can you briefly tell me what the towns along the river are like? I don't think there are any that qualify as big towns except perhaps Salamanca, and that's not a huge metropolis. Are the towns you visit all small historic towns? Any hightlight?

Thanks.

[H2Otstr]

Sueswny, I did the AMA Douro trip last September and wrote a 2 part review. You might want to try to find it using the search function. AMA also gave us a $100 discount for being AARP members.

 

The towns were extremely small on the Douro. The landscape is unbelievable; breathtaking.

[tobes]

I think some of them were too small to even call towns, maybe villages. Stepping off the ship and walking around where we were docked sometimes took all of ten minutes. The excursions usually involved a bus ride, never very long, to see something of interest. The longest ride to Salamanca was about 45 minutes. All the scenery along the way, whether from the ship or the bus window is breathtaking. I particularly liked Oporto which was very picturesque and Lamego where the cathedral dominates the town and sorta flows down into the center of town via 700 steps and landings, which we chose to walk down.:)

 

 

 

quote=H2Otstr;20917752]Sueswny, I did the AMA Douro trip last September and wrote a 2 part review. You might want to try to find it using the search function. AMA also gave us a $100 discount for being AARP members.

 

The towns were extremely small on the Douro. The landscape is unbelievable; breathtaking.

[L0vet0travel]

We saw a Croisieurope boat several times on our journey, I believe it was the Vasco da Gama. It seemed to be a very European crowd, and it was full of KIDS. They had a pool on the sundeck, as we did, I think theirs was bigger, but it was a big draw for the children. Our cruise was, I think, more peaceful.

Yes, the ports were tiny. The first one after Porto was only a stop with one bar/restaurant/store. We were very welcome there, and several cruisers got a good start on our friendships that night. I agree with TOBES on all other info. And other than the barbecue night, there were not any evening options for dining on the sundeck. Jane

[janneke]

I did the Douro cruise on board of the DouroAzul Cruiser, sister ship of the Douro Queen in mid sept 2009. Temperatures were around 25 to 28 deg C

The CroisiEurope cruisers do NOT moore in Porto, but behind a river bend and 5 (FIVE) bridges away from Porto and in the middle of nowhere. One can NOT go on foot to Porto city unless by teh tour busses! The DouroAzul ships moore in Villa Nova de Gaia, right across the city of Porto, that can be reached by walking across the scenic Eifel river bridge.

We had a balcony cabin ( # 336, right after the ships bridge so we could look over the captains shoulder) , which takes away half a meter of room from the depth of the cabin. The balcony is barely 0,5 m wide, but during locking it gives yoe a tantalising view of the operation. During this phase one can not stay on the sundeck as the ship is going under very low beams of the locks, the sailors remove all standing structures from the top deck such as ralings, radar mast, sun shield and navigation lights.

At some points the river is so narrow than one could almost touch both river banks, and one can see the water level rising when the ship goes by due to the piston effect of the ship.

Excursion to Salamanca city is a must and takes 2 hr by bus (not 45 min as said in these treads) along a deserted plain in Spain (where it does not mainly rain) and where one can only see some donkeys, bulls and goats. Ideal for a morning nap and certainly during the return trip late in the afternoon after an exhausting city visit with a nice lunch, some Spanish wine and a touristic Flamencoshow.

The other "villages" such as Bitetos and Regua are less interesting, except for Lamego, with its church and its steps down the hill.

The service on board was excellent, typical cruise style, with very attentive waiters and good food. Plenty of cocktail parties by the captain accompanied by tasty appetizers.

Two visits are included in the trip, one to a convent and one to a vineyard house , both for a nice meal with excellent wines

JP

[laughoutloud]

We saw a Croisieurope boat several times on our journey, I believe it was the Vasco da Gama. It seemed to be a very European crowd, and it was full of KIDS. They had a pool on the sundeck, as we did, I think theirs was bigger, but it was a big draw for the children. Our cruise was, I think, more peaceful.

 

In the summer months, CroisiEurope has a family program for Spain, Portugal & Italy that includes a MiniClub with daily activities & children's pool hours only between 5-6pm. We sailed with them in 2007 with our 2 boys. Very different (better) than the US ocean cruises for kids. Handled very professionally, a lot of educational opportunities, more respect for the adults onboard. There were only six children though, from France, Italy & the US. The kids put on a little show one night after many days of practicing their routines & "talents". A lot of fun for all.

[sumac!]

I had an upgrade because I was a previous customer. When people asked to be upgraded due to empty cabins, the response was that they couldn't because it wouldn't be fair to the people who had actually paid for an upgrade. Personally, the difference in cabins is the balcony which is so narrow I saw one man sitting with his leg over the side. I think the extra cabin space is better. My daughter and I did two nights pre cruise in Lisbon which was very nice. We actually spent 8 nights in Spain before that so we flew from Ca to Madrid, flew from Madrid to Lisbon to hook up with the cruise, and then coming home from Oporto to Madrid and then back to the U.S. There are many discounts out there, we chose the one that gave us our own cabins with no single supplement. That was a real treat. That was one of the reasons I chose Uniworld but Uniworld is one of the top river cruise companies and I had had a good experience in the past so it was a win win situation. Judy:)

We are doing this trip next May. How did you get from Porto to Madrid. We want to spent some time in Madrid after the cruise.

[CanEcosse]

Porto has a reasonably large airport with flights to Madrid. We did the Douro on the Queen Isabel in August and a few passengers were heading on to Madrid by air. Happy to answer any questions on Douro/Queen Isabel (Uniworld).

[donaldsc]

We are doing this trip next May. How did you get from Porto to Madrid. We want to spent some time in Madrid after the cruise.

 

You are asking questions about a 4 year old 2009 thread. I doubt if the OP is reading it.

 

DON

[sumac!]

Thank you, but I did some helpful answers back in October.

[cole]

We are doing this trip next May. How did you get from Porto to Madrid. We want to spent some time in Madrid after the cruise.

 

Not the original person who posted the review, but we did the same itinerary - flew into Madrid/Lisbon then Porto/Lisbon. Both were with TAP and the airfare was less than $100 per person each way. We did this cruise with Uniworld this past April and loved everything about it.

Cole

[pinotlover]

We are doing this cruise next September 3rd. Our Uniworld cruise actually starts in Madrid, where it takes in two days of Madrid and a day in Toledo, before going on to Salamanca, then to the boat. We will fly into Seville, on our own, for a pretour of that area with day trip tours Cadiz and Cordoba. Then take the train to the Alhambra for a couple of days and then on to Madrid to meet Uniworld. Our Uniworld trip ends in Lisbon with a couple days of touring that city and Sintra. We may stay in Lisbon for a day or so extra before flying home.

 

We will be leaving out of either Nashville or St. Louis. American gives us wonderful connections into Madrid and Seville (they are aligned with Iberian Airlines in oneworld) but horrible connections back out of Lisbon. United currently appears to give the best connections and competitive pricing. We can't actually book flights until late September- early October, after we get back from our Viking/Southern France cruise, so we'll see how schedules look then.