We had a nonstop flight into Lisbon, were met at the airport by a Viking representative, and taken to the Hotel Tivoli centrally located in LIsbon. Everything went very smooth, as we have come to expect from Viking. We have visited Lisbon before so we opted out of a half day tour the next morning to go to the seashore with some friends who live just outside of Lisbon. We love Portugal and Lisbon and had a great time, with some wonderful meals and charming walks.

We had a pleasant coach ride up to Porto, where we boarded our ship. The ship was great, and the crew treated us like visiting family that they want to see again. The river valley is gorgeous and we thoroughly enjoyed cruising, eating, touring, and eating our way up and back. The food and wines were outstanding, but as good as the head chef was (and he was excellent), I think that most of the men onboard fell in love with the pastry chef - a real sweetie.

The side trip to Salamanca was great. It was a major disappointment finally though to realize we ultimately had to leave the cruise. We made it a little easier by adding on the post trip to Santiago de Campostella, which I highly recommend. Our tour director tipped us off to go to the pilgrims mass in the Cathedral - and they swung the Botafumieri from the ceiling of one side of the Nave to the other. Absolutely fascinating. (See the movie "The Way" for scenes.) All in all, this was a perfectly delightful vacation for us. We're already signed up for our next Viking cruise.