We had previously taken AMA's 14-day cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam and had a wonderful time. Great food, brand new boat, service friendly and efficient. Then we took the Duoro cruise. Whole different deal. For starters, it's NOT AMA's boat! Per Portugal law the boat is owned (I guess) by a friend of the president. AMA also has limited say in who they hire. So essentially it's a licensing deal and the only thing "AMA-ish" about this cruise is the logo. Examples: the young head of the hotel was named Nuno which in Portugese must translate as "he does not work." Very stand-offish, not friendly and didn't life a finger to help his staff as far as we could see. The Captain couldn't speak hardly any English and he was invisible most of the trip. No bridge tours were offered as was the case with our previous cruise. The staff was not trained very well. The waiters could speak English but the housekeepers not so much. The housekeepers were inferior to our last cruise. Food was okay, but not exceptional and was a bit boring after just a week. The Douro is a scenic river and we enjoyed cruising. The weather was horrible but that one's NOT on AMA!

Bright spot! Mariana the tour guide was AWESOME! About 5'2" of unbridled energy and enthusiasm. She deserves all the kudos because without her this thing would have been a disaster. My only hope is that she can get a better gig on a "regular" AMA boat.

Not up to your standards AMA.