This cruise was selected at the start of the pandemic with a view to giving us something good to look forward to. We traveled with four friends from the UK and met with two friends from the USA. The two nights in Lisbon were interesting and the trip to the maritime museum with Marc Antony - our guide - was stimulating with the earlier battles and journeys of the Portuguese. I was not particularly looking forward to the journey to Porto to join the ship. However it was a joy. The visit to the University of Coimbra, again with Marc, was excellent. His knowledge and enthusiasm are infectious. Later we all enjoyed our visit to the Quinta da Avessada with hilarious talks from our host - a Mr.Bean impersonator. The time in Porto was enjoyable and we would love to return. Overall the trip was fabulous - made better by the gorgeous warm and sunny weather; denied us so long in the UK.

The ship, staff and countryside were excellent. We marveled at Captain Marques's skill in entering the locks with minimum clearance on either side of the ship. I found it very enjoyable to chat to him, with our shared love of watching professional cycling. Portugal really is a beautiful country, friendly people and so clean, with great roads. Wonderful food, brilliant chef Cesar Mata, super servers Martina and Putu. Loads of beautiful local wines. Amazing, I managed to get my favourite breakfast - porridge - everyday!

If there was a downside it was the mooring next to other ships and not being able to use our balcony on 4-5 occasions. We always enjoy our balcony and not being able to sit out on some evenings was a big disappointment. Also some nights there was a constant drone from the ship next door running its engines. We also felt there were too many trips and not enough time to enjoy the river and its beauty. Our advice - select the trips you really want to do and enjoy the ship, the river and the scenery more and think twice about booking a balcony if you are on a budget. As this cruise is mainly over 65's there are options on the trips for easier routes etc. for the less able. Trust me, you will be well looked after.