Portugal has been on our bucket list for some time. We are big fans of Port so it made perfect sense to take the river cruise. We were pleased with the Helgrim's staff and found them to be friendly, helpful and courteous. This was our 3rd river/sailing cruise and our first with Viking. The food options on the ship were very good as well as the beverage selections within the Silver Seas package that we purchased. The only dining disappointment was the buffet night.

The Duoro river valley is much different than say the Danube or the Adriatic because the ports are small and most of the cities we visited and excursions we took required a bus ride. Our only disappointment with the Viking provided excursions was the lack of free time in several of the sites, mostly due to lengthy bus rides to and from the ship. Disembarkation was a bit disappointing as we spent the last two nights docked up against a couple of other ships and were not able to use our Veranda since it starred directly into another cabin. We also endured exhaust fumes from the generators of several ships docked together.

We were pleasantly surprised by how mice the cabin was appointed and the closet space. We were going to France after the river cruise and had room to unpack our suitcases. Additionally, the suite we had offered free laundry and that was a big help for a long trip. Read more