We chose to go on a river cruise, thinking it would be as advertised—relaxing, immersive, and beautiful scenery along a river. We got a crowded bus tour with a view of the boat next to us 5 nights out of 8. Save your money. The Douro River tour is falsely advertised. It’s up early every day (before 7 am), get on a bus by 8:15 am, go to a location (no time for exploring), get a crowded tour by ...
1) The 106-passenger ship is too small for “Exploring the World in Comfort”. Standard “staterooms” are really just bedrooms with no sitting area and an average of 20” on each side of the bed. There is no gym, walking track, medical room, theater, or specialty restaurants. If you choose not to go on an excursion, there is nothing to do but sit in the lounge and look at the view or chat with ...
Thank you, ronaldlknight, for taking the time to share your experience with us. We appreciate the kind words you've shared about our staff. Nevertheless, we are sorry to learn the voyage fell...
I knew nothing of Portugal when I booked this trip other than hearing about a trip that a friend took. I can't believe that Portugal hadn't been on my list of places to see until now. What a wonderful country! The ship could not have been better! The crew was AWESOME. I know that's a word that is sometimes overused, but truly, that's the only way to describe them. EVERYONE was so welcoming ...
We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Viking Hemming. The staff was wonderful - the food was great - and we met wonderful people along the way. We extended our time with the pre - trip to Madrid and the post-trip to Santiago. Both extensions were so enjoyable. We especially liked the Flamenco Dance evening in Madrid and the stop in Braga on our way to Santiago. I wished we had more time to spend ...
My husband & I have always wanted to visit Portugal. We wanted to book through a company with a planned itinerary so that we could essentially pay & show up. We heard about Viking Cruises from our parents who raved about their experiences with their friends. After 10 days with Viking, we can say our parents were right. We are now telling all our friends about Viking Cruises.
What we loved: ...
We've sailed several other Viking cruises thru Europe & had wanted to sail thru Portugal & Spain. We also sailed with 2 experienced cruisers & 2 non cruisers - our party of six all had a great time. All six of us flew from Chicago to Madrid for the pre extension in Madrid & four of us post extended to Sandtiago de Compostela (which we think was probably the highlight of the trip).
We did learn ...
We've done many Viking cruises; this was one we hadn't yet done so Post-COVID, we were ready to get back to cruising. We had the misfortune to have our cruise start at the same time as the imminent arrival of Pope Francis in Lisbon for World Youth Day celebration. Viking notified us only a couple weeks before the cruise, but they had to have known this months in advance. The panoramic city bus ...
My mom and I thought this would be a wonderful trip on a river cruise to Portugal, a place neither of us had ever been. The positive critique 1st, the cabin was nice and the food overall was a 4 out of 5. I found very little of it relaxing because we were always on a very strict schedule: rise early and go to the dining area to eat breakfast before getting on the bus for the daily excursions. ...
We had not been to Portugal prior and were interested in learning about their wine industry. We found SO much more! The scenery, expert guides, the history. Our favorite tour by far was Marialva. The local guide was so involved in teaching us her rich history. A fabulous experience! But foremost in my thoughts was the wonderful attention of our crew. They made us feel welcome at all times. Special ...
We chose this cruise because we wanted to see the best of Portugal and we certainly did! We visited Porto and learned about the early Portugese explorers and enjoyed the delicous food of Portugal. We left Porto to sail the Doro River and encountered the amazing scenery and learned about how the formerly wild river was tamed with several locks. It was an amazing experience to sail through the ...