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 ...
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 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 ...
Viking provided a wonderful and memorable land and river cruise experience for me and my adult daughter. We loved everything about Portugal from the moment we landed at the airport. The staff on the Viking Hemming and extended members (land, tour guides, bus drivers, etc.) were all exemplary and went out of their way to ensure you had an enjoyable and more than satisfactory experience. The ...
This was our 10th Viking cruise. We have done both river and ocean cruises. On this trip, Viking did its usual excellent job. The ship was beautiful. The crew/service was first class. The food was great. The reason I could not give this five stars, unlike every Viking cruise we have done before, is that Portugal paled in comparison to pretty much all the other places we have been, with Viking and ...
We chose this cruise because Viking refused to fully refund a cruise that we had booked for Oct 2020. I made the mistake of canceling the cruise before they did, so they held back $1800 (the trip insurance) which could only be used for a future cruise, while giving my other family members, booked on the exact same cruise, a FULL refund because they procrastinated until Viking cancelled the ...
Portugal is a beautiful country, and a river cruise is a great way to do it. The Viking Hemming crew was exceptional, the tour guides were very enlightening and the travel in the Mercedes bus to the off-river sites was extremely comfortable. No complaints at all. We found the food to be excellent, and the servings were perfectly apportioned. The wait staff was very courteous and brought us ...
We wanted to see Portugal. We would have enjoyed more time in Porto. This would have been a better land tour. Portugal doesn't lend itself to a river cruise. The staff was excellent, especially our tour guide. The food was excellent. Our plane reservations coiuld have been better. We almost didn't make our connection from Newark to Denver on the way home. We needed more time to make connections. ...
Where to start? We opted for a couple of extra days in Lisbon - what a fun city. Our visit coincided with Portugals Independence Day and St Antony’s Day. The place was buzzing. I think Lisbon would be fun at any time. It was so nice to be reminded of Portugals prominent place in world history and that we are their oldest ally. That came through very strongly.
We headed to Porto to join ...