The bear and I did river cruise #2 and our third trip to Europe as something of a happy accident. After our Uniworld Cruise on the Rhone and our land tour through Tuscany with Tauck, we decided we’d like to do another river. I had really wanted to go to Spain, but there were no opportunities for river cruises. I THOUGHT the bear said, “I’ve always wanted to go to Portugal” So after going into research mode, it seemed like Scenic would fill the bill with some of the larger rooms and our requirements. We like a luxury tour with all of the logistics handled for us. We also like an all inclusive including tips, excursions, and all alcohol (at all times) on the boat. There are only four companies that do that: Uniworld, Tauck, Scenic, and now Riverside, who bought the Crystal fleet.

As happy as we were with Uniworld, and we were QUITE happy, I’d say we were even happier with Scenic because of a few minor touches here and there. Next year we travel with Tauck on a river cruise from Paris to Normandy. Anyway, when I told the bear that I had scheduled a cruise in Portugal, he told me that he’d never mentioned that’s where he wanted to go. So, our trip was a happy accident. In the end, he decided he wished we’d stayed longer and wants to go back…

Regardless, off to Portugal we went!

We left Austin on Saturday, July 6, for our Monday cruise. We were BRIEFLY delayed in the Austin airport due to lightning, but no big deal because we were flying KLM business class direct to Amsterdam, so we had access to the Delta Sky Lounge, which was lovely. The bear insists on business class for flights of more than 6 hours, and I can’t say that I will ever complain. The price of our flights, however, are generally almost as much as the whole vacation, so I try to make sure to buy one of the tickets with credit card points to take the sting out of it. We LOVE our Chase Sapphire Reserve for all of the included benefits (Door Dash, Priority Pass, Instacart, Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, Travel Insurance and more), but REALLY love it because we generally get enough points a year for one round trip business class ticket. We did this year.

We love the flights where everyone gets their own cubby… KLM was PRETTY good, and you do get the cute little gin filled houses at the end when you fly with them. We just wish there had been more storage around the seats themselves. Also, we were both VERY warm on the flight. We should have complained, but didn’t… so neither of us slept as well as we would have liked on the 8 1/2 hour overnight flight, thus, we were groggy and grumpy for our 2 hour layover in Amsterdam. From there, another 2 1/2 hour flight on a small plane into Porto before we were quickly greeted and whisked away to The Intercontinental Hotel in the heart of the city. Since we booked the hotel with Scenic, we got transfers included from airport to hotel, then hotel to boat the next day. My sister-in-law, Andrea, is an amazing travel advisor which can be important when you book with Scenic because they’re not necessarily the best at communication prior to cruising. You may be better off having someone do the legwork for you.

Knowing that there may be many things closed in Porto on Sunday, the bear had done some research beforehand for a place to go get a bite to eat. So after our 18 hours of travel, we cleaned up, had a drink in the BEAUTIFUL hotel bar (pro tip- if you’re an IHG member- which is free to join- they give you a voucher for two drinks when you check-in), then set off on the streets to find Orpheu.

There was A LOT going on in the city, and I don’t think I knew how hilly it was going to be, but we were feeling pretty good, and Google maps was kind to us as we weaved into a spot off the beaten path. It was in an alleyway behind a street. The outside tables were set up on stairs outside, and we were served INSIDE the restaurant through an open window. The temperature was PERFECT (in the 60s and sunny). We ordered WAY too many tapas, but enjoyed our sardines and our traditional sausages before we took the rest back to the room to have for breakfast the next morning.

Since I knew we’d have the morning free and I wanted a chance to see as much of Porto as I could, I had prearranged a private walking tour through Viator. I had watched and read a MULTITUDE of “What to do in Porto” videos and ALL included a visit to the Lello bookstore. Viator contracted out to Castro Travel and we were to meet with Diogo at 9 on our first morning. I woke up somewhat jet lagged and oddly shaky, sweaty and out-of-sorts. Then, I used a sunscreen that kept getting in my eyes, so I wasn’t feeling great, but I was still excited to see the city.

Diogo was prompt and met us right at our hotel for our private tour. We took off to the streets first stopping at the iconic train station. Tiles are all over the buildings in Porto, but the ones in the train station were breathtaking! There’s also a cool food hall called the “Time Out Market” adjacent to the train station that has some of the best chefs doing pop-up food stands all day long.

Then, we really started walking up our first hill, For context, Porto starts at about sea level and then climbs to 240 feet in a distance of only a little more than half a mile. Roads in most cities are considered “steep” at about a 10% grade. Many of the grades in Porto go from 15% to 20%. It is challenging walking around Porto. And it’s all on cobblestone. So we went to see where the public hangings used to occur and looked out over the city. Still, I felt shaky… and began to feel sick. This is the TMI part of this blog, but… I had the need to go back down the hill to visit a Starbucks restroom. Bathrooms in Europe are often difficult- and this one was no different. It was down a narrow winding staircase… So I shakily made it there – and immediately threw up.

Good news? I started to feel a bit better. We then walked up the hill again and around the corner to one of Porto’s lovely six bridges to look at the city below. Then, Diogo asked us if we wanted to walk down to the waterfront. This was a mistake on our part because we decided it would be a good plan. So we wound down, down, down, through the old cobblestone streets- VERY slowly because of shaking knees and shaky me. The waterfront was VERY quiet in the morning. (We went back on Sunday evening, and it was lively and fun). Then, it was time to trek back up the hill.

Much to my embarrassment, this proved too much for me. I did make it back to the top, but felt TERRIBLE. I apologized to the bear and to DIogo and cut our 3 hour trip into only an hour and a half. I was done. Diogo mentioned that we could take our time and that he knew I still wanted to go to the bookstore. I thought about it and asked him where it was. He said “Thirty meters.” I thought about it again and then he said, “But it’s straight up.”

Unfortunately, I was done. Whether it was jet lag, my being out of shape, the food from the last night… who knows. I told the bear he should continue, and I’d take a rest. He chose not to continue the walk either. I felt bad that I had ruined our morning, but later he admitted that the walk was more strenuous than HE thought it would be, too. I mentioned it to our driver back to the airport on Sunday, and he said, “I don’t know why ANYONE tries to walk up and down those roads. I tell everyone to take the cable car up to the top and walk down – slowly.” Well, our hindsight is 20/20.

Fortunately, however, once back at the hotel, I was able to take about 45 minutes to regroup, and then told the Bear that at the very least we needed to go see the Bolhao market. We also wanted to go see a shop that we had seen Jamie Oliver visit on a YouTube show. So off we went to A Pérola do Bolhão. We got some tasty cookies and sardine pate there before making our way to the two-story market! So glad we went back out!

After finishing there, we returned to the hotel and our transfer came to take us to the boat with two other couples – one from the US, one from Australia. That was one of the fun parts of this ship. Scenic is an Australian company and had a more diverse population than Tauck and Uniworld. I would say that only about 15 to 20 percent of the passengers were American. The largest group seemed to come from the UK.

I chose Riverview suite 221 on the boat. It is the only one of its kind. It has the full wall window, but it does not have a small balcony like the other rooms. This one tiny difference saved me about $1,000. I knew that we would spend minimal time in the room, but I didn’t want one of the lower deck rooms with just a small window. I also loved that it had an included minibar, which could be customized, and one free bag of laundry done per trip. (Plus, you could have two items pressed each day.)

The boat has four decks. The bottom deck has the small rooms and the galley, the second deck (mine) has the large dining hall and the gym. The third deck has the bar, the larger suites, and the small dining room (Portobellos) where every guest is invited once per cruise. There is also the “river cafe” in the bar which offers lighter lunch options and a case of snacks that is always available and always changing. They have a very fancy coffee maker as well! The fourth deck is the top of the boat, including a covered area for sitting and a small pool. We saw a YouTube video before we went that we thought explained things quite well and very accurately.

Like most river cruises, every night before dinner there was a cocktail reception and a briefing of the things to come. Unlike other river cruises, the boats on the Douro only sail during daylight hours because the river is so narrow.

All three meals were included every day on the boat (except for lunch the Salamanca day). Breakfast was always the same, but it was an extensive buffet, or you could order special eggs to the table. Lunch was also a buffet, including a carving station – or you could get the lighter fare of sandwiches or snacks at the river cafe in the bar. Then, dinner was always a three course meal with LOTS of options, including pages of wine choices that were all included. This is just a sampling of some of the food including room service and the decadent tarts- Pasteis de Nata- that you could find EVERYWHERE. (I will likely include more specific food pictures in later blogs- particularly our night at Portabellos).

We ended most nights on the boat with a port or a port cocktail! I didn’t even know those existed, but now I know I love port and ginger ale…

At the end of each night, the schedule for the next day would be on the television in the room and on all the televisions on the ship. There were usually PLENTY of choices! In general, there were about three choices for the morning and sometimes more in the afternoon. And there were always activities occurring on the ship. All of these are included.

But for the first day of sailing, there was only one excursion. It was to be a museum in Regua after we set sail at 545 AM. After a long two days, it was nice to sleep in our VERY cold (by our choice) room on one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in – ever!

This was a lot of blog for the first in a series, and the boat isn’t even moving, yet…