River Douro cruise with Emerald Waterways

Wines, beers and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner and other drinks packages can be purchased onboard. (There is an offer at the moment for all-inclusive packages for balcony suites and above if booked before 31st August for 2019 sailings). Tours and gratuities are also included.

I was allocated a balcony suite on the main deck which had an en suite shower room, mini bar and large flat screen TV.

A three or four course dinner is taken in the main restaurant from 7pm. The food was exceptional and paired with a different red or white wine every evening. Rose wine was also available. The restaurant manager and waiters were very attentive and catered for any special dietary requirement. The evening meal was waiter service, but lunch and breakfast were self- service with a vast choice of dishes, hot and cold.

On our first evening we had a sunset cruise around Porto. On day two we set sail for Pinhao, passing quaint villages and stunning scenery of hills and vineyards. There is an early morning yoga session for the active onboard. There was also a cookery demonstration in the afternoon.

The ship has a small gym and spa. I tried two massages while I was onboard and both were excellent and very reasonably priced, €45 for a 40 minute Jet Lag back massage and €55 for a full deep tissue body massage. There is also a hairdressing salon.

On day three there was a choice of a morning coach trip to the village of Lamego to Our Lady of Remedies Sanctuary or a walking tour to a local vineyard, Croft’s port winery. I took this option. It was about 30 minutes’ walk each way. The scenery from the vineyard was stunning and the port tasting was also very good! In the afternoon we had a cocktail lesson making cocktails with wine and rose port.

The evenings are low key with a man playing the keyboard in the lounge area. Some evenings were lively with dancing and we also had a quiz on the first evening.

On day four we enjoyed a Salamanca tour from Vega de Terron. We had a tour to the beautiful university city of Salamanca, taking about two hours. As with all our tours, they were very well organised with excellent guides. We had a morning tour of the city then free time for lunch and shopping. There are numerous reasonably priced restaurants and tapas bars. After lunch we met up in a square where local musicians sang and played for us.

The next day we arrived in Pocinho where we went on a tour to the Coa Valley Museum to see the pre-historic carvings while there was an alternative active activity of canoeing. In the evening we went to a local Quinta/wine estate for a three-course dinner which was included in the price. This was an excellent evening.

On day six we visited Regua. A village and museum tour were included but I paid €37 extra to take a tour to Mateus Palace (which is still family owned), about 15 km away. It was beautiful and well worth the extra cost. These days port is produced there, not Mateus Rose. We had a port tasting and, in the afternoon, there was a tile painting lesson. We had a wonderful special farewell dinner in the evening.

Day seven was back in Porto. Here I did a guided walking tour of the city and a port tasting at Taylors. Porto is a USESCO World Heritage Site. There was also a tour to Guimaraes at an extra cost.

On the last day I was transferred back to the airport at 9.30 am after a fantastic week onboard the beautiful Radiance.

I could not fault the food and service, it was exceptional. I would recommend this type of cruise to couples who want a relaxing river cruise. For those who wish to visit large cities I would recommend an Emerald Rhine or Danube cruise.