If you had requested me 10 years in the past if I loved a river cruise, my reply would have been a tough no. But a decade later, river cruises have come a good distance, child! We just lately boarded the Avalon Alegria in Porto, Portugal, for a cruise into the Douro Valley. This European River cruise felt extra like the small ship expeditions we’ve taken in the previous than the previous customary river cruises that stopped at packed ports and spent extra time on the bus than exploring the vacation spot.
What’s it Like on a Douro Valley River Cruise
We boarded our all-suites ship in Porto, the place we started our journey into the gorgeous hills of the Douro Valley. The Avalon Alegria was designed to make the most of the most house whereas creating the final enjoyable and splendid expertise.
The Ship – Avalon Alegria
The Avalon Alegria is the latest of Avalon’s ships. It is an all-suites ship with 14 deluxe staterooms or 37 Panorama Suites. We toured all of the rooms, and regardless of which room you select, you may be glad. All Panorama Suites characteristic floor-to-ceiling home windows that open to show your room into one big balcony, and all beds face the water.
Onboard facilities embrace a bar and dance flooring, nightly leisure, a eating room, a membership lounge, and a fitness center. The Sky Deck has a swimming pool, outside grill and bar, and loads of lounge chairs and tables. If the climate is sweet, that is the place to be to absorb the attractive vistas of the Douro Valley.
Avalon Alegria Suites
Let’s start with the suites. With a most capability of 102 folks, each room is spacious and splendid. We stayed in one in every of the fourteen 200-square-foot panorama suites, which was excellent for our journey.
While different cruise strains we’ve taken line their beds up towards a wall with a view of the different wall, the Avalon Alegria ship units every mattress going through the floor-to-ceiling home windows for views of the river. We loved afternoon siestas in our room whereas watching the Douro River views go by.
But that’s not all. Most folks desire a balcony when river cruising, however it’s troublesome to offer everybody one as a consequence of the measurement limitations of the river and the locks. Avalon has mounted this drawback by creating floor-to-ceiling home windows that open extensive, remodeling your suite into an open-air balcony. By taking away the outside balcony, they’ve created 30% extra dwelling house.
We loved breakfast in our room every morning with our home windows open to see the hills of the Douro River. With plush robes, slippers, and gorgeous views, we by no means wished to depart our room! Oh and did I let you know that they not solely have a pillow menu, but in addition a mattress menu? There are 4 totally different settings for the mattress. Just let the crew know the way you want your mattress, they usually’ll set it up for you.
Club Lounge
Next to our room, the Club Lounge was our second favourite house on the Avalon Alegria. Before breakfast, we walked to the lounge in our robes and slippers to seize a cappuccino, freshly baked cookies, and vitamin water.
I cherished filling my refillable water bottle with my selection of water for the day. Would it’s Vitamin B water? Sparkling grapefruit or ginger. The decisions had been superior.
Normally, cruise ships reserve this house for upgraded suites, however Avalon makes this coveted house at the stern of the boat open for everybody. You can sit again and calm down, have tea, or ship an e-mail on the quick Star Link Wi-Fi that’s included in the journey.
Avalon, the Greenest Ship on the Douro
We know the rap cruise ships get, however Avalon works laborious to journey sustainably. Avalon has partnered with locations to generate sustainable electrical energy whereas docked. They use shore energy at any time when they’ll and have put in LED lighting all through their ships.
You will discover that I discussed a water station above and Avalon has zero plastic onboard. There are glasses which you can refill, however we advocate packing your individual water bottle to tackle excursions. We weren’t provided bottled water on our excursions (which I used to be grateful for), so we stuffed up our bottles earlier than leaving the ship.
They have diminished paper by 80%. Unlike different cruise ships, you gained’t see your each day schedule and a great deal of paper in your beds. Avalon has an app for friends to make use of with schedules on the TVs.
They have additionally partnered with The Ocean Cleanup to help of their mission of eradicating 90% of ocean plastic. This is a frightening job, and I do not know the way it will occur, however with corporations investing and partnering, good issues can occur.
Honestly, in at the moment’s world, we’re all contributing to the destruction of the planet, so the solely factor corporations can do is give again. Avalon vegetation two bushes for each passenger on a cruise, has state-of-the-art oil filters to maintain oil adjustments to a minimal, and is trying to swap to electrical ships in the close to future.
What’s Included – Avalon is About Choice
Since we talked about premium coffees and free web, I believed we’d contact on what’s included in your Douro River Cruise with Avalon Waterways. The phrase we stored listening to was the Avalon is about selection. Passengers have flexibility relating to eating, excursions, and issues to do onboard.
Meals
All meals, together with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, are included. Breakfast could be loved in your stateroom or in the eating room. Lunch is a buffet in the eating room or mild snacks in the bar. You also can all the time order sure meals, like burgers and sandwiches, off the menu.
Dinner is a scrumptious multicourse meal of native and worldwide dishes paired with superb native wine. Portugal has unbelievable wines, and I really like that Avalon serves solely native wines. When I’m in Portugal, I don’t need to be ingesting a California Chardonnay; I desire a wealthy Douro Valley pink, and that’s precisely what they delivered.
Unlike different cruises, passengers are provided flex eating and might eat anytime inside the eating window. Seating is versatile, with tables for 2, or you’ll be able to be part of giant teams.
Drinks
Speaking of wine, beer and wine are included at lunch and dinner. All specialty coffees, mushy drinks, and water are additionally included. And, not like different cruises, the Douro Valley River cruise affords free cocktail hour drinks. And let me let you know, they make scrumptious cocktails.
Tours
Avalon Waterways actually stands out with its excursions and shore excursions. They have damaged down excursions to go well with totally different wants. You can select from Classic, Discovery, or Active Excursion choices. Each day you are able to do one thing totally different from lively adventures that embrace kayaking and mountain climbing to cultural experiences that take you to historic districts and meals and wine excursions to take pleasure in the Douro Valley Wines and Ports of Porto.
There is one thing for everybody, relying in your mobility and exercise stage. Plus, there’s an onboard journey host that leads yoga in the mornings.
Entertainment
Each night after dinner, there’s native leisure. We loved a Fado Show of proficient native guitarists sharing their tradition, tales and music.
The subsequent night time was an impressive quartet of strings placing their very own spin on trendy rock and pop music.
We additionally loved being serenaded by a finalist from The Voice and had nightly dancing. This is a kind of journeys that brings the native tradition to you.
The Crew
Something that actually stands out on the Avalon Alegria cruise by way of the Douro Valley is the employees. Your hosts could make or break a visit and the Alegria employees goes above and past. Within the second we stepped onboard, they felt like previous buddies.
At cocktail hour, they knew precisely what kind of cocktail I’d be in the temper for and even created specialties not on the menu.
Dave has a Gluten allergy, and the waitstaff paid cautious consideration to providing him options and informing him of what we may eat and should keep away from.
They had been all the time smiling, and you would inform that they actually loved their jobs. It wasn’t an act; the crew cherished what they had been doing. From the guys grinning from ear to ear as they tied the strains to the entrance desk, answering our each want.
Ports of Call
Don’t fear, you might be inspired to get off the ship and luxuriate in the native ports of name. Avalon docks downtown or near the city facilities the place a brief (and low cost) Uber trip can take you to the place you need to be.
8-Day Itinerary – Vineyards & Villages Along the Douro
The cruise begins in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Porto. We counsel arriving early to actually soak on this stunning vacation spot. Avalon affords a guided tour of Braga and Guimaraes, which we extremely advocate seeing. But you must also spend at the very least two days in Porto to take pleasure in the Historical Center, the Gaia District, and the gorgeous waterfront.
The cruise then leaves in the night to cease at totally different areas alongside the Douro Valley. The 8-day itinerary contains these stops after which returns to Porto for an additional day of touring. We selected the choice of wine tasting in Gaia with a tour of the Cork Museum, which was fascinating and scrumptious!
Porto Embarkation
Porto day tour to Braga and Guimaraes.
Peso da Regua – a go to to one in every of the oldest farms in the Douro Valley
Poncinho – Douro Valley Vineyards
Barca d’Alva – Salamanca, Spain – This is the place you’ll be able to add one other nation to your itinerary.
Ferradosa-Leverhino – Day tour of Amarante
Can Solo Travelers Join Avalon?
We all the time journey as a pair, however I do know many individuals surprise about solo journey on cruises. Avalon waives the solo complement. On Avalon, you by no means really feel alone. From my observations, a river cruise is a good choice for solo vacationers.
Avalon is About Choice
Most folks select the Danube or Rhine Rivers for his or her first river cruise. We did 10 years in the past, and it turned us off river cruising for a decade. When Avalon invited us to pattern their Douro Valley route, we had been intrigued to offer it one other attempt. I’m glad we did. This river cruise was precisely the kind of journey we love—small ships with fewer passengers and loads of choices for shore excursions.
Fewer ships are on the river, and the stops really feel intimate and untouched. With solely 102 passengers on the Avalon selecting from totally different excursions, we had small group excursions that felt tailor-made to our wants.
The Douro Valley is one in every of the most stunning locations to cruise in Europe, with rolling hills and terraced vineyards. It is actually a bucket checklist cruise the place immersing in tradition and experiencing the native delicacies is at the coronary heart of the itinerary.
These are the hottest routes stuffed with different river cruises and crowds at ports of name. I’m not saying to by no means do one, however I believe the Douro Valley is the excellent introduction to river cruising.
So there you could have it—our Douror Valley River Cruise—the first European River Cruise we’ve taken in 10 years. Will we do one other one? You guess! As we age, we love the concept of unpacking as soon as and crusing by way of Europe’s most stunning countryside.
When you get to ports, you don’t need to comply with the guides; everyone seems to be free to do as they please. Remember, Avalon is about selection, and our selection is to return quickly.