From Portugal to Spain: Porto, the Douro Valley (Portugal) and Salamanca (Spain) (port-to-port cruise) - VASCO DE GAMA

Customer Reviews

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  Marian

  · October 27th, 2024
  Cabins were OK Food was OK Would have liked more hygiene measures such as asking all crew and passemdgers with any symptoms whatsoever to wear masks
  Trip date: October 2024
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  Richard

  · July 27th, 2024
  Enjoyed our holiday on the cruise tremendously. Solange and Pedro were perfect hosts and the staff on board were terrific.
  Trip date: June 2024
• DW

  Donald

  · June 11th, 2024
  The Douro River Valley was spectacular. A must see. The cruise company did an excellent job with making sure that our small English speaking group onboard (7 total) enjoyed the announcements, itinerary and tours in English. Food was French and excellent. The room was small, but considering such a busy itinerary, it was really just used for sleeping. I would not hesitate to use CroisiEurope again in the future.
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  Trip date: May 2024
• JT

  Jeanne

  · May 21st, 2024
  We had a wonderful river cruise in Porto, on the Douro. The boat is lovely, the accomodations were quite good and the food was excellent. Only downside is the size of the shower (very small) but nothing unmanageable. Tours were good. The staff on the boat were mostly excellent, and very friendly.
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  Trip date: May 2024
• CM

  Christine

  · May 8th, 2024
  Staff fantastic. Food fantastic. Evetythibg just great. Single room perfect. Carpet on first level very old, stained, Coukd do with replacing.,
  Trip date: April 2024
• A

  Kenyn Cheatham

  · April 17th, 2024
  The ship should have been either MS Amalia Rodrigues or the MS Gil Eanes pictured on the tour website. However, we were placed on the Fernao De Magalhaes, one of the oldest boats in your fleet. Although it was advertised, there was no pool. Our room had the following issues: • Wallpaper was ripped, seams were separating and stained. • Toilet bowl had a black ring • Outlet above the desk did not work • The rug by the bed in front of the compressor unit was always wet. • The room number sign was not there, instead a sticky note with the room number was stuck to the door. • Windows did not open fully as expected. Only top portion opened slightly This is no way was a room upgrade instead it was a bait and switch to the worst possible room and ship. Here is summary of the issues experienced: Food/service - The food was OK but service was lacking. Only at 1 meal did the staff manage to serve the whole table at once. Most times we waited at least 5 minutes for the whole table to be served. The wine served in the bar is the worst I have ever had, and we are traveling through wine country. Hazards - On 4/4 while exiting the lounge one of the staff opened a trap door below me just as I took a step and I fell into the opening! I have a sore leg as a result. Brought this to the director’s attention and all he had to say was “Oh, Sorry”. No concern whatsoever. Transfer to and from cruise - The first day the driver was told to stall us as the ship was not ready. We missed the afternoon in Porto. In total we were delayed 3 hours. Interestingly the ship was docked at Gia not Porto so there was no way we could have seen Porto that afternoon. Definitely not what was advertised After disembarking from the ship, the bus took us to a location that was .8 miles from our hotel. He had a sheet with the wrong address! Also, the bus was dirty and disgusting. Missed and Excursions - We were told that the water was too high to go through the locks, but we saw several other ships leave and go through the locks. Instead, we spent 3 days of the cruise portion of our trip trapped in Regua. We never went to Vega de Terron (Spain) so we missed the excursion to Salamanica. We also never traveled to Barca D'Alva, Ferradosa or Folgosa. The revised version of the tour through the Douro Valley to Sao Joao do Mundo was very disappointing. In Sao Joao do Mundo there was NOTHING but a coffee shop was open!!! I have no idea why we were brought to this place. There was NOTHING to do!!! After this, we were driven to Pinhao and had 10 minutes to look at a train station. Not nearly long enough and definitely not enough time to be considered a real “stop. I have never had a worse travel experience than this. You should be ashamed of treating paying customers the way that we were treated. We were cheated out of visiting half the ports. You wasted our time by stalling us on buses or taking us to towns that are closed! The fact that you thought it was OK to switch us to the worst ship, place us in the worst room, cut out half of the cruise stops plus miss one of the best excursions is inexcusable!!!
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  Trip date: April 2024
• KL

  Kathleen

  · October 26th, 2023
  The 8 day cruise on the Duoro from Porto to Salamanca return was one of the most memorable travel experiences for me. Although there were only 7 English speaking guests (in which my partner and 1 were included) amongst mainly French guests , we never felt excluded in any way. The Purser Mike and the Guest coordinator Susannah(? with the lovely long curly hair) went over and beyond our expectations in making us feel welcome and included. All announcements were made in French and English and we never felt that the information relayed was lacking.. It was the same with all the other staff and crew members right down to the deckhands who worked very hard to give us a most enjoyable experience. Nothing was too much for them and they went over and beyond to ensure we got everything we requested . Foodwise it was 5 star cuisine for lunch and dinner each day- mostly French-exquisitely presented with satisfyingly adequate portions and delicious at all times. Complimentary Cocktails and wines were available all day (unlike other cruise companies) . Coffee, tea , refreshments sparkling and still water were also on tap 24/7.The breakfast buffet was more than adequate although it tended to be monotonous . In saying this it still fulfilled its purpose for us. The entertainment on board was also of a high standard esp the Flamenco dancing . There were also other activities like quizes, aline dancing lesson , keepfit session , which appeared to be enjoyed by all who participated. The tours were well organised and we had excellent guides who were professional and informative. I have been on a river cruise with another reputable company in the past but the experience with Croisi Europe far surpassed my expectations. The quality and value for money was outstanding and i will not hesitate to sail with them again.
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  CroisiEurope River Cruises commented on this review

  Thank you very much for taking the time to write this pleasant message. We are delighted to have been able to meet your expectations, our teams thrive on feedback such as yours. We hope to see you back on board our boats soon. Have a Beautiful day,... Show more
  Trip date: October 2023
• AA

  Adrian

  · July 29th, 2023
  we could not fault this trip at all, the boat was lovely, staff were great they went above and beyond. food was great . the scenery was beautiful well worth the trip. looking at going on others
  

  CroisiEurope River Cruises commented on this review

  Dear Mr. Ahlquist, thank you for your lovely review of your cruise with CroisiEurope. We are very pleased to read that you enjoyed your time on board. Thank you for your compliments on the staff, we'll make sure to let them know. We look forward to... Show more
  Trip date: June 2023
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  Danuta

  · May 22nd, 2023
  Wonderful trip, everything was well thought through
  

  CroisiEurope River Cruises commented on this review

  Dear Mrs. Koloski, thank you for your review. We are glad to read you had a great trip with CroisiEurope. We hope we'll have the pleasure to welcome you again on board one of our ships. Kind regards, CroisiEurope Customer Care Department
  Trip date: May 2023
• KM

  Kim

  · May 9th, 2023
  It was very enjoyable and the scenery was amazing, unfortunately we had absolutely no internet at all. Very frustrating!
  

  CroisiEurope River Cruises commented on this review

  Dear Mrs. McKinley, We would like to thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your cruise with us. We are glad to read you had a good time. Regarding the wifi on board, the reception can differ from places to places especially during... Show more
  Trip date: May 2023