What is the Viking Portugal Longship Cruise Really Like?
An Honest Opinion and Reflection
My husband and I just returned from the fabulous Viking Portugal River of Gold trip. I am not part of a paid partnership with Viking. I’m just a fan of traveling and enjoy documenting my journeys and sharing tips! In this post I will provide details about the riverboat portion of the tour. The first part of Viking’s Portugal exploration starts with 2 days in Lisbon, on land not on a ship. Read details about what we did in Lisbon.
On Day 3 you travel by bus from Lisbon to Porto. Porto is about a 3 hour ride. There are 2 different routes available. We chose the optional excursion – a tour of the Batalha Monastery (UNESCO) and time at Fatima, the Catholic pilgrimage site. The other route included stop at Coimbra (UNESCO), a charming university town. Like most travel companies Viking offers included excursions and optional excursions (at an extra cost).
The Douro River Baby Longships
Viking operates four boats on the Douro: the Torgil, the Hemming, the Osfrid and the Helgrim. They are smaller than Viking’s other European Longships in order to fit through the river’s tighter locks, thus the nickname “baby longships.” The Torgil hosts up to 106 passengers and has a crew of 3 dozen. To see Viking’s Torgil Ship interactive deck map click here.
I have taken Viking’s Rhône River France trip on one of the larger boats that had 190 passengers. That trip was also amazing! Two other differences are the Douro Ship’s upper deck has a small pool (not heated during our October trip), and the Aquavit Terrace does not serve food.
The Stateroom
We chose a Veranda Room (B) on the middle deck. The room has smart storage, a small balcony, a narrow, but nice bathroom, free wifi (at times there’s no signal like when going through a lock), There is a sliding door closet. One side has a safe, 4 shelves and floor space; the other side has a top shelf (2 life jackets are stowed here) and 16 hangers for clothing. There is room for 2 standard suitcases under the bed. We also had 2 carry-ons that we stored inside our empty suitcases.
I like staying on the middle deck. It’s a little cheaper than the upper deck and when sailing the balcony feels right on top of the water. However, sometimes the ship docks at a tall wharf and your window could face a slab of concrete. You should also be made aware that in popular ports like Vila Nova de Gaia, two or three ships could be tied to each other. When this happens you might have to pass through another boat’s entry area to get on or off your boat, but it’s no big deal. It just compromises the view a bit, so head up to the sundeck!
One of our favorite things to do while cruising the river was to bring drinks from the bar to our balcony.
What to Pack
There is no iron (it’s a fire hazard), but you can have clothes pressed for a fee. A travel-sized hair dryer is supplied and you can bring a curling iron or straightener. High-end toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body-wash and lotion) are provided, so no need to lug your own – freeing up valuable suitcase space. You’ll want to leave some luggage room for souvenirs! There are a good amount of outlets (Euro and US) and USB ports. I do recommend bringing a couple adapters. The excursion buses have Euro outlets under the seats, allowing you to keep your devices charged, but they need a US adapter.
Don’t waste space with an umbrella. The ship had plenty, if needed. Do bring a lightweight rain jacket. I brought 6 slender hangers. The stateroom TV has a few music stations, but my hubby always likes to have his bluetooth speaker. A drawstring bag, or small backpack, is handy for excursions.
We had our bank send us 200 euros a few weeks before our trip. There were a few instances that local money came in handy. During the cruise portion you will need to tip your incredible tour guides and exceptional bus drivers. This is not included in the tip package. We usually tipped 2 or 3 euros per person. The ship’s reception desk does have euros (coins and paper) available.
The Happening Lounge
Once we dropped off our luggage, we headed up to the lounge for a crew introductions and a safety drill.
The upper deck has guest rooms, the reception desk, a 24 hour coffee & cookie bar, a shop, a lounge and an outdoor terrace. The Lounge is the ship’s hub while sailing and at night. There is a bar and plenty of seating. Many entertainment and informative events take place there such as a cork education & shopping event, a cooking glass, wine tasting, performances, dancing and music trivia, to name a few! Each evening the Port Talk occurs. I encourage you to attend all port talks to get the most out of your following day excursions.
Next to the Lounge is the open-air Aquavit Terrace.
The Dining Room
The restaurant is located on the middle deck. Breakfast was typically served from 7:00 am – 9:00 am. Lunch was 12:00 or 12:30, depending on excursions. Dinner was 7:00 pm.
Breakfast had a choice of the buffet, an eggs cooked to order station, or you could order off the menu. Lunch provided a buffet, or menu options. One lunch had the pasta prepared hot at the chef’s station.
Dinner had fixed daily selections or you could choose from the chef’s preparations du jour. All meals offer regional dishes, but Viking always has one dinner per trip that goes all out with the area’s specialties.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages are included in your fare. There are a couple different alcohol packages/options available.
Of course several meals are had during excursions. You don’t have to attend all of the boat’s scheduled meals. We left the ship one of the evenings in Porto. Exploring the town on our own was fun and we ate dinner at a local restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. The only thing you need to do when going rogue is to get your card at guest services and turn it back in when you return. It’s the ship’s way of keeping track of passengers so no one is inadvertently left behind.
The Sun Deck
There is another ship level above the upper deck, it’s the sun deck. We spent a lot of time there while sailing. It’s a relaxing place to take in the views, or to experience going through the 5 Douro River locks.
Don’t forget to check out the nighttime views on the sundeck! The view up top during our first night in Porto was magnificent!
The Aquavit Terrace
The Aquavit Terrace is another great place to take in the views! We had light, intermittent rain and wind when we entered Porto. The terrace provided more weather protection than the sundeck. Don’t be hanging out in your room when the ship enters Porto for its last two nights! The scenery is really special.
Final Thoughts
The Viking Portugal trip was very interesting with a variety of experiences I will treasure! The Douro River is a rural setting with a beautiful topography. However, all that nature means the sites are a bit further away…by coach. I knew that from researching this trip and planned for it. I brought a good book and ear buds/music for those drives. Viking makes an appropriate number of comfort stops. I will share details about the excursions in a separate post.
Service and food on both Viking cruises are amazing! Have you been on this trip, or are you planning to go? I’d love for you to leave your thoughts, reviews and questions in the comment section!
Video
Here is a link to video of our time on the Torgil Longship. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuH2BzqRGC_/
I never thought about doing this Viking Longship before, what a great experience!
The Sun Deck looks like a great place to spend the day, and the rooms look really nice too! Thanks for sharing your experience.
A river cruise has been on our travel wish list for a long time. So it was great to read a first hand post about the Viking Longship. And particularly interesting to see the trip up the Douro River. We drove along the Douro River and saw the ships down on the water. And wondered how different that experience would be. I would want a real balcony so I could sit and enjoy the view with a drink. Maybe on our next visit we will plan a Viking river cruise in Portugal.
The Douro and Porto look beautiful seen from the water. We did a road trip through Northern Portugal and saw the scenic Douro from our car and explored Porto on foot. Seeing it from the water looks beautiful.
I’ve never been on a river cruise like this. The longship looks quite nice and I like the idea of fewer passengers.
Love your review of Viking Portugal Longship Cruise. We are considering a river cruise next year so your post is very helpful in maintaining expectations. Love the balcony!
Well this looks like an incredible trip (and such a pleasant way to spoil yourselves!)
The best parts must have been the food, and that fabulous sun deck in the sunshine.
Thank you for sharing!
I will save your ideas for my trip in Lisbon!