Day 1 - 28 June 2014
Since we couldn’t go on Saga, which was Joan’s intent, because it didn’t meet her flight requirements I chose Scenic’s Unforgettable Douro because it offered an 11 day cruise of the Douro whereas the competition have 7 days.
Advice from Cruise Critic forums was the 11 day cruise avoided rafting because it didn’t call at the same places or on the same days as the other lines. Unfortunately this is not true now there are so many companies cruising a relatively short stretch of river. Scenic booked British Airways but it turned out to be a code-share and we flew return from London Heathrow to Porto on Iberia planes, via Madrid.
The flight to Madrid was on a long haul plane and we were taken by cabin crew to our business class spacious seats with lie flat beds and full range of entertainments. But there wasn’t time to enjoy them as the flight was only 2 hours long. We had one hour 25 minutes before the Porto flight departed and had to take an underground train to the departure terminal, but there was no queue at immigration and security search was quick. The flight to Porto was on a much smaller plane and at both ends we had to use the aircraft’s own stairs.
We landed at Porto around 16:00 and met the Scenic rep outside arrivals hall. We were the only Scenic customers and were taken straightway to a car and driven to the boat. On the quayside our names were ticked off, our bags taken, and we descended the steep steps to a floating pontoon and up Scenic Azures’ steep narrow rickety gangplank. On board at 17:10 we collected our room keys and lanyard with QR code use to swipe on and off the boat.
We were taken to our cabin by our butler Amhan Silva who explained all the cabin features. I asked for printed copies of daily programmes and for the mini-bar to just have red and white wines.
There was a 15 minute Safety Briefing before dinner. It seemed casual. Unlike Viking we didn’t have to wear our life vest, go to our muster station, have our names checked off a list, staff didn’t check rooms and there weren’t crew dressed in fireproof costumes. In fact I can’t remember what we were supposed to do.
However we learned that the boat had 72 passengers against a capacity of 96, thus we were only 75% full.
Mooring at Porto at the start and end of the cruise is on the Porto side. This has a much higher river bank than the other side at Vila Nova de Gaia, which has a riverside lined with Port Lodges. Entering and exiting the boat need getting down to just above water level which changes by about six feet as the river is tidal here.
There’s a fixed steep wooden ramp down the bank to a landing then a wooden ramp to a floating pontoon. The angle of this ramp varies from steep to very steep depending on water level. Then one has to climb a steep narrow gangway to the boat’s third deck, part of which has only two slack ropes as hand rails. Since an accident where my shoulder was shattered in multiple places I struggle with balance and I find the Scenic gangplank frightening, and that will be a factor in booking future cruising.
In 2024 Scenic dropped their Tailormade app which you had to download to your phone to hear guides. They now use Quietvox devices instead, as used by Viking, which are reliable – unlike Tailormade. But they still rely on people using email onboard. Onboard photo competition could only be entered by emailing photos to the boat and they expected guests to receive an email with a link to complete their questionnaire before departing the boat. As I don’t use my phone for emails I was unable to do either.
Time for a flute of Drappier Champagne before dinner. I was pleased to see the wine list was all Portuguese wines, apart from one red and one white from Spain. But the only two names I recognised were Mateus Rose and Monte Velho so we went with the suggested wines most nights.
Overnight Location: Porto - https://what3words.com/treaties.emails.streaks
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