Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 26 November 2025

 

Day  10 – Wednesday 25 November 2025 

– Cruise Day 8

Last day. Time to vacate the cabin was a reasonable 09:00, but we had depart the boat at 08:30 for a 12:25 flight. As usual, Viking wants to get you to the airport way too early. It’s normally a 20 minute drive to the airport, but that morning it took twice as long, though of course we had to wait for check-in to open.

And so we arrived home, but without my case which was delivered the following day with the Port bottles safely inside.

Summary

This cruise wasn’t planned; we took up a promotion of huge discounts on November and December Douro Cruises, thinking that while it might be November, it wouldn’t be too cold in the south of Europe. We were wrong, it was very cold.

We tried sitting out on our veranda one bright sunny day wrapped up in our cold weather gear, but lasted about 45 minutes and that was the first and last time we used the veranda.

 We've been to Lisbon many times and have both worked there. But if you want to see Lisbon – and it’s worth seeing – then the two nights of this cruise is not enough. There’s one full day there of which half is the included excursion. To maximise sightseeing don’t return from the morning excursion. Leave at the Maritime Museum. Enjoy a custard tart at the nearby Pastéis de Belém café, stroll down to the Monument to the Discoverers on the waterfront then stroll with the river on your right to the city square and enjoy Lisbon. You can get back to the hotel on the Metro.

 

We didn’t have the Silver Spirits package. The cruise was so discounted it wasn’t offered. We would drink Portuguese wine with meals and I am not familiar with the names, so correctly calculated that the included wines would be local and would be good. And they were.

I bought a bottle of Port for €9 locally for an after-dinner drink and a pre-dinner glass of Champagne from the bar each night.

But we enjoyed the trip overall.

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 25 November 2025

 

Day 9 – Tuesday 25 November 2025 

– Cruise Day 7

Our last full day was moored in Porto, or to be correct, on the opposite bank at Villa Nova de Gaia. There was an include excursion Porto on Foot leaving at 08:30 which we missed preferring a leisurely breakfast.

In the afternoon at 15:20 was an optional excursion to Port Wine Cellars. The time scheduled for this was 1h25min including   walking to and from the cellars where 3 Ports – white, ruby & tawny – would be tasted. The cost was £83 per person (about €95). The cellar name was not on any documentation but it was Ferreira which could be seen close by the boat.

This excursion seemed a trifle expensive to me. There are a great number of Port Lodges nearby the boat, and we walked two minutes to Sandeman where we booked the superior 1790 tour which was lead by James, a young Canadian who’d worked in Ontario wineries and moved the Portugal to be with his girlfriend.

After an informative history of Sandeman, including some early TV adverts, the 7 people on the tour walked through the cellars. All our many questions were masterfully answered. Then instead of the public tasting room, we went into the private 1790 room where an illuminated opaque strip in the middle of the table enabled us to judge the wine’s colour by holding our glasses before it.

We tasted five wines, Apitive Reserve white, ruby Founder’s Reserve, 7 year old tawny Imperial Reserve , LBV (Late Bottled Vintage 2020) and a 20 year old Tawny Port which were explained and in turn we were asked our favourite. Mine was Imperial Reserve, a seven year old Tawny.

The 1790 tour lasted more than two hours and cost €32 each, thus for two of us it cost less than one person on Viking’s optional excursion and we tasted more wines

 We asked for our usual pre-dinner glass of Champagne but they’d run out and offered us a Prosecco which we declined. Then the barman had a bright idea, popped across to the boat rafted to us and came back with two bottles of Champagne. No-one talks about the benefits of rafting, but that’s one!

 Location: https://what3words.com/trunk.director.searched

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 24 November 2025

 

Day  8 – Monday 24 November 2025 

– Cruise Day 6

 The cold that had been dogging me for some days was at its worst today, and I spent most of the day just lying on my bed. I didn’t go on the included Lamego excursion. I roused myself for afternoon tea at 16:45 and enjoyed a cup of loose leaf Dragon Pearl green tea and a rather good scone.

This was followed by the disembarkation briefing, about which nothing of import is ever said that’s not on the Viking Daily delivered to your cabin. All one needs to know is when the cabin must be vacated, when to put cases outside the cabin and when to leave to the boat to catch coach to airport.

By 18:00 we were tied up at our Porto mooring and we settle down to a demonstration of opening a Vintage Port using Port Tongs. We were each handed a glass of Port afterwards.

Location: https://what3words.com/trunk.director.searched

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 23 November 2025

 

Day 7 – Sunday 23 November 2025

 – Cruise Day 5

At 08:45 was an excursion to the town of Favaios where we’d visit its museum, a bakery and co-operative winery and have lunch, while the boat cast-off and continued down river. It was quite a long coach ride, going up through low-lying patchy clouds.

There were 3 coaches and each visited the three sites in a different order. We first visited the small museum featuring the wine of the town, Moscatel de Favaios. The variety used is named Moscatel Galego because it was introduced by Galicians. (But Wine Grapes book says it is a synonym of the widely planted Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains).

The other local speciality featured in the museum is Four Corner bread, which is a large soft roll looking like crossed dumbbells. The enthusiasm of the young guide in the museum was infectious, but I wonder if he could maintain it for the next two groups.

Next we visited Favaios co-operative winery where the winery guide wore a fleece with ‘Follow me, I know where the wine is’ printed on its back. And so we did, taking the route grapes took from the receiving bay through  the cellar and finally to a glass of Moscatel de Favaios. This is a fortified wine, made like Port, but using Muscat grapes.

Then we were supposed to go to a bakery, but instead of a roaring fire the oven was cold and it was an exhibition kitchen, not a working bakery. The cook rolled dough and swiftly made a couple of Four Corner breads. She then reached out a basket of previously cooked rolls and we were invited to tear a roll in two and help ourselves to various savoury and sweet toppings.

Then all three coaches rendezvoused at Quinta Avessada at a large dining place set in vineyards. We had a watery soup, a slab of meat (which I was assured afterwards was beef) with mash. Dessert, which was chocolate cake with a whole pear poached in red wine, was best. Disappointing meal but plenty of wine.

Then to the coaches to meet the boat at Folgosa and onwards to stop at Regua, at 17:00, for our overnight mooring.

Location https://what3words.com/supermarket.merchant.farces

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 22 November 2025

 

Day 6 – Saturday 22 November 2025 

– Cruise Day 4

Today is the full day excursion over the border to Spain and the city of Salamanca.

As we had been there before, and because we didn’t fancy the 2-2.5 hours in a coach each way we stayed on the boat. In the morning we explored Barca d’Alva.

Sleepy backwater and one-horse town may give an impression of a livelier place than the actuality.

At one time the railway terminated there. The track remains but the large station building is bricked up and the covered goods platforms are slowly decaying.

About a dozen people remained on board and Chef Misha took  our lunch  orders in the morning as he alone was doing the cooking to give his team time off.

At 13:00 the boat departed and two hours later moored in Pocinho. Those who’d been to Salamanca boarded at around 18:45.

 Location https://what3words.com/background.paints.cobbles

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 21 November 2025

Day 5 – Friday 21 November 2025 

– Cruise Day 3

The ship cast off about 06:30 and two hours later we entered the Valeira lock.

At 10:00 in the lounge Chef Misha demonstrated how to make Portuguese custard tarts Pastéis de Nata.

He let us in on his secret that was ‘just between us’: he doesn’t make puff pastry but buys it from a supermarket. The trick in making the custard is to add components slowly, whisking all the time.

Shortly after the demonstration ended, and we’d eaten some Pastéis de Nata he’d made earlier we entered the last of the locks, Pocinho and then the ship made a brief stop at Pocinho where guests who’d booked the optional excursion to Marialva Castle for lunch departed.

We arrived at our furthest destination, Barca d’Alva shortly after 14:00 and the included excursion to the hilltop castle town of Castelo Rodrigo.

Viking class this excursion as “Demanding” which it certainly would have been when the entire street had a rough stone surface, but the installation of  new sewage system has left the main street with a smooth surface in the centre, see the photo. So it’s possible to do the beginning of the tour and see the ruined castle and hear the tales associated with it. We bailed out when the tour went down a long flight of steep steps to visit a church and walked back down to the start where we had a coffee in a shop with terraces out back offering amazing views.

Castelo Rodrigo was built on a high point offering panoramic views over neighbouring Spain and intended to spot any advance of hostile forces.  The coffee shop terrace gave us similar views. Their shop must have has at least 20 different flavoured almonds to sample. Curry  almond anyone? Incidentally, almond trees were introduced by the Moors and are a variety that can thrive without watering, so they grow all over this dry land.

The Viking description of the excursion says that on the way back the coach will be “stopping to take in the panoramic views”. It didn’t.

In the evening was ‘Taste of Portugal’, a buffet dinner of Portuguese specialities and the staff dressed in colourful costume – especially our divine Programme Manager Lidia Leal. 

Location: https://what3words.com/starkest.signposts.regain 

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 20 November 2025

 

 Day 4 – Thursday 20 November 2025 – Cruise Day 2

 Also unusual is that there is no cruising at night on the Douro, so when we woke the boat was still moored at Cais de Gaia, but by 07:00 we were cruising in land. The Douro is very rural and the cruise is not for those who want to moor by bustling cities. And people in past times didn’t construct their villages by the river for fear of pirates from the sea or bandits coming down river. 

Until the EU funded the building of modern motorways and impressive bridges travel was difficult. Even the Douro had challenges with boulders in the water and vicious rapids. Cruising is possible only because the rapids have been replaced by dams and massive locks – the deepest in Europe, and boulders blocking the water were dynamited. But the river is navigable only to the Spanish border. The Spanish also dammed the river but neglected to build locks.

 After two hours we reached the first lock. Cretuma-Lever and 2h45m later the Carrapatelo Lock.

At 14:30 there was an included excursion to Mateus Palace and Gardens. As we had visited Mateus twice before, most recently June 2024, and because it was cold we gave this a miss and stayed on the boat as it cast off and shortly afterward we were in the third lock, Bagauste.

We moored in Pinhao about 17:30 and the Mateus party re-joined the boat.

Mooring location - https://what3words.com/herbals.cuter.plunge

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 19 November 2025

 

Day 3 – Wednesday 19 November 2025 – Cruise Day 1

 Today we would board the boat, but there was the matter of 200 miles  separating the hotel and boat. Viking’s team had wrung a concession from the hotel so we could board the coaches at the main entrance and save the time wasted getting to that road from the hotel’s rear. Bags had to be outside the room at 06:45 and we the coaches set  off at 08:15 and immediately became stopped in heavy traffic. Finally we reached the motorway and built up some speed. There was a comfort break at a service station that had spotless toilets and a café where we had time for a coffee. Our lunch stop was the university town of Coimbra (pronounced Coe- im-bra) but first we had the dreaded free time in Coimbra town itself with 50 minutes in a chilly pedestrianised cobbled shopping street. Thankfully it wasn’t raining.

 I was captivated watching  an elderly man with one leg pulling a shopping cart come up the hill and go up a steeper side street helped by only a walking stick. He moved faster than I could with two legs.

 Then we coached to the university to see the historic Biblioteca Joanina library (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Joanina) and next door Royal chapel.  

Then to Republica da Saudade restaurant for lunch. The choices were vegetable soup or salad (four tomato slices separated by cheese),and cod in béchamel sauce or grilled chicken with potatoes, cabbage and carrots followed by fruit salad and pink ice cream. It wasn’t the very worst meal of the holiday and there were water and wine carafes. (Strangely beers and soft drinks had to be paid for.)

Two musicians (one was an owner of the restaurant) and a singer entertained us with fado during the meal.

 

We arrived at the Viking Osfrid where we were warmly welcomed with a refreshing long drink of white Port topped up with tonic water and garnished with mint. The boat is shorter than the standard Longships found on European rivers other than the Douro, Seine and Elbe. It is 263 feet long and has a max of 106 passengers rather than 443 feet with 190 guests. We had a Veranda cabin which was the same design as on the standard Longships, but smaller.

There was no Aquavit lounge; all dining was in the restaurant which had mostly tables for four, with a few larger tables and several tables for two. Unusually the lift served all three decks. Also unusual is the pool on the sun deck. It is large but shallow. Although heated and we had sunny days the outside temperature was very cold and I didn’t see the pool used the very few times I went up to the sundeck.

At 18:30 the drinks started flowing in the third floor lounge with a welcome toast, introduction to the crew, followed by a safety briefing and Port talk – that’s what was happening the following day rather than the fortified wine the region is famous for. But fear not, that would come later.

They say one shouldn’t trust a skinny chef; happily Osfrid’s chef was visibly trustworthy. Executive Chef Mihai ‘Misha’ Mihailov has an engaging personality, a great sense of humour and he makes exceptional soups.

After Misha had recommended his choices for dinner we went down to the restaurant on the second floor for dinner.

Osfrid was moored at Cais de Gaia in Vila Nova de Gaia by the Ferreira Port Lodge of few steps away, and a host of Port Lodges along the waterfront. The river here is tidal and changes of water level necessitate changes to the gangplank position.

Location: https://what3words.com/trunk.director.searched

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 18 November 2025

 

Day 2 – Tuesday 18 November 2025

Breakfast buffet at the hotel had everything.

The included Cosmopolitan Lisbon tour departed at 08:45 from the rear of the 1st Floor, and we’d been told to be by the coaches 15 minutes before. But there were conferences taking place and delegates were also heading to the meeting rooms on the 1st Floor. The automated lift system went into melt down and said there were no available lifts several times before crashing and rebooting.

Eventually all the group straggled onto the coaches and we set off. After 5 minutes or so of driving the coach had made a circle and we drove pass the front of the hotel. Traffic and the hotel location meant it took a long time to get to our first stop at the Tagus River.

We walked the short distance from the coach to the Belem Tower which was being cleaned. This castle had been in the middle of the river, but the earthquake of 1755 moved the river-course and it’s now bank side. This tour doesn’t visit inside the tower. Previous time we walked along the river bank to the nearby Monument of the Discoverers but we were shepherded back to the coach to go to the Maritime Museum where after a whirlwind tour, 40 minutes free time was announced. Some took the opportunity to walk 10 minutes to the  Antiga Confeitaria de Belem Pastéis de Belém cafe, which holds the original recipe for the famous custard tart generally known as Pastéis de Nata.

We stayed in the museum coffee shop with a hot drink and a Pastéis de Nata, then the coach headed back to the hotel with a stop at the overlook I’d seen from the plane.

I think the truncated tour we’d had was because of the amount of time to get through the narrow and crowded roads from and to the hotel.

The hotel’s Olivae Restaurant & Terrace was open only for conference delegates so we had a snack in the Lobby Lounge. There’s a hotel shuttle to the city centre and a few minutes walk to the metro, but we didn’t want any more coach time and as we’d both been to Lisbon many times on business we had an afternoon walk to check local restaurants. There were several next to the hotel, but we didn’t fancy any as much as ERVA so we dined there again, this time having grilled cauliflower steak with almonds, bell pepper purée and herbs sauce.

We shared potato wedges as we couldn’t finish them the previous night and had only one salad. As we’d so much enjoyed it we again had a bottle of Quinta Da Devesa 2021.

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Portugal's River Of Gold – Lisbon>Porto – Viking Osfrid – 17-26 November 2025

 

This was our 21st river cruise since 2012; we’ve previously cruised with Viking 15 times, three with Scenic, once with Riviera and once on a narrow boat along England’s canals and rivers when Covid prevented us travelling abroad. We’ve cruised the Douro (aka The River of Gold) once with Viking in 2014 and once with Scenic in 2024.

Viking offer two cruises of the Douro: actually it’s only one featuring a boat. Douro’s Valleys & Vineyards starts and ends in Porto, Portugal’s River Of Gold is the same river cruise preceded with two nights in a Lisbon hotel. In 2025 Viking introduced Iberian Odyssey in which Portugal's River of Gold is preceded by an ocean cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon.

 I’d rather avoid the Lisbon pre-extension as two nights doesn’t offer enough time to see Lisbon and a day is spent coaching from Lisbon to Porto.

 We’d already taken two river cruises this year, but Viking offered us such a huge discount that, after a lot of dithering, we booked on the last day of the offer and got the last cabin.

Day  1 – Monday 17 November 2025

 As we are not early morning people we got Viking to book us a later flight than the one they would have which would also see us trying to get to  the airport through the peak of Monday’s rush hour traffic. So we boarded our 11:55 flight scheduled to land at 14:50. When everyone had boarded and were strapped in their seats, the pilot announced that Lisbon wasn’t allowing us to depart for another 1 hour 20 minutes because of storms over Lisbon, so we moved off stand and parked awaiting take-off approval. Eventually we were on our way and as we came into land at Lisbon my attention was captured by the colour of the huge Portuguese flag flying below.

By the time we’d collected our luggage, waited for everyone, got to the coach and taken the long journey to the hotel and checked-in it was around 17:00 and there was a welcome talk at 18:00.

 The Corinthia Lisbon Hotel has 5 stars, 5 dining places, large well equipped bed rooms and a weird lift system. It is unfortunately a long way out from the city centre sights. To use the lift to your floor, your room key has to be placed by the reader under a lift control panel. Your floor number is then shown on the panel and the screen for you to select upon which it indicates which of the four lifts should be taken. There are no buttons inside the lift car.

 Only floor 0 (Reception), Floor 1 (Meeting Rooms), and Floor 2 (Spa) didn’t need a room key but could be selected from the screen which then identified the lift to take. So after a brief freshen–up time in our room, we went down to Floor 1 for our Welcome Meeting, at which we were given a most welcome large glass of wine.

 The Cruise Director, Lidia Leal, who would accompany us throughout our time in Lisbon and aboard the boat, gave the presentation. It took an hour but I can’t remember anything of note.

At 19:00 we didn’t feel like finding a neighbourhood restaurant and ate in the hotels ERVA Restaurant (https://www.erva-restaurante.pt/) and jolly good it was.

We each had a Tenderloin steak, potato wedges and side salad. We also shared bread, butter, olives and olive oil. From the extensive wine list we chose a Portuguese red Quinta Da Devesa 2021 which is a blend of Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Tinta Barocca. The wine was gorgeous.

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