This video highlights our 7-night Douro River cruise aboard the Emerald Radiance. This was a round trip cruise from Porto Portugal. The video includes port visits to Lamego Portugal and Salamanca Spain. There was also lunch at the Quinta da Pacheca winery. Spending several days in Porto we visited the Porto Cathedral, Bolsa Palace and Bento Train Station. Time was also spent in Vila Nova de Gaia walking the town and a visit to the Calem port wine house. The video shows the 4 decks of the Emerald Radiance, food/drinks, activities while sailing, navigation of the locks, airport/hotel transfers, and touring tips.
Charlie and Jennifer Pryde have lived in The Villages for three years and in Central Florida for seventeen years. Our main activities in The Villages are biking, fitness parks, pickle ball, platform tennis, golf and swimming. We love to travel throughout Florida, the United States and internationally. Our Youtube channel’s focus is on promoting a physically active lifestyle for mature adults, but we will also indulge ourselves in a good restaurant, bakery or watering hole that we find during our travels.
Please email us or write in the comments section if you have any questions on our videos.
Email: Prydeofthevillages@gmail.com
Please “Subscribe” if you like our channel and hit the thumbs up “Like” button. This will alert you to our new video posts.
Thanks for watching!
Charlie and Jennifer (Pryde of The Villages)
So you won know my name I hope you got a lot of time good day I’m Charlie Pride and I’m Jennifer Pride Welcome to our YouTube channel Pride of the villages first we want to apologize for taking so long to get this video out as this trip occurred
In early November but with 400 pieces of video to edit and narrate we wanted to put the same effort into this as we did our Rin River Cruise which has now been viewed over 100,000 times we hope you find this video as informative as that Rin River Cruise video this video will
Highlight our recent trip to Portugal and seven night Dural river cruise on the ship Emerald Radiance an Australian company Emerald waterways caters mostly to the English-speaking Market with a mix of Americans British Canadian and Australians as on board passengers passengers on board Radiance lean towards the older couples that have
Cruise the rine Andor the danu and are looking for a new River experience due to Portuguese law staff on board the ships that sail the Doro River are required to be citizens of Portugal which is a natural fit since on this Cruise you are only sailing through Portuguese Waters questions about
Portugal are easily answered by the crew and the activities on board from traditional crafts wine talks and cooking demonstrations focus on Portuguese Specialties for us our journey started in Orlando Florida with an American Airlines flight to Miami and then the overseas flight on Spanish Airline Iberia to Madrid Spain it was then only
A 1-hour flight to portal on Iberia Emerald does provide as part of the cruise transfers from the airport to the ship or to their partnered pre- Cruise hotel we decided to arrive two days before the cruise and utilize the partner Hotel Caris Porto riberia not only not only did the early arrival
Ensure we made the cruise departure but provided us the opportunity to explore the city of Porto which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996 and in our opinion was the highlight of the trip now their weather was a factor in our trip as it rained on
And off every day we were in Porto but not to be deterred we headed out on the town and we will show you what we visited prior to and post River Cru Oh [Applause] Now that was a very active morning and our plan for the afternoon was to tour the Balsa Palace which was just down the street from the hotel and is also located with the minutes walk from where the radiance will be docked the palace was built in 1850 and functioned for the
Most part as a commercial building hosting the stock exchange today its purpose is primarily ceremonial including hosting foreign dignitaries and is a tourist attraction visited by 300,000 people a year entry is only by guided tour and the tours are conducted in several languages throughout the day price for for seniors is a very
Reasonable 7y olds 50 and for younger adults like Jennifer 12 year olds once you leave the Assembly Hall there is no video permitted but pictures are allowed so here we Go Concluding our first afternoon in PTO we need to mention that this is one hilly City and since our hotel was one block up from the riverbank it was obviously at uphill walk to most of the sites we visited now there is public transportation system so buses and a
Metro there is even trolley service to several areas of the city we did not utilize any of these but instead walked everywhere so Jen could get her 10,000 steps in although it was likely closer to 20,000 on this day and night the majority of the streets and sidewalks in
The old town are constructed of cobblestone so it is important to wear a very sturdy pair of comfortable walking shoes obviously anything with a high heel should be avoided if it rains be cognizant that these cobblestones can become very slippery also expect to have to negotiate some stairs along the route
To several attractions with the goal of adjusting to a new time zone and avoiding an early badtime crash we headed over the river to V Nova de gaaya now the easiest way to go across the river is a double- decked Tom Louise Bridge which has an upper deck light
Rail line and pedestrian walkway and lower deck vehicle Lanes in pedestrian walkway since the wind was blowing 25 mph we decided to take the lower level it was a short walk from the hotel along the riberal Esplanade passing many restaurants and shops to get to the
Lower level walkway I will say that the bridge at night is one impressive sight the significance of Gaia is that it is home to the storehouses and tasting rooms of all the best producers of port wine back in the 18th century with an expanding population portal ran out of
Space to store the vast quantities of wine so operations shifted to the opposite Bank of the river in the town of Gaia and those storehouses have remained there since there are also several museums focusing on wine and all Associated components for our dinner in GAA we found in Marcado beara Rio which
We would describe as a food Hall we had some great tasting pasta there then headed back to the hotel on the same route passing the port wine houses across the bridge and back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep the next morning it was back to exploring the
City and we started with a climb up to the Porto Cathedral the most important religious site in Porto built on the highest part of the city and next to the walls that once protected Porto the cathedral sits on a square with a column in the middle this is where the
Criminals supportal were once hanged many years ago the exterior of the building has the appearance of a fortress with battlements entrance to the cathedral is only three eurs and for six eurs it also includes entrance to The Bishop’s Palace which is next door due to time we opted just to conduct the
Self tour of the cathedral the construction of the cathedral began during the 12th century but it was rebuilt and ren inovated numerous times throughout the centuries this explains why the cathedral is a mix of architectural Styles the temple is predominantly Baroque in style although the facade in the Nave are Romanesque
And its claer and one of the Chapels are gothic the claer dates back to the 14th century and is decorated with tiles painted with some of the scenes from The Bible several Kings were married in the cathedral and some important individuals in the history history of the church are
In tuned there from the Terrace a narrow staircase leads to the top of one of the towers in an observation platform if you have the mobility and energy for the stairs this platform offers impressive views of the city’s historic Center the D River the domise bridge and the municipality of Villa Nova
DEA after our time at the Cathedral it was Back to the Hotel time to check out and meet our Emerald host who would take us to the ship which was only a short walk down the river our luggage was transported separately to the ship and was being loaded on the boat as we
Arrived so here is a quick orientation to the emerald Radiance which like so many other European river ships is comprised of four decks starting at the lowest level Riviera deck besides the passenger and crew cabins there is a small Fitness room with tiles provided
Next door is a well this area if you opt for a massage and there is a gift cabinet at the base of the stairs with some Portuguese svanir moving up to the Vista deck where we boarded the ship is the cruise director’s desk where you can pick up tour books and Maps moving
Forward through the door is the Reflections Restaurant where you will have all three meals more on the food on the ship later up once more is the Horizon deck which has the reception desk in the Horizon lounge and Bar which is where you will likely spend most of
Your awake time while on the ship at least we did the lounge functions as the main Gathering Spot for all information briefings and onboard activities this is where the captain gives his safety briefing so on that we had an emergency on board an alarm will be sounded and
After that I will do an announcement informing you all about what’s happening on board and the cruise director her Port talks all very happy for having you here with us we are all looking forward to spending the next seven days with you we are all looking forward to showing
You the beautiful country we have and there is also a 24-hour coffee and tea stand in the lounge and one of the best places to get Wi-Fi reception at the front of the ship on the horizon deck is the Terrace this is where I spent a lot of my time while on
The ship was underway as it gives you great views of either Bank of the Doro River there is an elevator on the ship that goes from the riera deck to the Horizon deck but not to the Su deck the Sund deck has the important navigation bridge and because of the weather on our
Trip was anything but Sunny the deck was not utilized that much however this would be an ideal spot on a sunny day in a lounger or walking the track there is a small heated pool but I never saw anybody using it during our cruise I also understand they will have an
Evening Barbecue on the Sund deck during warmer drier weather the emerald Radiance went into service in 2017 and not sure how you pronounce it but this is where it’s docked on the location on the Porto side of the river it is a floating dock which will rise
And fall with the river level so you may have a steep walk up or down to the ship now I did mention at the start of the video that rain was a factor affecting our trip and the door river valley had experienced a lot of it before enduring
Our visit so much so that U River they had to open the Dam’s floodgates to full capacity which then prohibited the cruise ships from safely transiting the locks this not only affected Emerald Radiance but also the other cruise boats based in Porto so the start of our
Cruise up River would be delayed a day and we were informed by the cruise director that there would be changes to our ports of call the first change was that we would not be touring the winery in Peno instead we would be VIs visiting the colum pouse in Gaia and we were soon
On a bus on the way across the river now Emerald operates its own buses which gives them a lot of flexibility in rescheduling and these buses are very comfortable with a convenient USB charging port for the longer rides Jennifer and I were familiar with Gaia having visited at night and I would say
It was a different vibe during the daytime for one the cable car was operating which takes passengers up to the moral Garden which is gives a great vantage point for sunsets in the west while there are a number of Port houses in Gaia that offer tours and wine
Tasting colum may be one of the most famous places for port wine tours in Porto it certainly is the most popular the house of colum was founded in 1859 after 164 years it Still Remains an award-winning business in our guided visit to colum we first started with the
Museum where we learned about the soil and the climate of the Doro Valley region and a variety of grapes grown there then the process of production from harvesting of the grapes to the bottling of the wine as well as what separates the different types of wines and ports the sellers storing millions
Of liters of wine remain active and visitable there we learned more about the unique characteristics of each type of Port next to the barrels where they grow old protected from light and heat lastly we were off to The Tasting Room Port tasting packs a punch considering the Wine’s alcohol contact is close to
20% that’s good I like the T better luckily we had lunch before our outing still Jen’s face was looking a little flush after her tasting on the way out you’ll exit through column’s gift shop here you can buy full bottles of wines that you tasted along with small gift sets like
Jams and choc after the tour we opted to walk back to the ship Vice Tak in the emerald bus but first we had to take in some street art known as the half rabbit half rabbit looks strange enough completely sober and really weird after a couple of
Glasses of Port but still a very unique piece of art now there is a passenger ferry that operates back and forth across the river from Gaia to Porto’s riberia quarter but we decided to once again walk across the Dom Louise Bridge especially since this was a brief period
Of sunshine that we had several vendors had set up stands along the riverfront selling Portuguese souvenirs walking along the riverfront you not only pass restaurants and shops but some fascinating residential buildings which I’m sure cost a lot of Euros considering locations and Views there was a lot of unique Windows Doors
And mural art including this one on the side of a building just down from our ship getting back to the ship it was time for dinner and this is a good time to talk about the food on board the dining room is configured with two four
And six seat tables meals are a good time to meet new people or just find a quiet table for yourselves breakfast is normally between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. and is served buffet style with ready order eggs a two order omelette Chef along with waffles or pancakes bacon sausage beans and bread there is
Also a good selection of yogurts cereals cold meats cheese fruits and pastries several juices are available and noos will bring you coffee and tea remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day or at least that’s what my mother said lunch is typically served between 12:30 and 2 p.m. lunch is also
Served bouet style and there is a menu which will tell you what the main items on the buffet line are the front counter is taken up by daily specials like beef roast pork shoulder or whole fish that the chef will slice for you fresh there will be some Regional Specialties like
This Portuguese soup sides and bread are along the right counter there is a large salad bar and on some days a selection of seafood which is no surprise considering we’re only several miles away from the Atlantic Ocean and there’s always room for dessert house wine and
Be beer is served at lunch and dinner at no additional charge as well as soft drinks dinner is served right after the cruise director’s Port talk which is 700 p.m. at dinner you will order off the menu and there is a wide variety of offerings on appetizers main courses and
Desserts there will be at least one vegetarian option for appetizer and Mane there is a chef’s recommendation side of the menu which will likely feature Regional dishes and the right side will have additional dishes and emerald CL Classics which are available nightly your appetizer selction will mostly be a
Choice of seafood salad or meat likewise for the mains Seafood beef pork lamb chicken or duck I did have the emerald classic surine steak one evening and it was very good the desserts were not only great on presentation but also delish and you can of course order seconds on
Any of the appetizers Ms or desserts one of the highlights for the dinner was a traditional Portuguese barbecue which I understand is conducted on the Sund deck during warm weather for us it was hell bouet style in the dining room and featur chicken rib sausages and even the very traditional grilled
Sardines plenty of sides salads Galore and of course desserts so this is your opportunity to try those Portuguese grilled sardines outside of scheduled meal times there is a continental breakfast available at the back of the lounge early morning morning this was really beneficial during our departure day for
The airport there will be muffins or cookies on the lounges 24hour coffee tea station and there is afternoon tea served 4: to 4:30 p.m. in the lounge and will feature finger sandwiches Cakes and Pastries so after a 27-hour delay the water level up River had receded enough
That the locks had reopened and we were able to sail on our journey the Duro river is an international River starting in the hills of Spain and flows 850 km until it reaches the mouth at Porto and empties into the Atlantic Ocean however cruise ships only travel
210 km of the River from Porto to Vega day terone on the Spanish border and then return leaving Porto we sailed under some very impressive Bridges and soon approached the first Dam and lock of navigation there is a total of five dams and locks that the boat will
Transit on the way to the Spanish border these dams are not only utilized to control water flow but also generate electricity the Duro River has some of the deepest locks in Europe including this one which is the deepest with a water level difference of 35 M while the
Locks are deep they are not very wide compared to the locks on the Rind and can only accommodate one ship at a time at 12 12 M wide the captain was very skilled in positioning the boat to fit you all have the opportunity to experience several of the locks during
Daytime hours as cruise ships are prohibited from sailing on the river during Darkness this is also different from sailing on the rine in danu where the majority of the sailing is done during Nightfall moving from one port to the next because of this nighttime selling prohibition the emerald Radiance
Will continue to sail on the River during the day while passengers are on buses experiencing shore excursions you will then meet up with the ship either up or down river after the shore Excursion is complete the best views for experiencing the locks is either on the
Terrace or on the sunnd deck these locks are also something of an attraction for the local population as they gather on the overhead platform when the boat is transiting through Hello is everyone ready yes should we start Okay so here you can see how was Before during centuries the daugh was the RO for the passing through the lock we enter a very Scenic and narrow part of the river where it becomes evident by the Steep cliffs in Shoreline Boulders why these crew ships do not travel this portion of the river during Darkness at the end of
The day we dock in ragua for the evening since our itinerary was modified by 24 hours our first Shore Excursion was a visit to the Baroque Village of Lomo stopping to see the picturesque Shrine of Our Lady of Remedies a structure that stands gracefully over the town the
Church sits on an elevated site of 1950 ft on Mount St Steven overlooking Lomo and our bus dropped us off on top of the hill in the church square we were allowed to go into the church but not allowed to take pictures or video so nothing to show you from inside
Nevertheless the Journey Begins behind the church as leading down to town is a staircase constructed of nine Terraces and over 650 steps the Marian Shrine constructed between the 8th and 20th centuries attracts Pilgrims from across the country particularly on September the 8th the Nativity of the Virgin and
The Pinnacle of the festivities in honor of Our Ladies of Remedies part of the pilgrimage is the faithful climb the stairs some on their knees stopping at each Terrace which displays title pictures depicting the Stations of the Cross for us it was a little bit different experience from the
Pilgrims you have the option of taking a bus back down the hill but if you’re feeling active enjoy an invigorating walk down the steps from the sanctuary to the town’s main Square on the way down there are several places where you can rest and some photogenic
Scenery it’s how it feel felt good 656 steps and I made it all the way upon reaching the bottom we proceeded on to the Museum of lgo the city is an ancient one as the Romans came to settle the area in about the year 500 BC the museum
Is located in the former Bishop’s Palace and the entry fee was paid by Emerald it was a self-guided walkth through and you can see all the museum in about 30 minutes after the museum we visit a couple of stores that were up the street and Jennifer found a few gifts after our
Visit to Lomo it was off to lunch and this was there was another change in Cru itinerary instead of having dinner at the Quinta de Pacha wine Estates we would have lunch there which other than being served at a different time of the day I’m sure was the same menu music and
Other features here are some of the scenes from that Lunch For [Applause] after lunch we decided to walk it off a bit by exploring the grounds including The Vineyards which provided background for some nice photos there was also a gift shot for purchase of wine and Winery souvenirs and lastly this Instagram shot before getting back on
The bus and heading to the ship during our Radiance sailing on the door there was a series of informational talks cooking lessons and workshops focusing on things that Portugal is famous for such as a cooking demonstration of Portugal’s famous custard Tarts the pastel daata with our executive chef pastry chef and cruise
Director also puts together here orange pill so that’s uh to give it a little bit more of a Roma of orange and it after receiving handouts to the recipe we got a tart for tasting does it make a crunch I hear the Crunch and it’s warm too good there was an informational talk
On cork as Portugal is responsible for 50% of the world’s cork production there was a workshop conducted by local artist Maria cokus who restores the gorgeous blue blue and white tiles of Portugal and also does original work passengers had the opportunity to paint their own tiles which then left the ship to be
Glazed and baked before returning the last night of the voyage a very unique Keepsake to take home there was a basic Portuguese lesson conducted by the staff sweet as well but we call it do as well or Z local musicians performed Portuguese songs one evening there was some trivia and bingo games
With Jen winning two of them 5151 and receiving some prize chocolate we also won the cruise photo contest and were awarded a bottle of PK to take home there was recognition of the outstanding crew during our farewell Dinner [Applause] besides the evening Talks by the cruise director on the next day’s activities the primary means for accessing schedule information is on your television as there is no daily schedule handout in paper for additionally your television will provide satellite reception for realtime news a whole bunch of movies
And weather a few tips on the conduct of your sh excursions the tour guides will utilize a remote audio system called the Vox which is comprised of a neck lanard receiver with an earpiece Ure you have this in your room charging up when not in use Emerald does not utilize bottled
Water they provide nice reusable water bottles that you can take home with you fresh filtered water is replenished in your state Room daily if you need an umbrella or walking sticks they are in your cabin at the Cruis director’s desk they provided a free Duro River guide
And foldout map the guide book has great information on the area visual visit and the map shows all the locations on the river to include the towns dams and locks there is also individual city maps for Porto Lomo and Salam Mona where you will have personal free time to explore
The guides ensure the bathroom brakes are calculated into the tours however you’ll want to keep some euro coins handy as a few of the public restrooms dis charge for use you will be issued an electronic ID tag to log on and off the ship when going on tours having logged
Out let’s show you our next Shore Excursion to Salamanca Spain salanka city the city of gold they call him the City of Gold so our journey will take about 1 hour and 45 minutes with a comfort stop 10 10 maximum 1015 back on the bus we were soon in Salam
Mona and on to the Central Market to try some of that ham and get it toward the city N A A we then arrive at Salam Monas two adjoining Cathedrals Cathedral noeva and Cathedral via and I apologize if I did not pronounce those correctly so let’s go Inside Our tour of Salam Maka concludes Ed with a performance by a tuna band which was comprised of medical school Students Jennifer commented that she wish she had gone to this University not sure what she meant by that other than she really liked the band’s music after a Day visiting Salam Mona it was a full day of sailing back to Porto and thankfully it was a sunny day during the
Voyage the ship did invite passengers to visit the Wheelhouse and it was interesting talking to the captain about navigating the door River something I noted was the lack of commercial ship traffic on the Duro compared to the Ry and Daniel rivers in fact the only ships
We passed on the Duro were other cruise boats of course our sail down the river included passing through the five dams once again however the functioning of the locks never get old at least for us passengers whether it’s going through the locks or under bridges the boat has the capability to collapse the
Navigation and Communications Tower which occurred quite often it was very enjoyable being on the Sund deck passing the many Vineyards that line the banks portions of the Duro Valley have been designated a UNESCO site since 2001 grapes are typically picked early fall starting in September and not much
Has changed in the harvesting of the grapes over hundreds of years while Machinery has been introduced most wineries handpicked their grapes designated for their Flagship wine many consider the process gentler on valuable Vines and grapes and believe only a trained eye can ensure collection of the best fruit several of the wineries well
Offer opportunity for tur to have a harvest experience to include Quint Pacha and Rua although I don’t believe this is an optional tour for cruise passengers amongst these many Vineyards you will see old farmhouses Wineries and rugged little chapels in addition to The Vineyards this and other parts of the
Doro Valley have plantations of olive trees and Orchards of almonds apples and apricots arriving back in Porto that early evening we docked and had our Gayla dinner the next morning Awakening to a rainy day we went on an included bus Excursion Around Porto this involved driving along the north Riverbank to the
Atlantic coast and then further into the city stopping at the portal Cathedral at this point we left the tour and did some exploring on our own to include visiting several parks and Gardens this park and garden was home to the super Bach arena super Bach is the favorite beer of
Portugal and is served on the radiance there was a lot of bird life in this park to include peacocks ducks chickens running free range this gentleman seemed to be the P Piper of the flock and obviously had a daily meal in hand another Park had some interesting
Statues where we got a chance to take a picture it was also time to do some final gift shopping unique gift items to bring back include port wine of course olive oil maybe some canned sardines as their tins can be works of art just don’t open them on the plane items made
Of cork to include Handbags and hats the Portuguese glazed tiles especially if they also incorporate cork like this trivet besides the iconic sardine figures the barcelos rooster also has prominence in culture as Portugal unofficial symbol set to be the embodiment of the famous Portuguese Love For Life you will find the rooster on
Many gift items after an afternoon of walking and back on the ship it was time to pack the bags for the trip home Emerald provides transfers to the airport and to the Caris hotel for anyone with an Extended Stay we were a Choco group with a departure time to the
Airport of 5:30 a.m. and our bags had to be out by 5: a.m. Jennifer and I were transported to the PTO airport by Minivan and it was uneventful flights back to Orlando so some final comments on our 7 night Duro river cruise on board the emerald Radiance like cruises
On the r and danu well can affect River water levels resulting in modifications to the itinerary and it certainly did for our crews however Emerald did a great job in mitigating the impact of the weather and we did experience the most important aspects of the cruise the
Staff in our service aboard to Radiance was some of the best we have experienced would we cruise with Emerald again well we already planned to the Future trip to Asia cruising the mikong river as far as European river cruising goes I would certainly recommend the trip on the
Dural if you have enjoyed cruising to Ryan or danu especially if you were a wine connoisseur Porto and Salam Mona are fantastic cities and the locks on the Duro are in engineering Marvel lastly if there’s something we did not cover in the video and you have questions please shoot us a comment or
An email to the channel and we will answer promptly well that’s all for now uh we certainly appreciate you watching our Channel and this video and we hope that you’re having a great day where wherever you’re at especially during this holiday season and we’ll see you on the next video
1 Comment
I have thought about this itinerary. I really appreciate your review of the trip.