Several years ago, river cruise lines discovered a relatively underserved destination, Portugal's Douro River, and built a slew of river cruise ships in response. Now the Douro is experiencing another shipbuilding bump.
One of the main and biggest river- cruise players in Portugal, and the company that builds the vast majority of the vessels there for charter by others, is
DouroAzul, which is launching two ships on the Douro in March: the 126-passenger Douro Serenity and Douro Elegance.
Their design will be "edgier" than previous DouroAzul vessels, according to Bruno Ribeiro, the company's marketing and communications coordinator. He said the Douro vessels will be painted steel gray to give them a "super-
yacht" feel.
Both ships will feature a panoramic bar and lounge as well as an indoor/outdoor, panoramic restaurant with a terrace. There will be a gym, a spa and a heated pool on the sun deck.
DouroAzul built an infotainment system into all the staterooms and installed WiFi throughout the ship. As for accommodations, both vessels will have two master suites, six junior suites and 55 standard staterooms.
After both ships are christened on March 25, the Douro Serenity and Douro Elegance will begin regular sailings the following week, with cruises taking place between Porto, Portugal, and Vega de Terron, Spain.
The Douro Elegance will be chartered by British travel company Riviera Travel, and the Douro Serenity will be chartered by U.S.-based packager Vantage Travel, in addition to several other companies. Pricing and cruise departure dates are available through those vendors.
Joining the DouroAzul vessels in Portugal will be a newbuild from sleek, four-star line Emerald Waterways (owned by Scenic Cruises), which is launching the 112-passenger Emerald Radiance on the Douro. Staterooms range from 170-square-foot standard cabins to the 312-square-foot Emerald Riverview Suites at the aft of the ship with floor-to-ceiling windows. The vessel will also feature a pool on the sun deck for those Portugal summer sailings.
The Emerald Radiance will be showcased on a number of Emerald itineraries, including in combination with various land tours that stretch from Lisbon to Nice, France. An eight-day, roundtrip cruise departing from Porto starts at $2,545 per person, based on double occupancy.
CroisiEurope will also have a new vessel on the Douro, the 132-passenger Miguel Torga, which is being outfitted in line with CroisiEurope's latest generation of vessels, which feature modern furnishings and interior-design concepts.
The Miguel Torga, which was built in 2016 and officially launches in April, will be CroisiEurope's fifth vessel in Portugal. Eight-day, roundtrip cruises from Porto on the Miguel Torga start at $1,752 per person, based on double occupancy.