Viking Osfrid Review
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The Douro river was one of the ones on our "to do" list we had yet to experience so we chose this one by Viking. My wife and I had travelled with Viking 5 times before so we knew their strengths - and their weaknesses.
Their organisation is usually brilliant and this trip was no exception. We were all asked to wear stick-on Viking badges on exiting Lisbon airport arrivals so we were spotted immediately and directed towards two more Viking reps. Our luggage was taken from us and we were whisked to the Tivoli hotel, probably one of the best in Lisbon, where we were due to spend two nights. There was an included coach tour in Lisbon and we were given plenty of free time to ourselves. No meals were included apart from breakfast and this was superb.
After our second night we were taken with our luggage to Porto, where we were to embark our ship. I really must say this was one of the best coaches in which I have travelled, with on board wifi and masses of legroom. The driver, in fact every driver of every coach we used, was so considerate for our comfort. There was a stop in Coimbra en route where we had a splendid lunch with entertainment. Unfortunately, as we were to discover, it was probably the best meal we were going to get for the next week - on the ship at any rate.
Cabin Review
Veranda
We were lucky enough to get an upgrade to a balcony cabin on the middle deck. I didn't realise how fortunate we were until I saw that the lower deck cabins are partially below the waterline and the only (unopenable) window was too high to look out from for some people.
The cabin was really well equipped. Welcome extras included a fridge and quad USB outlet points. Only one stool to sit on apart from the bed or the balcony chairs. Why so large a table on the balcony? You almost had to be a gymnast to get round it to the second chair. The bathroom was vastly superior to the Cunard QE and QV ones, with top class shower cubicle fittings and decent pressure as well. The heated mirror was useful - you could see to shave after a shower.